Gregor the Overlander
I finished the last Harry Potter last week. It was excellent but everybody is blogging about it so rather than be cliche, I want to blog about another children's fantasy book that was just as exciting to read. I do have to add though that I was telling everyone how great Harry Potter was before andyone had heard of him and long before there where plans for movies and midnight book premiers, so you might want to check this one out.
When we were in NYC we stopped by the overpriced Scholastic Store in SoHo. For teachers Scholastic is a resource of incredible affordable books and classroom materials but whether it was because it was in NYC or because they make up for their teacher savings by overcharging the public, I'm not sure. We bought a few things for the kids and I bought a Harry Potter tie which started a conversation between Amy and I and the two clerks. It came up that I'm an elementary school librarian, and they asked if I'd read Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins? They went on and on about how great it was, and since it was the best kind of book, a free book, I took it. In addition to giving me the secret teachers discount on my purchases, they were nice enough to provide me with a "complimentary teacher preview copy" of Gregor the Overlander.
I, like with most books I buy, had all intentions of reading it but got sidetracked by the 5 other books I was reading at the time. I finally picked it up tonight and read the entire book. It was outstanding. It definitely borrows themes from the big fantasies (Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Alice in Wonderland) but weaves them into an original, exciting, and moving story.
The story starts off with young Gregor living at home with his mom, elderly grandmother, and two younger sisters. Eleven year old Gregor lives in NYC and should be off at summer camp with his middle sister but has to stay home to take care of his two year old sister and his addled grandmother as the family can't afford childcare. Dad disappeared years ago which had a profound effect on Gregor and has caused significant hardships for the family including the shame and rumors associated.
While doing laundry, Gregor finds himself and his younger sister mysteriously falling into an underground land ala Alice in Wonderland/Being John Malchovich.
In this strange lands, he meets giant cockroaches, bats, rats, and spiders, all of which can talk. They have a delicate relationship which is falling apart and Gregor finds out to escape, he must decipher and fulfill an anceint prophecy. The themes Collins covers in this Underland and the way it all ties together in the end made it an outstanding and moving read. When I got to the end I couldn't wait to go out and buy book 2 (there are 5 in the series). It was also one of those books that made me feel the need to go kiss each of my kids on the forehead and give them a little hug before I went to sleep.
When we were in NYC we stopped by the overpriced Scholastic Store in SoHo. For teachers Scholastic is a resource of incredible affordable books and classroom materials but whether it was because it was in NYC or because they make up for their teacher savings by overcharging the public, I'm not sure. We bought a few things for the kids and I bought a Harry Potter tie which started a conversation between Amy and I and the two clerks. It came up that I'm an elementary school librarian, and they asked if I'd read Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins? They went on and on about how great it was, and since it was the best kind of book, a free book, I took it. In addition to giving me the secret teachers discount on my purchases, they were nice enough to provide me with a "complimentary teacher preview copy" of Gregor the Overlander.
I, like with most books I buy, had all intentions of reading it but got sidetracked by the 5 other books I was reading at the time. I finally picked it up tonight and read the entire book. It was outstanding. It definitely borrows themes from the big fantasies (Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Alice in Wonderland) but weaves them into an original, exciting, and moving story.
The story starts off with young Gregor living at home with his mom, elderly grandmother, and two younger sisters. Eleven year old Gregor lives in NYC and should be off at summer camp with his middle sister but has to stay home to take care of his two year old sister and his addled grandmother as the family can't afford childcare. Dad disappeared years ago which had a profound effect on Gregor and has caused significant hardships for the family including the shame and rumors associated.
While doing laundry, Gregor finds himself and his younger sister mysteriously falling into an underground land ala Alice in Wonderland/Being John Malchovich.
In this strange lands, he meets giant cockroaches, bats, rats, and spiders, all of which can talk. They have a delicate relationship which is falling apart and Gregor finds out to escape, he must decipher and fulfill an anceint prophecy. The themes Collins covers in this Underland and the way it all ties together in the end made it an outstanding and moving read. When I got to the end I couldn't wait to go out and buy book 2 (there are 5 in the series). It was also one of those books that made me feel the need to go kiss each of my kids on the forehead and give them a little hug before I went to sleep.
posted by Exvestigator at 12:28 AM
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