Tag Archives: children’s fiction

#BookReview ‘Gregor and the Code of Claw’ by Suzanne Collins #fantasy #adventure

5 Replies

Gregor and the Code of Claw is the fifth and final book in the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins. From the first page there is no preamble, no explanation of the back story. If you’ve got this far in the series, you know who Gregor is, where he is, and you know that what happens next may kill him. If you don’t know what I mean, start at the beginning with Gregor the Overlander. Suzanne CollinsGregor could turn his back on the Underland, ignore his destiny and return safe to the New York streets above. He could, but will he? Of course not. An army of rats is closing on Regalia, deep beneath the New York streets, and Gregor cannot abandon his friends. This is the war to end all wars. Central to the defence of Regalia – where the humans have put aside generational divisions to join with their allies; bats, mice, spiders, cockroaches and Ripred the rebel rat – is breaking the rats’ version of the Enigma code. If the humans can unlock the Code of Claw and read the rats’ military messages, they believe they can win the war. According to a prophecy the Princess, who everyone says is Gregor’s youngest sister Boots, will unlock the code. But Boots is causing chaos in the code room until Lizzie, Gregor’s other sister, arrives.
This is a fast-moving story of war and it doesn’t all go Gregor’s way. He’s struggling to be what everyone expects him to be, the Warrior who will save Regalia. At last he has achieved some level of competency at echolocation, useful when fighting in the dark, but he is deemed a limited fighter as he only uses his right hand. His relationship with his bonded bat, Ares, another outsider in Regalia, is close and touching. So is his growing closeness with Luxa. There is also the verbal jousting with Ripred to enjoy.
The final battle is, inevitably, Gregor versus the Bane. The white baby rat which made its appearance in the second book in the series is now a mad giant. How can Gregor defeat him?
Collins doesn’t shy away from the brutality of war, or sad endings, and some favourite characters are lost. There are spies, traitors and resistance fighters, lots of blood and strange animal fluids, and some pretty gruesome injuries. And like life, the ending does not have neat conclusions.
An inventive series that brings adult themes of war, death and betrayal plus love, loyalty, bravery and friendship, to a tweens audience. Well written and thought-provoking.

Here are my reviews of the first four books in the series:-
GREGOR THE OVERLANDER #1UNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE PROPHECY OF BANE #2UNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE CURSE OF THE WARMBLOODS #3UNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE MARKS OF SECRET BY SUZANNE COLLINS #4THEUNDERLANDCHRONICLES

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

If you like this, try:-
‘Viper’s Daughter’ by Michelle Paver #7WOLFBROTHER
‘Dark Earth’ by Rebecca Stott
‘The Bear and the Nightingale’ by Katherine Arden #1WINTERNIGHT

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview GREGOR AND THE CODE OF CLAW by Suzanne Collins https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7zj via @SandraDanby

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

#BookReview ‘Gregor and the Marks of Secret’ by Suzanne Collins #fantasy #adventure

5 Replies

Gregor is a ‘rager,’ a sort of super fighter. And he needs to be because war is coming to the Underland. Gregor and the Marks of Secret is fourth in the Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins and it moves at breakneck speed to the last page and the next book, the last in the series. Suzanne CollinsCan teenager Gregor save Regalia. Can he become the hero that everyone excepts him to be. Will he stay, or escape Regalia back up to the streets of New York above. He won’t because he must fulfil the prophecies that mention his name, because he cannot leave behind his friends and his sister Boots, because he must fight against wrong. Gregor is an everyman hero, an ordinary boy thrown into extraordinary situations who makes unexpected friends, some enemies who become allies. He struggles with the strangeness of the Underland society with its medieval courtesies, legends and prophecies, threatening jungle and caves, rivers and caverns. Of course he will stay and fight, a fact accepted by all those who face invasion of their home. ‘He would fight because he could think of no other option.’
When the nibblers return the crown to Luxa, it is a sign, a cry for help. Could their attacker be the Bane, the white rat featured in the second book of the series. Answering the plea for help, the group of friends – lead by Luxa, her cousins Howard and Hazard, with Gregor and Boots and beings familiar from the earlier books, the bats Ares, Aurora and Nike, cockroach Temp and rat Ripred – pretend to go on a picnic and instead fly into danger. When they see a strange mark Hazard explains it is a mark of secret, a prediction of death for whoever reads it. They journey to a mice colony at the Fount but they have disappeared, next tracking the nibblers further into dangerous territory where they face death.
Another strong tale of quest, danger predictable and unseen, the strength and power of bonded characters, the waste of misguided presumptions about characters and species unknown, and the bravery of a band united with a common goal.
Bring on book five, Gregor and the Code of Claw. Read these books with a child, read them by yourself. A reminder that family is where you find it, family can be made of many shapes and beings, and that your life is what you make of it. Will Gregor and Luxa find the strength within to fight their common enemy… great stuff.

Here are my reviews of the other books in the series:-
GREGOR THE OVERLANDER #1UNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE PROPHECY OF BANE #2UNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE CURSE OF THE WARMBLOODS BY SUZANNE COLLINS #3THEUNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE CODE OF CLAW #5UNDERLANDCHRONICLES

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

If you like this, try:-
‘The Magician’s Land’ by Lev Grossman #3THEMAGICIANS
‘Holes’ by Louis Sachar
‘The Outsiders’ by Michelle Paver #1GodsandWarriors

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview GREGOR AND THE MARKS OF SECRET by Suzanne Collins https://wp.me/p2ZHJe-7b7 via @SandraDanby

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

#BookReview ‘Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane’ by Suzanne Collins #fantasy #adventure

6 Replies

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. Suzanne CollinsThis 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.

Here are my reviews of the other books in the series:-
GREGOR THE OVERLANDER #1UNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE CURSE OF THE WARMBLOODS #3UNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE MARKS OF SECRET BY SUZANNE COLLINS #4THEUNDERLANDCHRONICLES
GREGOR AND THE CODE OF CLAW #5UNDERLANDCHRONICLES

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

If you like this, try:-
‘Beneath the Keep’ by Erika Johansen #PREQUELTEARLING
‘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:- Bella Ellis

An old book: Treasure Island

2 Replies

treasure island - green book 30-5-13This copy was my father’s. It is from Collins’ ‘Laurel & Gold’ series, measures 16x11cm so fits easily into a pocket, and is bound in a pale green linen. chapter one 30-5-13In 1933 my father was nine. It is inscribed in pencil with his name and the date which makes it a second edition; the first was printed May 1931, the second January 1932. the inscription 30-5-13 title page 30-5-13I especially like the poem ‘To the Hesitating Purchaser.’ Perhaps today’s books should feature a similar ode.to the hesitating purchaser 30-5-13‘Treasure Island’ by Robert Louis Stevenson

Great opening paragraph… 17

Leave a reply

The hobbit - JRR Tolkein 4-5-13
“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort.”
‘The Hobbit’ by JRR Tolkein