The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins is a series that follows the adventures of Gregor. When Gregor and his sister Boots fall through a grate in his apartment building they find an underland world filled with giant talking bats, cockroaches, spiders, evil rats and an entire human civilization. After his arrival Gregor is told that a profit foretold his arrival and he is destined to be the warrior that will save the human race. The five books chronicle the adventures of Gregor, his sister Boots, a giant cockroach named Temp, the underland princess Luxa, Gregor's bat Aries and Ripred a "rager" rat who is working with the humans as they fight the rats.
This series is fantastic. Each book features an element of warfare, rescuing a prisoner of war, assassination, genocide, chemical warfare and military intelligence. The elements of PTSD and the repercussions of such violence are also included. These heavy topics are woven masterfully into a beautiful fantasy world with a brave hero and great friends in a way that makes them very accessible for kids.
Appropriateness: This is a fantastic series for the 10-14 year old audience and it is a series that will speak strongly to boys (although there are also great female characters that girls will love). The book is fairly violent (lots of sword fights) and there are some sections in the later books that sensitive kids may find upsetting (I cried in a section of the fourth book), this is a civilization at war and there are casualties on both sides. The lexile for the books is around 630 putting the books at a fifth grade level.
