Book Review: Gregor the Overlander

Synopsis

When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.

Comments

Gregor is a good big brother.  A kind, generous, helpful kid.  Overall, a very good story and appropriate for readers in the younger end of this age-range.  Clear idea of choices and consequences. Strong family theme.

Language

None

Sexual Content

None

Drugs/Alcohol

None

Violence/Disturbing

Descriptions of giant cockroaches, bats, rats, and spiders-but not very scary.
Mild battle scenes, not too much in the way of carnage description.  Stories of rats eating people.  Description of spiders injecting poison into a bug then drinking the liquefied insides.

Social/Family

Grandma described as “slipping in and out of reality”.  Police imply that father has run off with another woman.  Many of Gregor’s friends only living with one parent, so Gregor makes up a story about his parents being divorced and his Dad living in another state.

Religion/Spiritual

Neighbor offers to read tarot cards for Gregor.  Mentions prophesies/visions, term “Nostra”, which literally means “In our time,” but is also a term associated with writings of the Catholic Church.