The Groundworld Heroes

(NOTE: I was given an advanced reader copy but all opinions are my own.)

One universal story plot includes: the good guys. the bad guys, the bad guys going after the good guys, the plot thickens, almost all is lost, then the good guys win (hopefully). The fantasy book  The Groundworld Heroes by Adrian So follows that plot line — with a wonderful twist at the end. (Good unexpected endings are awesome.)

This book is set in Soiland, home to a menagerie of citizens: moles gophers jerboas, meerkats, rabbits, anteaters, marmots, aardvarks, shrews, porcupines, badgers, and hedgehogs. (When our youngest son was a senior in high school, he wanted a hedgehog for Christmas. They are so cute! I was on the verge of getting one for him until I realized that he would soon graduate, head off to college, and leave the hedgehog for me to take care of. Needless to say, I didn’t get one for him for Christmas.)

The citizens of Soiland (the good guys) lived peacefully until some humans (5 bad guys) started digging up the tunnels in Soiland. Those humans wanted to capture its citizens and rid the area of those varmints.

As the bad guys dug into the ground, the citizens fled their fair land seeking safety in deeper tunnels. During the ensuing panic to leave, Connor (a meerkat) was injured. His fearful friend, Benjamin (a Junior Digger mole) scurried away, leaving Connor behind.

Here’s where the plot thickens. The Soilanders ended up in Puddleland. The king of Puddleland sent an army of armadillos to attack the Soilanders. The Soilanders were captured and the queen of Puddleland demanded the Soilanders be thrust into jail. Gasp!

Meanwhile, Benjamin felt bad for leaving his injured friend behind. He went back to find and rescue Connor.

The Puddlelanders decided that the Soilanders were peaceful. (Hip hip hooray!) They joined forces and went back to Soiland to fight the bad guys (the humans). The good guys win and Benjamin saves Connor. Huzzah! (I’m not going to tell you about the surprise ending. You’ll have to get the book and read it to find out.)

This is just the barebones about the plot. There’s lots more to it — like fireflies lighting the way for the Soilanders; a tarantula biting Benjamin (oh no!); and a dragonfly fossil (a family heirloom that great-great-great-great-great-great grandma got as a wedding gift).

Now that you know a little bit about the book, let me tell you about Adrian So, the author. Adrian is a fourteen-year old immigrant to the United States. During COVID, his classes were online. He still had lots of free time so his parents suggested that he start writing to improve his English. (Chinese is his native tongue.)

One day, he sat down with his laptop and wrote 3 chapters. (I asked him where he got the idea for his book. He said it came from working in the backyard with his family and seeing some creatures who lived underground there.) Writing became his new hobby. He is currently writing his second book.

When learning a different language, a person’s vocabulary level at first is basic and is comprised of simple words. The more a person learns the language, the bigger, better vocabulary he gets. I think that writing definitely improved Adrian’s English because many of the words he used go beyond the basics — words like insubordination, loamy, cavort, realms, scrumptious, plummeted, horrendous, vengeful, scrabbling, clambered, burly, and dislodged. Those are awesome words!

In addition to using fabulous words, Adrian shows a great sense of humor and creativity in his word choices: mole-ments, nibble-able carrots, Bin of Gross Stuff, Protect-The-Whole-of-A-Mole Seatbelt, the Whizzy Fizzy Speed Machine (a toy airplane that gets huge by pushing a button on it), Cheese Smoothie (Ingredients: Cheese, Cheese, and more chunks of Cheese), and Insecteria (a restaurant that serves a to-die-for black ant soup).

He also uses fun names for his characters: Quillbur (a hedgehog and this is my favorite!) Oren Oversizedpants (a human) Your Cheesy Goodness (the mean queen), and Gordon Goggles (another human). The author, Roald Dahl, influenced Adrian by his (Dahl’s) storytelling and humor. (Dahl’s humor definitely rubbed off on Adrian!)

So. Grandmas. If you have a grandchild between the ages of eight and twelve, this would be a fun book to get for them. They would love it!

The Groundworld Heroes by Adrian So will be available on Amazon in August.