Gregor and the Marks of Secret

This is the 4th book in the Gregor The Underland Chronicles series. My granddaughter continually reminds me to check for the next volume of this particular book series as she loves the adventure. She began reading the series when she was 11. She is now 12 and is as much excited about the Gregor books as she was from the beginning. I've already been asked to check for the 5th book in the series, which I understand is arriving in early 2007. My suggestion would be to make sure to start with the first book in the series as each new book picks up where the other left off leaving readers in suspense and wanting the next book right away. I've listed each title and book number below to help readers and those searching for the next volume as most do not list volume number in the title search. Suzanne Collins has caught the attraction of kids in this series of fantasy adventures which leaves them only wanting more! I highly recommend this book. Below are titles and volume numbers for each book in this series: BOOK ONE IN THE UNDERLAND CHRONICLES TITLE: GREGOR THE OVERLANDER BOOK TWO IN THE UNDERLAND CHRONICLES TITLE: GREGOR AND THE PROPHECY OF BANE BOOK THREE IN THE UNDERLAND CHRONICLES TITLE: GREGOR AND THE CURSE OF THE WARMBLOODS BOOK FOUR IN THE UNDERLAND CHRONICLES TITLE: GREGOR AND THE MARKS OF SECRET BOOK FIVE IN THE UNDERLAND CHRONICLES ** COMING 2007 ** TITLE: GREGOR AND THE CODE OF CLAW

I've really enjoyed reading the underland chronicles. Until this book came out my favorit in the series was "Gregor and the Phrophecy of Bane" but now this is my favorit. Alot of other reviews has kinda told you what happened so I won't repeat it. instead i'll tell you what i think of the book. I think this book is really great. In this book a little romance kinda breacks out. Luxa and Gregor. It also ends with a real hanging ending. I can't wait till the next one! oh and by the way this book says that it is for ages 9 to 12 I wouldn't say that is true. I mean i'm 14 year old boy and I still enjoy reading them. ther're pretty easy reading but very enjoyable. My one problem with this book is Boots. In the first one it seamed kinda stupid to bring Boots on the mission. on the second even dummer since the rats are purposly trieing to kill her. on the third, well let's face it, what could she possibley do to find a cure? and in the fourth she does absulutly nothing except. like someone else said you can only take so many "hi you" or "Ge-gor" it is really dumb and reacks the attempt to make it relistic. This is still a great book it's just Boots can get REALLY anoying. Once again I highly reccomed getting this book but read the other three books first. Mikey Lamb River Falls, WI, USA Age 14

The "Marks of Secret" is a powerful contribution to the already excellent Gregor series. Although Suzanne Collins operates on a smaller scale (and is less interested in the kind of digressions that can flesh out the world and the characters she describes) the Gregor books are every bit as exciting -- with characters who matter and endlessly surprising plots -- as the Harry Potter books. As with J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books that use the magical world as a "safe" dimension within which young people can confront and think about real world problems, the Underland Chronicles raise important questions about violence and war, about the nature of evil, about tyranny and genocide (but also about friendship and love, loyalty and respect, honesty and care) in ways that convey the horror (and importance) of such things but without being overwhelming (or preachy) to young readers. These books would probably be ideal for about the 10-15 age group -- though of course I couldn't wait to get through it as I read it in four nights with my 10 year old daughter. This one is probably the most intense (and darkest) of the lot -- especially as it depicts the rise of a fascistic Rat leader -- but it is never oppressive or dull. The only disappointment was coming to the end. While all the other books felt like they could be continued but were in a way complete, this one clearly ends on a cliffhanger (when I said "The End" my daughter thought I was joking, that it couldn't stop there! and then she started looking at the publication dates of the other Gregor books to try and figure out how long it would take for the next one to appear!) -- if you are impatient like me and my daughter, maybe you should wait until this one comes out in paperback so that at least you will finish much closer to the publication date of the next novel!

My son and I have devoured this series together--there are not many books an 11-year-old boy and his mom can rehash and relive together, outside of Harry Potter and a few others. We are so pleased that the series has remained so outstanding, book after book. It's a delight to find an author who can create new worlds so engagingly and powerfully, and who can sustain both tone and message with each new effort. I'm also reading a Children of the Lamp book, and while it's interesting, it doesn't stick with me when I close the cover the way the Gregor series does, and my son has no use for it. We've been busy discussing the suitability of this series for being made into movies, and hope that Hollywood is paying attention!

...who is hopelessly obsessed with the Gregor series? The only one who puts signs up all over her bedroom announcing RIPRED RULES? The only one who has a bat drawn on the mug-coaster next to her bed? The only one who painstakingly drew computer backgrounds of Hazard and Thalia, Luxa and Aurora, Gregor and Ares, Vikus and Whatshisname, and all the other bats and humans? (I also did a wallpaper of Boots and Temp, since she doesn't have a bond). The only one who would willingly wear a self-made RIPRED RULES or OFF RIDING MY BAT T-shirt to school if the said school didn't have uniforms? The only one who even cares that Gregor and Luxa like each other, that Ripred's the greatest rat EVER -- am I the only one who is completely head-over-heels obsessed with this series? But even through my highly unscientific lenses of obsessed reader, this book was marvelous. Ripred's pitiful condition but eternal sarcasm and hysterical remarks, and Gregor's awkward relationship with Luxa were all great, but I think my favorite part was at the end, when Ripred notices Gregor's feelings about Luxa. (This is paraphrased, forgive me if a word's misplaced.) "Don't bother," said Gregor. "I know what you'll say. The whole thing's stupid." "Quite the contrary," said Ripred. "I was going to say that life is short. There are only a few good things in it, really. Don't pretend that one of them isn't happening." It was absolutely the most un-Ripred-like thing Gregor could have imagined. Yeah, that was my favorite part. I also really liked how the author incorporated the horrors of the Holocaust into the story, to give us Overlanders, who could easily feel nothing for the nibblers as there were never any prominent mice characters, some sort of parallel. Rating: Very Good