Adventure, friendship, bravery, teamwork, and survival: The Groundworld Heroes has all that and more. Wacky humor also fills the pages of this entertaining story.
There is an entire world living beneath the ground, and Adrian So vividly brings this world to life. All is peaceful in Soiland until the humans burst through the soil with their machinery to stop its underground inhabitants from stealing the veggies from their gardens. The humans are intent on destroying this underground world, and chaos ensues as the inhabitants of Soiland flee for their safety. This is where the adventure begins.
Benjamin Mole, a junior mole digger, and the other moles begin digging a new tunnel to escape, but Benjamin stops when he is distracted by finding a dragonfly fossil. And dragonfly fossils are special, so he takes it to be identified. You will find out why they are special later on in the book. But by doing this, he is separated from the rest of the citizens as theyβve already evacuated. As he is trying to catch up to them, he finds an injured meerkat, Connor, and stops to help him. But humans corner them, and he is forced to leave the injured Connor behind.
He finds the rest of the citizens of Soiland when he gets to Puddleland, the land of many cheeses. The king and queen, who likes to be addressed as Her Cheesy Goodness, live in their palace, The Fantastic Parmesan. After a bit of deliberation and a vote by its citizens, they decided to allow them to stay in their land for a bit. But the humans bent on destroying Soiland haven’t given up.
All appears to be lost, and I couldnβt see how this story would end for the citizens of this underground world. But I was pleasantly surprised.
Unique words like bunny-hops, mole-ments, mole-blinks, and more are used throughout the story and add to the culture of this underground world. It wouldn’t surprise me if the readers of this book, especially the younger ones, add these words to their own vocabulary.
The age range given for those who would enjoy this book is from baby to twelve years old, but I disagree with that. This is a delightful book for anyone, no matter how young or old you are. It is clean enough for younger readers and thrilling enough to keep the older readersβ attention.
Once I started reading this book, I purchased from an autographed copy from the author for my granddaughter’s twelfth birthday. She loves to read, and I knew she would really enjoy this book. Was I right? Yes, I was. She was thrilled with it.
If you would like to purchase a copy of this book for yourself or as a gift for someone else, I’ve provided an Amazon link for you below.
Amazon Link: The Groundworld Heroes
Recommended Article: Inspiration and Writing – Guest Post by Adrian So
Favorite Sentences:
There was never a bright day in Soiland for it was thousands of bunny-hops below the humansβ feet.
Ever since the vegetable collectors had made a trip above Groundworld to harvest the humansβ crops, this clan of deadly humans has been full of vengeance.
The walls were stained with insect droppings, and it smelled horrible, much like the animal farts that were used to fuel mudders.
The streets gave off a funky stench of cheese almost as bad as the armadilloβs foot fungus.
New Words Learned:
fromagers β French for cheese makers
jerboas – any of several social nocturnal jumping rodents (family Dipodidae) of arid parts of Asia and northern Africa having a long tail and long hind legs
malodorous – having an unpleasant or offensive odor; smelling bad
About the Author:
Adrian So is a young writer who lives in Canada. In his free time, he likes to read, write, hang out with his gang of crazy friends, and play soccer. He is currently a high school student.
1 comment for “The Groundworld Heroes β a Review”