Gregor the Overlander: the lesser-known Suzanne Collins series
When you say "Suzanne Collins", most people instantly go to The Hunger Games in their heads. The Hunger Games series is great and obviously that's what Suzanne Collins most famous for. But it's truly surprising, the amount of people who don't know about her series for Middle Grade readers, the Underland Chronicles.
(What's not surprising is that most people don't know that Suzanne Collins started out writing for Nickelodeon. She wrote for that adorable show about the lovable blue octopus named Oswald before she went on to write the Underland Chronicles The Hunger Games. Figures.)
If you think that Suzanne Collins is a great writer, but couldn't quite stomach The Hunger Games (no pun intended)--read Gregor the Overlander. Her writing is of the same superb quality and there is no mature content to worry about for younger readers. Our whole family loves this series, regardless of age difference. It's exciting and funny, full of memorable characters and virtuous endeavors.
That being said, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when passing this series on to a kid.
Violence:
Gregor is the legendary "Warrior"--so naturally, these stories include war. Battles rage from Book 1 on to the final chapters of Gregor and the Code of Claw. This is real violence. People characters are close to die and it's heart-wrenching. While it's not gratuitous, the violence is graphic where is exists. The Underland's giant, talking rats are particularly ruthless, often threatening to rip out throats and bite off heads.
It's gets even worse for Gregor when he discovers that he's a Rager--essentially a natural killing machine. Sometimes in the heat of battle, his body goes into intense survival-mode and he demolishes the enemy. This really disturbs him, though it comes in handy while fighting off an army of snakes.
Gregor, your typical 12-year-old boy from NYC, is exposed to death, blood and fear on his adventures--things which do not leave him psychologically unscathed. By the end of the series, Gregor is scarred, physically and mentally. While we are not blatantly told so, he clearly exhibits symptoms of PTSD after the most intense battles and losses.
Miscellaneous:
In the first book, Gregor's father is missing. He's been missing for years and no one knows where he is (we later find out that he's been trapped in the Underland). Gregor reflects at one point that some people speculated on his father's disappearance having something to do with another woman. This is only mentioned once and it is brief.
There's a kiss, in the later books. They're like, thirteen. Weird.
What makes it so great?
It's funny. The humor is dry and subtle and we have some really great sarcastic characters who break the tension. We've also got these humorous moments where Gregor has to stop everything and go change his sister's diaper.
Gregor's got a great relationship with his family. He stays home from summer camp to take care of his grandma, he travels to the darkest ends of the Underland to save his mom and dad, and after all that, he comes home and works for the lady in the apartment upstairs to pay for his family's groceries. He loves his siblings, which we see from him caring for his youngest sister, Boots, and dutifully changing her diapers while on his adventures. He's always worrying about his family, especially his sister Lizzy who frequently suffers panic attacks.
There are also great friendships. Gregor has a terribly rocky relationship at first with the Underland's young queen, Luxa, but it later improves and as they share experiences, they become dependent on one another. Their relationship shifts from a grudging alliance to a true friendship. Similarly, Gregor is stubbornly reluctant to trust the giant rat (or Gnawer, as they're known in the Underland), Ripred, who seems brutal and heartless. Ripred later becomes a sort of annoying mentor to Gregor (a bit like Haymitch from The Hunger Games). Gregor bonds to the giant bat (or Flier) of someone who betrayed him, in order to save the Flier from execution. The two later become inseparable.
There is such bravery in this series. Gregor's only 12-years-old. He's scared and often irritated with the prophecies that are currently dictating his life, but he keeps doing what is right. He keeps fighting for the people and world he loves, even when his own death is prophesied. In addition--it takes bravery to forgive, and Ripred is a prime example of this: he forgives and even fights beside the man responsible for his wife's and children's deaths.
The policy in our family is that once you've seen Aragorn massacre an army of Uruk-hai, mild violence in books isn't really something we worry about. The violence in the Underland Chronicles is the first thing I point out to people when recommending this series. However, it's not so bad that our youngest sibling couldn't read it when he was 8-years-old. He absolutely loved it. The reading level spans so many ages, too; our dad frequently quotes the Underland farewell, "Fly you high".
In conclusion: I personally love The Hunger Games, though I know that some people don't like the idea of it. If you didn't like The Hunger Games, don't turn your back on Suzanne Collins entirely: the Underland Chronicles are clean and absolutely brilliant and gripping. I would recommend them to anybody.
Suzanne Collins has come a long way from her Oswald days.