A world war is coming to the Underland signified by the appearance of a giant white rat, the Bane. Only one person can kill it. Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane is second in the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins and, at the end of the first book, hero Gregor knew he would one day have to return to Regalia from New York City. He just didn’t expect it to be so quickly. This inventive series takes Gregor on another death-defying adventure below ground, this time with favourite characters from the previous book unable to accompany him but travelling alongside people his either distrusts, or dislikes. This series is said to be for tweens and teens but the issues tackled will resonate with many families and adults: learn to live together, don’t judge others on appearance, don’t jump to conclusions, don’t patronise, always listen, that because someone looks scary or different or unattractive doesn’t mean they’re not a person in their own right with feelings.
Gregor’s band on this quest includes his newly-bonded bat Ares, an outcast since Gregor’s last trip below ground; two irritating and selfish fireflies, Photos Glow-Glow and Zap; and a quiet rat called Twitchtip, a scent seer who can navigate in total dark by scent alone and even distinguish colour. As always, little sister Boots adds the giggles. Again they follow a cryptic prophecy which says Gregor the ‘warrior’ must kill the white rat Bane or his baby will die; Gregor understands that ‘baby’ means Boots. If Gregor fails, Boots will die, the rats will win the Underland war and all the people and creatures will be killed. Gregor can’t sleep, worrying about how he might have to tell his parents that Boots is dead.
Collins writes in a simple style to be accessible to her younger readers but her plotting and characterisation are adult-level. The threat to characters we learn to love [yes, even the roaches] feels very real and the action is often violent. There are twists and turns, outcomes that make you gasp, characters that defy expectation and new terrifying enemies.
Just as exciting as the first book, Gregor the Overlander.
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Here’s my review of GREGOR THE OVERLANDER [#1 UNDERLAND CHRONICLES]

Read the first paragraph of THE HUNGER GAMES, also by Suzanne Collins.

If you like this, try:-
‘The Queen of the Tearling’ by Erika Johansen [#1Tearling]
‘Insurgent’ by Veronica Roth [#2Divergent]
‘The Winter of the Witch’ by Katherine Arden [#3Winternight]

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview GREGOR AND THE PROPHECY OF BANE by Suzanne Collins https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-6GZ via @SandraDanby

COMING SOON… THE NEXT BOOK I REVIEW WILL BE:-