GONE
In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. There are teens, but not one single adult. 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. . . .
AUTHOR: MICHAEL GRANT
Gone is the first in a series of YA of six novels which pitches a group of young people against forces they can’t begin to understand and ultimately each other. Once again we have Lord of the Flies meets Stephen King’s under the dome with a touch of Marvel’s Xmen thrown in for good measure. And in fairness to the novel it is good measure because this element of the story is what gives it a twist that makes it more than a version of a formula that we’ve been revisiting for decades.
The characters while predictable in so much as they’re the usual types populating YA fiction – the reluctant hero, the best friend, the might-be girlfriend, the Bad Guy, etc – are also relatable and it doesn’t take long to begin to care what happens to them, good or bad.
The interaction between the characters and the unfolding plotline held my attention and I didn’t predict the outcomes as easily have I have done with other YA fiction. Another plus for me was the author never seemed to be condescending to the younger audience and presented the characters’ dilemmas as real and of significance to the people involved.
Despite the sometimes dodgy science I’ll definitely move on to book two eventually (especially since I bought all six in a boxed set!), but I’m not sure yet if it will sustain the suspense for five more novels. I’ll keep you posted.
