Fantastic Firsts #3 - Gregor the Overlander

Collins, Suzanne. Gregor the Overlander. New York: Scholastic Press, 2003.

I don't know about you, but every time I read the title, I get Depeche Mode's "John the Revelator" stuck in my head:
Well who's that shouting?
Gregor the Overlander!
All he ever gives us is pain
Well who's that shouting?
Gregor the Overlander!
He should bow his head in shame

I probably have issues ... but on to the book! Gregor the Overlander is part Alice in Wonderland, part Neverwhere, and pretty much all fantastic.

Two years, seven months, and thirteen days after his father disapears, 11 year old Gregor is doing laundry with his baby sister Boots. Being of that exploratory age, Boots finds that one of the grates opens, and when Gregor rushes to stop her from falling, they are both sucked down into the Underland - a land miles and miles below the surface of the earth. There they meet giant cockroaches (crawlers), rats (gnawers), bats (flyers), spiders (spinners), as well as an entire city full of humans. After being taken in by the humans, Gregor discovers that he just might be the fufillment of a prophesy, and that his father is being held captive by the rats. Thus he sets out on a perlious journey to save his father, and if the prophesy happens to follow him, so be it.

Gregor the Overlander was great. The character of Boots is just full of that childish wisdom that I'm a sucker for, and the characters are brilliantly done. I was finishing up this book just before class one night and I ended up sobbing right there in the hallway, because I really just loved all the characters.

I've had a rough week, so this review is going to be a bit short, but definately check this one out! I very much enjoyed it!