Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane

Title: Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
Category: Fantasy
Grades: 3-7
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic
Date: 2004
Pages: 309

Summary:

Gregor returns to the Underland in search of his baby sister, Boots, who was kidnapped by the roaches.  Once in Regalia, Gregor finds himself ensnared in a second prophecy, the Prophecy of Bane, in which Gregor is sent on a quest to find and kill the Bane, a rare white rat the gnawers believe will lead them to victory over the Underland.  Along with his friends and Twitchtip, a rat with amazing scent abilities, Gregor attempts to find and slay the Bane.  When Boots is lost and presumed dead along the way, Gregor is determined to have vengeance against the rats at any cost… until he discovers the “Bane” is nothing more than a tiny baby itself.

Review:
Collins does not shy from giving her characters troubling moral dilemmas, and her handling of Gregor in this sequel is masterful.  Faced with several events that impact him greatly, Gregor is forced to come right up against the question of “When is it right to do wrong?” and “How much wrong is okay even in the name of right?”  With Twitchtip, Collins continues to pursue the idea of judging others on their own merits, not because of their “species,” a strong anti-prejudice message sure to leave an impact.  In spite of the strong themes Collins injects into her writing, Prophecy of Bane will not disappoint readers of the first book.  It contains the same colorful array of characters and settings, and the same action-packed, fast-paced plot readers warmed to in the first book.