Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Rats, Bats, and Cockroaches, Oh, My!: A Writer’s Review of the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins



Flashplot: This five-book fantasy series follows the formula of many middle grade/YA quest fantasies: Young boy living less than desirable life in our world suddenly finds himself in a fantasy world where he’s prophesied to save the day. He makes allies and enemies, looses mentors, and falls in love.

As a reader: Despite following the formula of such series, Gregor the Overlander is a creative and entertaining set of books for young readers. I found it took a while to connect with the main protagonist, Gregor. He seemed flat and a bit void of the emotional responses readers would expect from a character undergoing the trials he was facing. But as the first book reaches its climax, Gregor begins to sound like the eleven-year-old boy he is. The plots of these books also improve as the series progresses. I enjoyed the first two books of the series from the viewpoint of a teacher, but felt, unlike Collins’ newer series, they lacked the more adult themes that gave the Hunger Games a wider appeal. In the final books of the Overlander series, though, Collins definitely addresses the universal themes of oppression, racism, and leadership—all through characters made up of rats, bats, fireflies, and the occasional human. This is a series both parents and children will enjoy!

As a writer: While it took me a awhile to see Gregor as a rounded character, it took me surprisingly little time to picture the world into which he fell. Collins’ is a master world builder. Within the first chapters readers will find themselves not only able to picture the giant cockroaches that make up one set of characters, but will also fall in love with them for their backwards speech patterns and loving nature. I also admired Collins’ ability to develop the character of Boots. It is extremely hard to make a toddler both realistic and interesting to an older audience. Boots could have become an annoying or flat character hindering middle grade readers enjoyment of the story, but in Collins’ hands she becomes a lovable and rather round little tyke.

Bottom line:  At the middle school where I teach, I ran the summer reading group for book one in this series. Of the nearly forty students who read it, three-quarters chose to read the rest of the series—over their summer vacations, without their parents forcing them. I think that says more than anything I could put in a review!



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