21: Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins (2004 paperback)

The Hunger Games books are easily my favorite in recent years.  So, when my friend Tracy told me she'd heard Collins had an earlier series, I jumped on the computer to check it out.  I found out on Amazon that Collins's Underland series predates The Hunger Games--and that it is intended for a pre-teen audience (approximately 9-12 year olds).  The books sounded pretty interesting--an urban Alice in Wonderland theme, where a young boy and his sister fall down a hole into a world involving giant insects, talking animals, and amazing cities--but I'm not as much a fan of pre-teen books as I am of the teen genre.  I guess that's a a sign that I've matured somewhat...

I passed on buying the first in the series on Amazon, but when Eddie, Diqui, Peter, and I strolled into our local Northtown Books after brunch one Sunday, I made my way to the Young Adult and kids section.  When it comes to encountering books in person, the Borg mantra of "Resistance is futile" pretty much rules my life.  I walked out with Gregor--and started reading it almost immediately.  After all, I knew Tracy would want to check it out soon too.

The book ended up being quite charming.  The action is pretty fast paced, as is Collins's fashion: human Underlanders join Gregor on a quest to rescue his disappeared father (who, Gregor learns upon his descent to the Underland, also fell through the laundry room vent two years ago).  Big beetles are heroic, gigantic rats are tyrannical and dangerous, and spiders can go either way.  I sped through the book and was entertained, if not compelled.  It's the pre-teen thing, really, as the books are very much G-rated and--as expected/appropriate--only scratch the surface of complex issues delved deeply into in Collins's other work. There are four more books in the series--the last of which was published in the same year The Hunger Games was released--and I imagine I'll eventually get around to reading them.  Especially if Tracy gets them and loans them to me.