Okay, so after finishing Gregor the Overlander, I couldn’t wait to get to the second installment. I was left wondering at the aftereffects of Gregor’s return. How did he tell his mom about his adventures and how did she react? By the end of the first book I was just as worried as Gregor was about his return. Unfortunately, home life hasn’t gotten any easier for Gregor and his family. Economically, they’re still struggling and emotionally they’re still dealing with the mysterious happenings of Underland. Fortunately, despite the struggles Gregor still remains a thoughtful and responsible young man. I seriously want to hug this character! I love how he takes care of everyone, especially his little sisters.
Despite Gregor’s return and the sealing of the laundry grate, the past adventures of Overland still hangs over the family. Gregor begins to find little roaches in the apartment and hear scratching inside the walls. He knows there is this ‘Prophecy of Bane’ hanging over his head, yet he hopes to never see Underland ever again. Fortunately for us readers that is not meant to be :) Yet again, Gregor finds himself in Underland after the roaches “kidnap” their princess Boots. In this adventure Gregor finds himself facing off the rats once again in an effort to save the kingdom by finding a white rat named the Bane.
In this second book, we have some of the old characters who survived the trip like Ares, Luxa and her bat Aurora, Vikus and Solovet and even Ripred. We also meet some new ones. Luxa’s cousins from the non-royal side are rather interesting along with a new rat named Twitchtip. While Gregor’s adventure in this book was fun, I really found the secondary character stories more interesting. This second book has plenty of adventure and suspense, but it seemed like the focus was with dealing and overcoming the losses and emotions that occurred during the first adventure. I must say that Collins has a way of writing very relatable and emotional characters. Also, she is able to inject moral lessons easily into the story. Again, we have a story filled with the importance of family, friendship, love and working together in a cool adventurous story. Can’t wait to read the third book!