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With his father gone, it falls to eleven-year old Gregor to look after his two-year old sister, Boots, and keep an eye on their senile grandmother, since his mother works long hours to support the family.  On a hot July afternoon Gregor grabs the laundry, and Boots, and heads for the laundry room to get a couple of loads started before his mother gets home but, while he’s busy filling the washing machine, Boots toddles after her ball and gets sucked into the heating vent in the wall.  Horrified, Gregor jumps after her, and finds himself falling, falling into the Underland, a dangerous and exciting world hidden far below the earth’s surface.
Found by giant meter-high talking cockroaches, Gregor fears that he and Boots will be killed, but the little girl is thrilled with the “beeg bugs,” and soon appears to have them captivated.  The roaches take the two children to Regalia, a beautiful underground city which is home to a group of humans whose ancestors followed their leader, Bartholomew of Sandwich, underground some four hundred years previously.
Though the Underlanders and their young Queen, Luxa, treat Gregor and Boots like important guests, and give them rooms in the castle, they make it clear that they expect the two to remain in the Underland.  However Gregor is determined to get himself and Boots home, eager to leave the darkness behind and worried about their mother who has already weathered the disappearance of her husband.  With Boots secure in a pack on his back, Gregor sneaks out of the castle through its water supply, but is caught and almost eaten by giant rats.  They are rescued by the Queen’s guard, and taken back to city, where Gregor learns that the Queen’s advisors believe he is the warrior from the Overland whose actions may save the citizens of Regalia from the armies of the Rat King.  Gregor tries to explain that he is no warrior, and that he lacks the skills and experience they need, but the Underlanders are determined that he will lead the quest that will determine the fate of every creature in the Underland.
Giant talking animals, rats, roaches, spiders and bats, humans grown accustomed to life in a world without sun, cryptic prophecies, a proud and difficult young queen, a sly traitor who plots to overthrow a throne, a fearless and loving two-year old, and an ordinary boy desperate to get his sister safely home; all of these help to make Suzanne Collins’ story a thrilling adventure.  Gregor the Overlander is the first book of the Underland Chronicles.
FernFolio Editor