Gregor and the Code of Claw facts for kids
Cover of the first edition.
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| Author | Suzanne Collins |
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| Cover artist | Daniel Craig |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Underland Chronicles |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
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Publication date
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2007 |
| Pages | 416 |
| ISBN | 978-0-439-79144-1 |
| OCLC | 66527121 |
| Preceded by | Gregor and the Marks of Secret |
Gregor and the Code of Claw is a children's novel by author Suzanne Collins, best known for her Hunger Games trilogy. It is the fifth and final book of The Underland Chronicles, and was published in 2007. Scholastic has rated the book's "grade level equivalent" as 4.5 and the book's lexile score as 730L, making it reading-level-appropriate for the average fourth to sixth grader. The novel has been praised especially as a conclusion to The Underland Chronicles. In its description of the novel, as part of its "Recommended Books" award, the CCBC states, "Although Gregor and the Code of Claw works as a stand-alone story, readers will want to start with book one and work their way through to this final volume." An audiobook version was released in 2008, read by Paul Boehmer.
Plot summary
Only a few hours have passed since the closing of Gregor and the Marks of Secret, when Gregor returns from the Firelands to warn Regalia of an impending gnawer attack. As the novel opens, Gregor is numb with shock from the Prophecy of Time's apparent prediction of his death. He and his bond Ares disobey Solovet and return to the Firelands to find the terribly ill Luxa, Aurora, and Howard. Gregor rushes his ill friends back to the city for treatment, whereupon Solovet orders him locked in the dungeon for insubordination. He is eventually released by Nerissa to help his sister Boots while the toddler works to fulfill the Prophecy of Time by deciphering the rats' "Code of Claw".
Solovet still wants Gregor imprisoned, until Ripred and Mareth inform her that Gregor has recently developed romantic feelings for Queen Luxa, and would never leave Regalia while she is hospitalized. Shortly after this incident, an upset Gregor is called to the code room for an "emergency with [his] sister", and discovers eight-year-old Lizzie has come to bring him home. When the code team learns that Lizzie has an aptitude for puzzles, Ripred makes the suggestion that she replace Boots. Gregor is desperate to keep his family safe, so he extracts a promise from Ripred to protect them and keep them in the dark about Gregor's impending doom. While Lizzie works on (and ultimately solves) the code, Gregor fights the Bane's armies, struggling all the while to cope with his emotions about Luxa and Sandwich's prophecy.
Shortly before his final confrontation with the Bane, Gregor has all but lost hope for his life. Noticing this, Ripred tells him that he doesn't believe Gregor has to die, because the old rat has never believed in Sandwich's prophetic ability. This revelation inspires Gregor to ultimately defeat the unstable Bane. Two weeks later, a wounded Gregor awakens in the hospital and learns of a series of crushing events. Though the humans routed the rats, Ares died in the Firelands of wounds inflicted by the Bane; Ripred is presumed dead; and Vikus has been partially paralyzed by a stroke brought on by his wife's death.
Though Gregor no longer feels bound by it, many Underlanders wonder how the prophecy can be fulfilled while "the warrior" lives. At the rats' official meeting to discuss terms of surrender, they have their answer. Angered by both a half-dead Ripred and Luxa's readiness to return to war, Gregor breaks Bartholomew of Sandwich's sword on his knees and pronounces the warrior officially dead. Ripred and Luxa, agreeing with Gregor's sentiment, do something unprecedented and bond as a sign of their mutual desire for peace. Afterward, delegates from each species meet to negotiate more a specific treaty while Gregor's family says their good-byes and returns to New York. The novel ends as Gregor's parents discuss a move to Virginia while their children wonder how they can ever forget the Underland. Gregor takes his sisters to the park, where he remains haunted by traumatic memories of the Underland, then notes that Boots has finally learned how to say his name.
Characters
Major characters
- Gregor: The series' protagonist, the Overland "warrior" of Bartholomew of Sandwich's prophecies, and a rager (a warrior with berserker-like fighting ability). Despite his tremendous skills as a fighter, Gregor cares deeply for those around him and tries very hard to retain his humanity during the Underland war. He develops romantic feelings for the Underlander Luxa.
- Ares: A large, very strong black bat and Gregor's bond. Before the war, he was shunned by bats and humans alike for allowing his bond Henry to die. During the war, however, the public's opinion of him begins to change because of his skills as a warrior. Ares is heralded as a hero upon his death in the region known as Tartarus.
- Ripred: A rat, rager, and seasoned warrior. Ripred's immense experience and wisdom lead to his acting as general, strategist, and skilled fighter for the humans. Ripred never loses sight of his own goals, however, which almost restarts the human-gnawer conflict after the end of their war. Ripred becomes fond of Gregor's sister Lizzie, who reminds him of one of his deceased pups, and bonds with Queen Luxa in part because of his concern for her and her family.
- Luxa: The Underlanders' young queen, granddaughter of Solovet and Vikus. Luxa is proud, stubborn, and cares deeply for her friends. Though her friend Gregor admires these traits in general, they are not an asset for her during wartime, and this causes some conflict for her in Gregor and the Code of Claw. Luxa has been bonded to the flier Aurora since childhood, and bonds to the rat Ripred at the end of the novel. She also begins to develop romantic feelings for Gregor.
- Lizzie: Gregor's little sister and "princess" of the prophecy (by her relation to Boots). Lizzie is very bright, but suffers from frequent panic attacks. As such, her older brother worries for her safety and almost refuses to allow her to stay in the Underland. The rat Ripred is mainly responsible for Gregor's change of heart, and promises to protect Lizzie with his life. Lizzie believes Ripred to be lonely, and is heartbroken when she thinks Ripred has died fulfilling his promise. The successful cracking of The Code of Claw is due in large part to her efforts.
- Boots (Margaret): Gregor and Lizzie's toddler sister. She is known by the crawlers as "the princess", which leads the Underland humans to believe she is important to the code-breaking effort. Her greatest importance to the story, however, comes from the contrast she presents between herself and her older brother. Gregor struggles to keep her in the dark about the terrible things going on around her, but is not entirely successful.
- Solovet: The Regalian army's head and wife of statesman Vikus. Gregor distrusts Solovet because of her involvement with the plague, but is forced to obey her orders because of her capability as a military commander. Gregor freely admits that the training she forces on him may have kept him alive, but still hates her for imprisoning him in the Regalian dungeon. Solovet is ambushed while on a diplomatic mission towards the end of the war and dies. Her husband, knowing that he could have saved her at the cost of revealing that the humans solved the Code of Claw, experiences a stroke as a result, and almost dies himself.
- The Bane (Pearlpelt): A highly unstable, gigantic white rat believed to be a harbinger of doom in the Underland. The Bane is emotionally fragile but extremely dangerous, especially when goaded on by his "friend" Twirltongue. He personally kills numerous Underland creatures, including the flier Ares. He is killed by Gregor and Ares in the last few chapters of the novel.
