Gone by Michael Grant
pages: 558
released: June 2008
publisher: HarperTeen
cover love: ♥♥♥
In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE. Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what’s happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents–unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers–that grow stronger by the day. It’s a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else…(from goodreads)
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON 1/26/2013 ON BOOKSLIKESTARS.NET
Review:
The back cover on my copy of Gone, describes it as “Lord of the Flies meets X-Men”. Which after reading, I can agree that’s a pretty accurate description. Sam, Astrid, Quinn and every other kid under the age of 14 are forced to deal with the new reality that adults no longer exists and they are stuck inside an invisible dome covering the city of Perdido Beach, California. No way out. No contact with the outside world. And some kids, like Sam, have developed mutant powers allowing them to burn through walls, teleport and move things with their minds. Their first concern is keeping every one from starving and having order to minimize violence. But once the students from Coates Academy, a private school for the privileged and the troubled arrive in town, the power struggle begins. And a war is brewing.
At almost 600 pages, Gone is one hefty read! But the pace is lightning fast. Michael Grant never left much room for peace and quiet in Perdido Beach so you’re constantly turning the pages. There never seemed like a good point in the story to the put the book down and come back later. At times, I couldn’t believe what these kids had to go through, especially Sam. The kids look up to him as a natural leader, expecting him to give them guidance and hope but Sam himself is scared of what’s going to happen and doesn’t know if he can handle the responsibility. He has strange powers that he can’t control and with his birthday right around the corner, he knows he’s going to disappear once he turns 15. He also has the Coates crew to deal with and with the leader, Caine, having a very particular interest in him.
I wasn’t a big fan of the writing style. It was simple, basic and didn’t give the characters much depth from what I read. A lot of the dialogue felt very awkward too. But the story was soooo good and that’s what made me keep reading and give it a great rating. It was an exciting book and at times gritty but not over the top disgusting. I felt like the author wanted to show some important and realistic aspects that would happen if kids were left to fend for themselves but didn’t take it to the extent where this book would be geared towards an older teen crowd. So a twelve year old could definitely read this book.
Overall, Gone was fantastic. You can’t really fit it one genre because it’s a little dystopian, a little supernatural and a little sci-fi. And me being me, I love things that don’t fit in one category. I would have preferred the writing to be much better but the action, the plot, and the suspense is really where this book worked its magic over me. So one book down, five to go!
4
