Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams (472 pages)
As you can tell from the fact that I haven’t posted a review in almost two weeks, this book took me a while to finish! At almost 500 pages, it’s definitely not a quick read. I picked this book up because it is marketed as “an international bestseller” and “soon to be a major motion picture” and I wanted to see if it lived up to its hype. For me, though, it did not. It seemed to be a knock-off of other more popular stories including The City of Ember and Gregor the Overlander. The premise is that a boy and his father enjoy digging tunnels underneath their England town only to discover a hidden city beneath the ground. The underground city is dangerous and full of evil-doers who do not want to be revealed to the “topsoilers” above. The boy, Will, and his friend, Chester, delve deep into the underground city searching for Will’s father, who has gone missing. The story doesn’t move at a quick pace, so I found myself losing interest. It wasn’t my favorite - but there are a few students who have read this and loved it! So, you’ll have to read it for yourself to make an informed decision!
Miss Simer’s Rating: **1/2
