Gone (original 2008; edition 2009)

I do not really know why I did not like this book. I did read all of it cause I wanted to find out what would happen. A lot of twist were in this book, maybe too many? I think that it was the writing that did not get me loving this book. I felt distanced to the characters (and there are many characters in this book).
It was a very interesting concept. All the adults suddenly disappear but not very well executed. I wanted to try book 2 but when I found out there are at least 5 more one books I decided to stop. Not going to read Hunger even though I have a copy on my kindle. ( )

Modern-day Lord of the Flies with supernatural twists.

The kids in Perdido Beach didn’t know that the morning they went to school would be the last bit of normalcy they’d experience for a long time. Everything was normal until ‘poof’, everyone over the age of fourteen was gone. Together, the unsure leader Sam, the brainy Astrid, her autistic brother Little Pete, the new boy Edilio, and the scared sidekick Quinn have to unlock the mystery of the strange disappearances and the strange powers kids all over the town are starting to get. They think help has come when the kids from the expensive private school arrive, but soon find out that when everything you know disappears, you can’t trust everyone.

I really enjoyed Gone by Michael Grant. From page one it had me hooked. Anyone who likes action will love this story. Every page turn brings about a new twist that has the reader wanting more. The characters seemed real enough for me, although in some of the situations, I had to remind myself that they were all under fourteen! I liked Little Pete’s character. Although we don’t see everything he can do, I see him doing some great things in possible future books. The story in Gone has a complete beginning, middle, and end, but I warn you now—it’s open ended. You’ll want more. Overall, I’d recommend Gone to anyone who enjoys a fun sci-fi- end of the world as we know it story. It’s a fun story that really makes you think—what would you do if your world were turned upside down like Sams?

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This book had a compelling premise but the author couldn't seem to really do anything really interesting with it, except continuously throw in increasingly absurd elements that push the reader's suspension of disbelief to its limit (I mean, talking animals, really?). The first half of the book is tedious and slow, and although the action picks up a lot in the second half, Gone never quite reaches its potential. Most of his characters were poorly developed and easily forgotten, and the only one who really intrigued me was Diana. I don't really believe that so many bullies would still be so cruel in such a strange and desperate situation, and the author never really explains the motivations behind the more 'evil' characters (wanting power is too simple I think).

While Grant did try to develop back stories for most of his characters, a lot of it felt like a poor attempt to add depth to characters whom he hadn't truly developed by way of their words or actions. Mary's bulimia, for example, didn't really add much to the understanding of her character, her motivations; it just seemed like a quick way to add depth to her character without really telling the reader anything about her actual personality, and I highly suspect it was also thrown in there to make the novel seem more up-with-the-times and to appeal to a readership who can possibly identify with or just like to read about such things (after all, teen issues books about eating disorders, mental illness, etc. are quite popular these days).

The writing was mediocre at best and littered with far too many sentence fragments. Michael Grant also does not have a very solid grasp on how kids talk to each other. The dialogue did not ring true over half the time and the pacing of the book was far too slow, with a lot of unnecessary scenes, extraneous dialogue, not enough explanation and absolutely no resolution at the end of the book. It was just a mostly tedious, way-too-long disappointment. I'm still interested in the basic premise (everyone over the age of fourteen disappearing-- if someone could write this convincingly I'd definitely read it) but everything else fell flat. ( )

My only regret is that I didn't pick this one up sooner. I have no idea why I avoided it for so long but I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it. It's quite different than anything I've read before. In a small town in California, everyone over the age of 15 randomly disappears at the same time. The kids of the town are left to fend for themselves and naturally, groups form and leaders step up. It was extremely compelling from start to end and kept me wanting more. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that there is a LOT me characters to keep track of which was overwhelming at times. Overall though, a great read and I'm eager to read the next one. ( )