Gone

Title: Gone Author: Michael Grant Rating: 4.5 Stars My Review Ok, on some level, I didn't want to like Gone. I think that this may be hard to explain. Maybe it is the monumental task of taking on this series. A 550 page debut with a 600 page follow up and 4 more to come? Daunting. And I'm actually a fan of EPIC storytelling. I also didn't want to like it because as it got started, I could sense that this was going to be one of *those* stories: ones with a ton of characters, a ton of POVs, and a ton of question marks with no immediate answers. Now, I like lots o' characters (been accused of abusing people's tolerance for numbers myself) and I like multiple POVs, but the questions marks with no immediate answers part makes me nervous. I'm always unnerved when an author takes on so much, with the implied promise that we'll understand it all at some point, only to find that it's sealed with a pretty bow such as, "It was all a dream," or, "The characters were really all dead," or, "What do you mean I didn't explain everything? Of course I did." Sigh. Some people LOVE this kind of thing, but it irks me to no end. BUT - I have hope for Gone and will stick with it. If I end up buying the whole series and being disappointed, believe me, the review will reap the whirlwind, but for now I will reserve judgement. On to the real review. I've given this book 4.5 stars because despite my trepidation, I really enjoyed it. The plot kept the pages turning and there were a lot of twists to fill the 550 pages. I also am a fan of dark tales, sci-fi tales, and tales with a large scope, so I was pleased to find that in Gone. I do have to say that the author is very brave. He uses a ton of different viewpoints (many people say you can't do third person omniscient for ya but I disagree. Head jumping is easy to me...) I like that because it paints a more well-rounded picture. He also is not doing any one genre in it's pure form. This isn't just science-fiction, it isn't just fantasy, and it isn't just apocalpytic. At times it feels most like a graphic novel (though I'm not an expert in this). If I had to sum it up, I'd say it's a cross between The Lord of the Flies and X-Men. I liked the main characters of Astrid and Sam (though the cover pic of Astrid doesn't fit at all with what I pictured...she's too dainty and fairy like instead of the stiff, buttoned up girl you first meet). I like Sam's struggles with rejecting power and then being forced to use it for good. I enjoyed the changes in their relationship over time...they felt real within the context of a very unreal situation. I also liked the portrayal of teens who are devastated by the loss of their parents. It's not all candy and ice cream, it's a topsy-turvey world without rules and they don't just celebrate. I also liked the portrayal of Quinn. He felt tragically flawed and tragically real, in the end. There is A LOT going on in this story and it increases, rather than decreases over time. If you like stories that get more and more complex as they go on, you'll like this one. What I Didn't Like Obviously with a 4.5 rating, there was little that I didn't like, and none of it was serious. Mainly, I felt that the villains were too one-dimensional. That may be what made it feel more graphic novel-y to me, though that may not be fair to graphic novels. But let's put it this way, the main villain is named Caine, to start. I thought, really? Caine. And he and his cohort are, for the most part, devoid of humanity of any kind. For me, it's just a preference that villains have as much "to" them and their villainy as the heroes, and I'm not sure I got that. Of course, their lack of humanity is what makes them scarier, so again, this is a small criticism. The possibility of being disappointed. I'm not going to beat this to death, but with everything going on in this story, there is the potential that it is resolved unsatisfactorily or not at all. But I guess it has to be a pretty good story for me to fear this in the first place, so I plan to stick with it to see what Grant does. BTW, if you want an ending that wraps everything up for this book...you'll be disappointed. It's not for you if you're not in for the series. I recommend this to fans of large, detailed, epic stories of struggle and triumph...with a little fantasy/magic thrown in. But be warned, this is pretty DARK! There is some violence and some young children suffering (see Lord of the Flies reference above). It's an apocalypse (or something), not a chick-lit summer tale. :)

I have been on a Young Adult Dystopia kick lately and yeesh--the books I've read, but Michael Grants "Gone" was a breath of fresh air! I've noticed with my recent batch of YA Dystopia's they all have a general lack of depth. Michael Grant's novel is the contradiction. Specifically, the typical way YA novels establish the villain and the hero is simplistic. For example, an author may establish a character as "the bad guy" because that character wants to hurt a lot of people or, simpler still, bully some kids, and the other character is intended as "the good guy" because he wants to stop the bad guy. That's as far as they go into distinguishing the good guys from the bad guys. Such a simplistic approach is necessary for 5 year old children, but too basic for our "junior adults." There are much more sophisticated methods to establishing the hero/villain, methods which Grant uses well. Grant shows sometimes it is not always so clear who is good and bad. Maybe a character is physically "doing" good things, great things even, but their motives are wrong. Does doing the right thing for the wrong reason still make it the right thing? How do you deal with someone like that? What do you do? This is just a few of many questions Grant explores. Grants characters are complex and thus, very appealing. Typical YA authors: Suppose a character is established as "tough." Alright, now, everything the character does is tough. They act tough, are very blunt, get into fist fights, and have dangerous hobbies. Very predictable. This method is overused in YA novels. People's personalities are usually so much more compound. Grant's method: His "tough" character has a pleasant disposition; they are likeable to their peers, etc. Yet, surprisingly, they can bring down their enemies with great feats of bravery or can remain unintimidated in threatening situations. These unsuspecting attributes keep the reader interested. Interesting story line; perfect balance of action, mystery, wonder, introspection, extrospection, romance, victories, defeats, redemption. Perfect pace; not to slow, not too fast. This book is more like a mild science fiction-horror with its eerie, unnatural, and supernatural aspects. Appreciatively, Grant occasionally employs a small amount of humor throughout, which gives the reader a much needed break from the anxiety commonly experienced in a horror novel. The writing is geared towards teenagers, thus characters minds wander on childish fixations, they use a lot of slang, and the author might not stay long enough on a subject to an adult's satisfaction. As long as the adult reader remembers who the intended audience is; they'll be satisfied with the book. 5 stars suggests brilliance. When I compare Gone to other well done YA books, Jennifer Donnelly's "Revolutions", Lois Lowry's "The Giver", my first impression is "Gone" is not quite as well done-4.5 stars

One would think with the crazy first weeks of school, I would have no time to plow through an almost 600 paged book, but Gone, by Michael Grant, does not give you the opportunity to put it down. From the first five pages, this book grabs you by the seat of the pants and hurls you through a creepy post-apocalyptic world where all people over the age of 14 simply disappear- *poof* and gone. Sam, also known as School Bus Sam after he rescued his school bus full of kids when the driver had a heart attack, was once a hero, but has faded back into the wallflower he is happiest being. When all the adults and kids over 14 disappear in Perdido Beach, though, Sam is the one all the other kids start looking to for guidance. No one know what happened to the adults, but right in front of their eyes, they all just disappeared. Sam is reluctant to be their leader, but when he rushes into a burning building to save a little girl, it is clear heroism is simply in his nature. With the help of his friends, Astrid, Edilio, and Quinn, they set off to find Astrid's autistic little brother and hopefully some adults. What they find, however, is that a giant, electrified border has made a circle around the whole area- exactly a 10 mile radius all around the nuclear power plant. Nothing can come in and no one can get out. Something strange is also happening to everything and everyone living within the wall. The animals are mutating and some of the kids are starting to develop powers. The real showdown, however, starts when the Coates Academy kids (a school for delinquent rich kids) come down from the school to take over as leaders of Perdido Beach. Their leader, Caine, is all too willing to use his powers to gain control or let his evil sidekick, Drake, wield his menacing punishments. Kids are beaten to death for defying Caine's rules, food is an ever-growing concern, and safety becomes a luxury. Can Sam come to terms with his own power? Can he, with the support of his friends, become a true leader among the kids inside the wall? This is an amazing story about kids forced to grow up quickly. When they have to defend themselves with guns found at the power plant, Sam finds himself struggling with the idea of asking 8th graders to wield guns while being horrified at asking a 5th or 6th grader to defend themselves. This story has a lot of Lord of the Flies themes as civilized life quickly breaks down. The lead characters are the embodiment of good and evil, with consciences and cravings for power being the ultimate battle. Kids are quickly given roles of nurse, day care operator, guard, and cook. These same kids had parents and adults to take care of them not 24 hours earlier. It is a harsh new world where anything is possible. The reading level is relatively accessible, but the story is very, very long. It is action packed and there isn't a dull moment in the whole story, but 500+ pages is a lot to ask of a middle school student. Therefore, I would save this great story for an older kid who reads a lot or is really into this type of story. It might overwhelm a struggling reader who isn't ready for such a long book. Otherwise, I would suggest everyone give this book a try! It has a little bit of everything from an apocalypse to supernatural powers! You can't ask for much more! Just be careful when picking up the next two books. The second book is Hunger, and the third is Lies. I accidentally picked up the third book and ruined a little of the second story before I even got a chance to read it! Oh well. It won't stop be from reading the next two books!!

So, this book is a core memory of mine. I always recommend this book series to folks, telling them this is a must-read. Once again, I was immediately captivated by the world and the story that Michael Grant had created. I have to go back to my previous review and state this book again: while it is YA, it is only because all the characters in this story are ages 14 and younger. This is some phenomenal storytelling that Mr. Grant has done. He places the reader right into the center of Perdido Beach and the life of Sam Temple. With everyone above the age of 15 disappearing and this barrier putting itself over the town, the children are left to fend for themselves. Initially, it seems like nothing but fun and games until food supplies run low, and the children realize that they are in charge and have to make some tough decisions. All the while, some of the children start to develop supernatural abilities. This book takes you through a great deal of emotions. Think if Lord of the Flies had a love child with X-men. I hope that one day, this book series gets picked up by HBOMax to become a television series because a movie would NEVER do these books justice, and there is just so much within this novel that it needs to be one season of a television show. And When I say there is so much within this novel that it could not be a movie, I mean it. Every detail given to us in this story is so significant. This book is about 20 pages shy of being 600 pages long, but there is no moment in which it feels like a lull. Page after page, the world is built for us, which is essential. You grow to love some characters, hate some characters, and be fearsome of others. If you were on the fence about getting this book, I highly suggest reading it.

"So much potential... BUT" really does sum up this book in a nutshell. The core ideas are great but the way they carry out leaves so much to be desired and too many unanswered questions. I felt the book started with a really great premise. Everyone over the age of 14 disappears and the remaining kid's have to step up and fend for themselves against other-worldly powers. Sadly by the end of the book this got so diluted down by unresolved characters it became far less interesting than it was at the beginning. The story suffers greatly from the sheer volume of characters whose only purpose was to hinder the leads progress (the most notable being Quill, who has got to be at times the worst friend in history.) Characters would appear out of nowhere and with no explanation to create a distraction for the main characters and afterwards fade back into the ether that is the "FAYZ" (A contained zone of land which all the events take place) I felt these moments really could have been used to develop more interesting back-story for the main characters. It is the main reason why this book felt like an extremely long read. Telling the story from multiple character perspectives (including the bad ones,) whilst successfully providing exposition, prevents a lot of suspense and surprise in the book. Especially with regards to what happens to them when they reach 15 years old. The reader is fully aware of threat by the time it reaches the main characters. I felt the most interesting/ successful part of the book was Lana's story. She actually has some back-story, is fighting to discover answers and there is a lot of suspense. But by the three quarter mark she becomes just another fill in character, which was really disappointing. The amount of predictable altercations between the protagonist and antagonist characters proved to be the most frustrating aspect of this book. The story's format did not change from the half way point. It seemed to repeat the same simple subplot in different locations around the FAYZ over and over again until it reaches the finale. Although all of this does hinder the book's success, the underlying concept kept me reading hoping for something better for the future books in the series. It's an ok read but nothing more.

One minute the teacher was talking about the Civil War. And the next minute he was gone. (First line of the book) Within seconds everyone over 15 years old disappears in Perdido Beach, leaving all the children to fend for themselves - in a world that isn't behaving normally. Animals mutating, humans causing things to move through the air at will. Sam Temple doesn't want to lead. Yet, as no adults appear, and it becomes apparent that babies are now unattended, and fires are breaking out, everyone looks to Sam to take charge. But, all Sam wants to do is find his mother and help Astrid the Genius find her autistic brother. There is no respite for Sam, though. Once, Little Pete, Astrid's brother is located, a new threat shows itself as the children from the boarding school, Coates, a school for rich, pampered children that had been kicked out of every other school they attended, roll into town in an orchestrated show of power and leadership. Caine, a charismatic, handsome and slick boy from the boarding school names himself leader... and begins taking control of all parts of the children's lives. Some of the things he does are for the good of everyone and the logic can be seen in his actions...but some things are obvious power grabs that begin to strike fear in the other children. To make matters even worse, when someone turns 15 they like the others disappear! Could things get any worse for the abandoned children of Perdido Beach? This is one of the best young adult novels I have read in a very long time. I couldn't put this book down as I went through the length of the novel within one day. It wasn't an easy read either. The darkness of the novel, the atrocity that is the abandonment and slow death of children is not something that I want to be faced with. Especially as I look over at my two-year-old and think, what would happen to her if I just disappeared? Yet, I couldn't stop reading. The characters that Grant created were in your face, real-life characters. They were flawed children, with numerous problems and uncertainties, but they were larger than life and through this challenge they changed, grew on you and became a part of your own life. I even felt for the bad-guys - for they, like all the others, were only children... I highly l recommend this book to young and old alike. A teen would be chilled by this book, because they could put themselves in the shoes of the characters, imagining what life would be like if their parents and guardians were not there to bail them out of the tight spots they find themselves in all the time. Yet, adults will find a different, more chilling story within these pages...something every parent fears...what would happen to their child if they were suddenly not there anymore?

Gone was a thrilling, yet disturbing book about a group of children and youth who suddenly find themselves alone in the world. No one over the age of 14 exists any longer. And what happens when no adults are left? Chaos? Anarchy? A complete breakdown of society? Yes to all three. Some youth will prove themselves as natural leaders, or maybe even heroes. But others with a natural inclination towards cruelty, and no one to guide and direct them elsewhere, will also emerge as unfortunate leaders. Sam Temple is at school when everyone disappears. Sam, his best friend Quinn, the beautiful "brain" Astrid, and the new kid Edilio make a ragtag bunch who do their best trying to figure out what is going on in Perdido Beach. One of their first tasks is to find Astrid's autistic brother, Pete. But as they arrive at each of their homes, they find no adults anywhere. Besides the complete disappearance of all humans over the age of 14, other strange things are being reported. Some kids seem to have developed supernatural powers, including Sam. And others are noticing some of the animals are taking on unnatural characteristics as well. Sam wonders if his "powers" are somehow connected to the problem. The bullies from school, Orc and Howard, take over the town square. They name it the FAYZ, or Fallout Alley Youth Zone, which is what they end up calling the entire "incident". But they aren't doing a very good job of running things. Most of the kids want Sam to be one of the leaders, but Sam is reluctant to take on the role, and neither Orc nor Howard want Sam around. Up the road is a private school called Coates and when the Coates kids come into town, things go from bad to worse. The students who attend Coates seem to be troubled kids, many of whom also have supernatural powers. The leader of the Coates group, Caine, is a student who has no problem hurting others for his own selfish purposes. He also attracts other students to him who act in the same manner. Caine also has supernatural powers which cause destruction and chaos in Perdido Beach. There is also a side story of Lana, a young girl riding in a truck her grandfather when he suddenly disappears. She is in a horrific accident, but eventually heals, encounters a pack of talking coyotes, and finally meets up with Sam and his group. Everything leads up to a final battle between Sam and Caine. But can that battle take place before they turn 15? I enjoyed Gone and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I'm looking forward to the rest of the books in the series. Due to the violence in this book, I would recommend it for at least 7th grade and above. Content: Violence/cruelty to children and language.

I read this book a while ago and forgot to write a review, but I really, really loved it! One day, in Perdido Beach, in the blink of an eye, all of the adults (or at least, everyone over the age of 15), just disappeared. Some were driving, some were teaching, some were having coffee - and then they just weren't there anymore. Cars crashed, coffee cups dropped, even chalk dropped, and nobody knew what happened. The kids who were left drifted to the town square and split up into two basic groups: the bullies, who wanted to run everything with force and violence, and were run by Orc, and the group that followed Sam, who was brave and fair, but didn't want the responsibility of taking charge of all of these kids. Then to add to the mess, the kids from Coates Academy, a boarding school for violent and troubled kids, come to town intent to take over. Over time, it becomes clear that some of the kids have developed "powers," that were strengthened when the "event" happened. But again, that's not all! Animals are starting to mutate in an ugly, dangerous way, and the kids discover a dome of sorts that has gone up over and around their town, so they can't escape. I'm not going to say any more because I don't want to ruin it for you! This was such a good book! I was captivated from the beginning, and I couldn't put the book down because something was always happening. It was full of action and full of emotion, and even in the midst of this horror, there were moments that made me smile. Sam has had a crush on Astrid for a long time, but she is the brainy, beautiful girl in the class, and he never got up his nerve to tell her how he felt. When their world came crashing down, they were drawn to each other to try to survive, and their romance was really sweet, and very well done. They acted like 14 (almost 15) year olds should, instead of suddenly maturing beyond their years and jumping into sex. The book had such a good flow to it, which made it very easy to read. Michael Grant is a superb writer, and I now want to read all of his books! Gone was the first book in the Gone series, and I have already ordered the next book in the series. In summary, I can't put it any better than a blurb on the back does: "If Stephen King had written Lord of the Flies, it might have been a little like this." `` VOYA (starred review)

Acheter pour offrir a un ado son premier livre écrit en anglais à quelqu'un qui a déjà lu (et apprécié) la version française. D’après ses retours le niveau d'anglais demandé pour comprendre n'est pas très élevé, et l'histoire et tout aussi sympa.

Vale a pena

I picked up this book as a birthday gift for my son’s friend, and it’s been a hit! The story is gripping from the start, with a fast-paced plot and a world where chaos reigns after all the adults disappear. The characters are complex, and the powers that some of them develop add an exciting twist. If your teen loves dystopian fiction like The Hunger Games or Maze Runner, this series is a must-read. It’s thrilling, intense, and keeps you on the edge of your seat!

Excelente!

good