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Age Appropriateness: Intermediate
Review/ Critique: This is was a great book about mythology being intermixed in which the main character Owen Brown and his friends face many challenges to get their friend Dana back, who was captured by someone and take to the Under World. At the end of the book the characters are caught up in a big adventure which they will have to conquer. This was a good fantasy short chapter book. It implemented many aspects which were unreal about mythology but had a good way of bringing the reader in by combining it and making applicable to the targeted audience by mentioning how the main character was a student who had a particular skill which in the end helped him accomplish many tasks.

This is the first book in the Underworld series. This is a beginning chapter book fantasy series that has four books in it. I read this with my 7 year old son. Actually he read the book out loud to me over a couple of months. I have been reading more and more beginning chapter books with him and I have to say this is one of the best ones we have read.

Owen is just your average fourth grader until his best friend Dana disappears into the ground...literally. Owen, along with his friends Jon and Sydney, find out there is a lot more underneath their school then they first thought. In fact there is a whole Underworld down there and Owen and friends will have to face a number of dangerous mythological creatures to finally win Dana back.

There is a lot of humor in here, but it's smart humor not slapstick humor (okay there is some slapstick humor) like a lot of books this level feature. There is also some wonderful mythology and lots of action. The characters are loyal to each other and fun to read about.

I highly recommend this if you have a kid that is starting to read chapter books who loves fantasy. It was very well done. The story is going to be a bit too simple for adults. However, I still did really enjoy it...I was actually surprised at how much I was engaged in the story and eager to hear what would happen next.

Tony Abbott also writes the Secrets of Droon series, which my son loves. Unfortunately listening to him read the Secrets of Droon drives me nuts, it is just such an easy level that the language sounds unnatural and the stories are incredibly simple.

The Underworld series is definitely a harder reading level than the Secrets of Droon. It is slightly harder than The Magic Treehouse series as well. However with some help my 2nd grader was able to get through this fine. This is a great transition series for kids who are getting bored with the easier beginning chapter book but not quite ready to move on to full size middle grade novels like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.

Overall I absolutely loved this beginning chapter book! There is a fun story here with lots of humor, some excellent mythology, wonderful characters, and a great plot. Highly recommended to those who are transitioning from beginning chapter books to middle grade novels. ( )

Owen Brown is your average fourth grader. Or he was, until his best friend, Dana, disappeared. She disappeared right in front of his face - through the floor of the school! Owen's average life was turned upside down. He was determined to find Dana before anyone realizes she was missing. Owen sets out on a mysterious, mythological rescue mission with his friends, Jon and Sydney. He fights Argus, Cerberus, Myrmidon, Loki, and the Fenrir. But, what none of them know is that Dana's disappearance is part of a much larger riddle, and they're at the center of it.

Underworlds was a great book. It sent my heart pounding, and I only put it down when I had to do so. Including Norse and Greek mythology in one book was an awesome idea. I love mythology, so this book really suited me. I can't wait to read the next book in this series. I think it has cyclopses, which are really cool. I would recommend this book to other students. ( )