Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins takes place in New York City with an 11 year old kid, named Gregor, as the main character. Gregor lives in a small apartment with his mother, 8 year-old sister, 3 year-old sister, and his grandma. Gregor's father had disapeared about 2 years ago making his mom, a secretary, support the whole family with her monthly salary. However now, Gregor's family is about to fall apart as Gregor and his baby sister delve into a strange realm miles below the city.
It was a hot August day as Gregor sat at the table wishing he had gone to camp. However, when his father had mysteriously disapeared Gregor had inherited a lot of extra chores, like watching his grandma and Boots, Gregor's 3 year-old sister. Looking for something to break up the monotinous day Gregor decides to take Boots and all the laundry down to the basement where four squat washing machines resided. Down in the basement Gregor watches as Boots runs inbetween the washing machines and thinks of the last time he had been happy." The last time I was truly happy was...before Dad went missing,"thought Gregor. Suddenly a scream drags him back to reality and he races to where he saw Boots last just in time to see Boots fall into a large grate in the wall.
Gregor and Boots fall for several minutes finally landing softly on the stone floor. As Gregor takes in his surroundings he notices the only way out is through a large tunnel so he picks Boots up, and starts to jog down it. After jogging for 10 minutes Gregor begins to see a light ahead and as he runs through it he is deafened by the roar of a large crowd. Looking around, Gregor realizes he had stepped into a form of stadium and is greeted by an elderly man, named Vikus, who says he is in Regalia, city of the humans, as he leads Gregor to a palace built entirely of stone. Once at the palace Vikus tells Gregor of a prophecy about an overlander, a child from above ground, would come to the underland in search of his father.
Gregor, convinced that he is the child, goes on a quest to rescue his father. His father is being held by rats, which are 6 feet tall, and Gregor is forced to befriend giant cockroaches, spiders, and rats if he will be able to rescue his father. As Gregor travels across the Underland he is urged to hurry by the memory of his mother, waiting for her children to come home after days of waiting. Will Gregor be able to make it across the dangerous Underland and save his father in time?
