Hello everyone! You may remember when I posted an image of The Groundworld Heroes, a debut middle grade novel by Stone Soup Book Award finalist Adrian So, to my Instagram, Threads and Twitter in April 2024. In those posts, I announced that I was invited to review an advance reading copy of the book ahead of its release date by Monarch Educational Services. And with the book coming out today, I am happy to share my review! Be sure to get it wherever books are sold! Below is the book’s synopsis:
“An original voice and a fun, funny adventure underground.” – Adam Rex, NYT Bestselling Author of THE TRUE MEANING OF SMEKDAY
When Groundworld is on the brink of extinction, it takes one mole with courage to save the day.
When Benjamin, a junior mole digger, witnesses a human invasion of his homeland, he must find his long-lost courage and unite two culturally distinct realms to fight the intruders and save his kind from extinction. What perils lie before him as he ventures into the unknown? Can Benjamin go up against a rough bunch of illegal animal trappers before it’s too late?
Meet the Groundworld heroes as they defend their country’s sovereignty and save their fellow citizens from capture and extinction.
For fans of Kate Dicamillo and Roald Dahl, you’ll love the heart and storytelling as you dig deep into Adrian So’s underground adventure.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting forever for this mole-ment! Before we begin, I would like to give a heads up to some spoilers to the book. Let’s get our paws all over these pages, shall we?
Background
In August 2023, I received a message from Adrian So, a high school student and writer who lives in Canada. According to the “About The Author” page from The Groundworld Heroes, So likes to “read, write, hang out with his gang of crazy friends, and play soccer” in his free time. So told me that he knew I was an experienced book blogger, and he asked me if I was interested in receiving an eARC (short for electronic advance reading copy) of his book and leaving a review, which at the time was expected to be ready in November or December 2023. Of course, I accepted.
In March 2024, So gave me an update, telling me that he just got his cover finalized. He shared the cover with me, but he urged me not to share it with the public since the cover had not been officially revealed at the time. The next day, So revealed that the cover reveal date will be on April 2 – the same day I posted the cover to my Instagram, Threads and Twitter. Later that month, So gave me the advance reading copy of the book. But how was the book, anyway?
The Review
The book begins with a prologue taking place in Soiland, a democratic subterranean nation with all kinds of rodent species as its inhabitants. Right away, the first thing you’ll notice is clever wordplay on certain words that reference certain animals, usually systems of measurement, units of time, and body parts, such as “bunny-hop” and “mole-ment”, and “paw” instead of “hand”. I found this to be a pretty clever, a decision which shows that the animals’ very language differs from that of humans. The book has no illustrations within the text, but each chapter does begin with a drawing that represents an event that’s happening in the chapter, which I thought was a pretty neat idea.
It’s pretty clear from the beginning of the story that So is a talented worldbuilder. Soiland is just one of many states that exist within Groundworld, which acts as a whole international community underneath the feet of humans, which is a pretty cool idea. It’s also clear that So has done his research on all the different rodent species in the book, from their behaviors to their diets and even their scientific names. This leads to various subtle gross-out moments throughout the book that work because it’s only gross from our perspective. But to the animals, things such as ant soup and fart-powered cars are their way of life. The animals of Groundworld live like humans in many ways, and So comes up with creative ways of designing their societies using the materials that real-world rodents have underground (or in some cases, aboveground).
But all of this isn’t as important as the main character, a mole named Benjamin. He is an underdog whose mother died giving birth to him, and his father died while on a trip to the surface. He seeks to prove himself as a member of the Mole-Digger Team, which use their digging abilities to help expand Soiland, but he doesn’t have many opportunities as a Junior Digger. Not long after that does Soiland get destroyed by humans, who seek revenge against the animals for accidentally messing with their livelihoods while visiting the surface. Immediately, I was reminded of the Roald Dahl book Fantastic Mr. Fox, which has a very similar premise: a fox who steals food from farmers who attempt to ambush him. I could see why Dahl was mentioned in the synopsis now, even if the farmers in Fantastic Mr. Fox were never as successful in ruining Mr. Fox’s life as the humans ruin Benjamin’s here, which is arguably much scarier.
I was a bit taken aback at how little time Soiland gets in the book, given that it’s the home of the main character. But as I kept reading, I began to understand why So made such a bold move. Under the leadership of Soiland’s president, a rabbit named Mr. Hare, the Soilanders are forced to flee their country in search for another safe haven, triggering a humanitarian crisis. I couldn’t help but to see an allegory of real-world humanitarian crises of humans fleeing their own countries due to war or other kinds of conflict. Whether or not this was So’s intention, I found these darker themes pretty fascinating. The Soilanders eventually make their way to another country named Puddleland, an autocratic nation ruled by a cheese-obsessed king mouse and queen mouse. The King is kind and considerate, while the Queen is cruel and ignorant. Their personalities bounce off each other quite nicely, even if the Queen initially outdoes herself in her cruelty.
At first, the Queen openly expresses xenophobic attitudes (a fear of immigrants) towards the Soilanders, another dark theme I found fascinating. But the King convinces her that the Soilanders don’t pose a threat and manages to get the Puddlelanders to vote on whether or not the Soilanders should stay. Luckily, they vote in favor of them staying, suggesting that Puddleland is more of a constitutional monarchy. At that point, it became clear that much of the book was going to be set here, and it made me realize why So gave Soiland such a quick fate: to develop Groundworld as a whole.
One chapter I really like So’s approach to was one titled “The Long, Boring, & Heartbreaking History Of The Great-Great-Great-Great-Great-Greatgrandpa”. It is entirely dedicated to a backstory of how an ancestor of the King found a fossil with mysterious powers that plays an important role in the story. But So is clearly aware of the problems that often come with exposition: an overreliance on it could take attention away from the characters and action. So makes it clear to the reader that they may find the chapter boring in its very title, and the beginning of the next chapter even reveals that the other characters fell asleep listening to the King’s story, which I found hilarious.
Eventually, the humans find their way to Puddleland, who are similarly cruel, rude, wicked and dim-witted like the farmers in Fantastic Mr. Fox. In a story with entirely human characters, these animal trappers would barely pose a threat with how incompetent they are at their jobs. But their enemies are much smaller than them, despite their numerical advantage, making it a surprisingly fair fight. They give very grim, Dahl-like descriptions of what they are going to do to the animals, and the animals give just as grim, Dahl-like descriptions of what the humans are going to do to them. But So also does a good job at conveying the humans’ incompetence, from their hilariously goofy names to a crude drawing of one of the humans that evokes the art style of Quentin Blake (another Dahl parallel). They spend more time arguing then working together, and many of their plans either produce a different outcome than they intended, or work by accident.
Ultimately, the situation presents Benjamin a chance to finally prove himself, which seems to be the theme of the story. It doesn’t directly connect to those darker themes of humanitarian crises and xenophobia, but it works all the same. Benjamin’s arc puts him in a position to gain respect from both the Soilanders and the Puddlelanders, and make a friend by rescuing someone. The humans’ ultimate fate is fairly dark, but it feels justified after all they put the animals through. But Benjamin makes a decision regarding the humans in an epilogue-like extension of the final chapter that really shows just how good of a heart he has. I did come out of the book wondering how the fossil got its powers and why it works the way it does.
Ultimately, The Groundworld Heroes is a good story about believing in yourself in the face of adversity, even when those around you keep telling you that you’re not good enough, or when events happening around you don’t work in your favor until they do. The book’s title page suggests that this is the first in a series, which means that this is probably not the last we’ll see of our titular Groundworld heroes. The series clearly has tons of potential. What other nations possibly exist in Groundworld? How complex are the geopolitics of the world under our feet? I bet So has a long career ahead of him, and I’m looking forward to checking out Benjamin’s next adventure, no matter how many mole-yawns I have to wait.
So, what did you think of my review? Will you be checking out The Groundworld Heroes? I will be posting an edited version of my review of the book to my Goodreads and on its Amazon page shortly. Do you have a children’s book that is about to be released? You can send me an advance reading copy of your book (preferably electronic) for me to leave a review on the book’s release date in a future blog post. You can also send me the book’s cover for me to promote it on my Instagram, Threads and Twitter before its release date. Check the Contact page for more information. Be aware that I prefer to review middle grade, and even then, I may not review every book I receive.
Until then, stay enlightened, educated and entertained, folks.
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