Gregor and the Code of Claw (Underland Chronicles, Book 5) (original 2007; edition 2007)

The characters in this series are superbly drawn and very loveable.
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I'm moving this to Teen, instead of children's. It's about war. Horrible, violent, gory war. It's exciting, and the action is realistic to the plot--meaning it lets up just long enough for tactical discussion and then starts again.

What I really loved about this series as a whole is that it's a fantasy series with no magic whatsoever. Nobody is getting out of dangerous situations by casting a spell of protection or relocation or anything like that. Characters get themselves out of trouble by either fighting or fleeing, which makes sense when you encounter some giant rats who want to kill you. The rules that govern the worldsetting are clearly defined, and within those rules, everything makes sense. No particular class of characters (the rats, the spiders, the humans, etc) is All Good or All Bad--you can't look at any class and say "oh, they're mice, they're all on our side" or anything like that--each character we meet is an individual with an opinion.

Collins' habit of appending "said ____" to each line of dialogue wears a little, but I'm willing to overlook that, because I really love this series. ( )

I read this series in such quick succession that it makes sense to review them as a group. This is an easy to read, enjoyable series for middle readers. There are strong and somewhat gender-bent male and female protagonists (girls who fight and boys who nurture, for example). As would later be the case in the Hunger Games trilogy, Collins engages in successful world building, with elements of the story that would otherwise be horror catalyzed by humor to become a more benign fantasy. It's fruitful to compare this series to the Hunger Games books. Both feature missing fathers, younger sisters who need to be protected, and a hero caught in a cultural tangle with rules s/he doesn't understand and bigger forces at play. If I had them to read again, I'd read this series first to appreciate Collins's more mature voice and more adult themes in her young adult dystopia.

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There's a reddit thread were OP asked "what books, novels, scraps of literature have you read that affect you profoundly?". Someone answered "Ender's Game. Had to take a nice long walk after that one."

On a scale of one to ten on how long a walk or break I took after finishing this book, ten being an [b:Ender's Game|375802|Ender's Game (Ender's Saga, #1)|Orson Scott Card|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316636769s/375802.jpg|2422333], Gregor and the Code of Claw is a 4 or 5.

When Suzanne Collins writes about war, she writes about it. That War Is Hell. No excuses even if her target audience is Grade 5-8. Pretty sure that if it's for an older audience, she would have written it so that one or two in Gregor's family would be a war casualty. (Oh wait, she did).

Let me take that break again...

The last book to the riveting Gregor the Overlander series. Everyone in the Underland has been taking great pains to keep The Prophecy of Time from Gregor. Gregor knows it must say something awful but he never imagined just how awful: it calls for the warrior's death. In the Overland Gregor’s dad and grandmother’s health isn’t looking too good while Gregor’s mother is sick and has been sent to another kingdom.Now, with an army of rats approaching and his mum and sister still in Regalia, Gregor the warrior must gather up his courage to help defend Regalia and get his family home safely. War is raging in the Underland and the entire existence of the Underland is in Gregor's hands, and time is running out. There is a code to be cracked, Gregor, his sisters Boots and Liz must crack the rat’s communicating and secret language. Also in this book is a mysterious new princess, Gregor's burgeoning dark side, and a war to end all wars. Gregor must defeat the Bane a big rat that is like ten feet tall and has a sheer hatred of humans. Gregor had already fought the Bane, hurting him badly and he is now hiding in the caves. However the Bane is still deemed the leader and the rats under his command are still inflicting pain and suffering. To put an end to all the carnage, Gregor and his bat Ares seek to kill the Bane, Ares held off the Bane long enough for Gregor to kill it, but later he died. Now that the rats didn’t have a leader any more the war was pretty much over. This book looks at stepping up to the mark, taking on responsibility, resourcefulness and overcoming obstacles. ( )