How I Fell In Love with a Rat (and a Cockroach)



 

I recently read the Gregor The Overlander series. These are some of the best books I have read in a long time! They are by an author you may have heard of, if you read a little known book called The Hunger Games. Her name is Suzanne Collins. I was a little scared to read these books because of my deep, deep love of The Hunger Games, but I was very happy I took the plunge!

 

 

 

You may think this series is for boys because of the boy in the title, but I promise girls will love this just as much as the boys! Gregor is the main character, but there are many female and creature characters. My two favorite characters are the rat Ripred and the cockroach Temp. They are two very unusual creatures, but they both have a heart of gold. You love Temp right away because of his care for Gregor's little sister Boots. You despise Ripred in the beginning, but grow to love him as the series continues, I did anyway! He's an underdog character, my favorite type. I love characters that you don't know what to make of them. Are they nice or are they mean? They grow on you as you get to know them throughout the books.

 

The first book is where Gregor and his sister Boots fall down their laundry vent into the Underland world. In each story after that they have a different challenge to accomplish. In one they save their Dad, who has been missing for years. In another they save the Underworld from a deadly virus. Along the way they meet the many different creatures that make up the Underworld. There are people, bats, rats, cockroaches, spiders, mice and many more. I forgot to mention that all of the creatures are giant sized! They use the bats to get around in the Underland.



I don't think Pie Pie is quite old enough to read this series on her own yet. You have to make your own decisions about when the time is right for your kids to read certain books. We are planning on reading them together after we finish the Harry Potter series.

Don't worry if you are a grown-up, you can join in the adventure of Gregor too!
Young or young-at-heart, I feel these are books anyone can enjoy. They are filled with adventure, mystery, love, suspense and humor.
You may just find you have fallen in love with a rat too!

P.S. I want to say thank you to my friend Nola for suggesting this series to me!