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Audiobook Reviews from Audiobook-Heaven

Gregor the Overlander
by Suzanne Collins
narrated by Paul Boehmer
Series: Underland Chronicles, book 1
Duration: 6 hours, 33 minutes unabridged
Genres: adventure, fantasy, juvenile
Copyright: 2005, Listening Library
Filed in: Audiobook Reviews
Review copy provided by Kearney Public Library

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: When Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats, and cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. A prophecy foretells that Gregor has a role to play in the Underland's uncertain future. Gregor wants no part of it, until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Reluctantly, Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland forever.
©2003 Suzanne Collins; (P)2005 Random House, Inc.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: I don’t know about girls, but what boy hasn’t day-dreamed about falling down a deep hole and having all sorts of adventures in an underground kingdom? I know I did when I was a kid. I read Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth when I was in the third grade and was captivated by it. When I was in high school, I even wrote my own series of adventures about me and some of my friends, after we all fell down a manhole. I wasn’t much of a writer though.
Suzanne Collins, on the other hand, is a very capable writer, and in Gregor the Overlander, she created just the kind of story I would have done myself, had I the ability.
Collins’ underground realm is filled with all the creepy things you might expect to find deep underground; giant rats, bats, spiders, and cockroaches. Only the rats are bad guys though. The bats are good, spiders indifferent, and the cockroaches turn out to be much more heroic than you, or anyone in the story, would have expected.
Suzanne Collins is, of course, the mastermind behind the award-winning Hunger Games. Trilogy, which is what led me to check out some of her other work. I didn’t enjoy Gregor the Overlander as much as The Hunger Games, but only because Gregor seems to be targeted at a slightly younger audience. Gregor himself is eleven and if you know any boys in that age group, I’m sure they will enjoy this a lot.. In its pages, or CD’s, Gregor learns that there are few things in life that are more important than family, and that even a lowly cockroach can be good-hearted and brave.
I recently listened to another audiobook that was narrated by Paul Boehmer, and I enjoyed his narration very much. I’m not sure, however, that Gregor the Overlander was a good fit for him. He didn’t do a bad job, but I can’t say he did a great job either. I think what bothered me the most was when he read the lines for Gregor’s baby sister, Boots. Boots is just learning to talk, and Paul Boehmer was not very convincing in that role, which I’m sure will not cause him to lose any sleep at all.
Gregor the Overlander is a good audiobook for younger readers. There is plenty of action and adventure to fuel their daydreams, and some important life-lessons as well. If you’re an older reader, stick to The Hunger Games.

CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
The City Of Ember by Jeanne Duprau (Audiobook Review)
The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket (Audiobook Review)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Audiobook Review)

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If you like this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get “Gregor the Overlander” by Suzanne Collins (Unabridged Audiobook) from Listening Library.

This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt.
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TAGS audiobook review, audiobook review, gregor the overlander, underland chronicles, Suzanne Collins, paul boehmer, listening library, adventure, fantasy, juvenile