The Underland Chronicles

The Underland Chronicles is a series of five epic fantasy novels by Suzanne Collins, first published between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of a boy named Gregor and his adventures in the "Underland", a subterranean world located under New York City. The Underland is inhabited by humans who traveled below hundreds of years ago, along with various giant versions of creatures like bats, cockroaches, and rats. According to the author, the series involves many topics relating to war, including biological warfare, genocide, and military intelligence. While not as well known as the author's subsequent Hunger Games trilogy, it has been reviewed favorably by many critics.

Books

Gregor the Overlander

Eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister Boots fall through a vent in the their apartment basement and find themselves in a strange place called the Underland, inhabited by giant animals and pale humans. The Underlanders name Gregor "the warrior" and Boots the "princess" of a prophecy written hundreds of years ago by their founder, Bartholomew of Sandwich. Gregor must go on a quest mentioned in the prophecy to save his lost father, a PoW in a war between the humans and the "gnawers".