Review: Gone by Michael Grant

Title: Gone
Author: Michael Grant
Series: Gone #1
Genre: YA
Release Date: May 1, 2009
Edition: Paperback
Blurb:

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...

One day while Sam is at class everyone who is older than 14 disappears. There is much confusion, everyone is scared and they are looking for someone to guide them, and a lot of people look up to Sam for guidence. The problem is, there are others who want the job of leaders, and they are up to no good.

At the beginning the book was slow, there was too much information at once, and that made me stop reading it for a while, but after a while, the book picked up speed and I couldn't put it down. The theme of the book was really interesting: what happens when all the adults disappear, comunications are down and the kids start getting weird abilities?
I really like the confrontations between the kids from town and the ones from the private academy, and especially seeing how different were their personalities.

Sam & Astrid are the characters the book most centers itself on. Sam is brave and is able to look past he's fear to try to help people and find answers, even though in normal circumstances he prefers to blend in. Astrid is a genious and struggles most of the book with trying to take care of her autistic younger brother. And then there's Caine, who's the leader of the rich kids who go to the academy. He's clever, charismatic and has some issues with his family and his past.

The world that's described in this book is really interesting and we discover it at the same time the characters do. Sometimes I wished there were less side stories and we could focus more on Sam, especially the parts from Albert's point of view.
This was a great start of a series and I can't wait to read what happens next with the characters and figure out some of the questions that were raised in this first book.


Memorable Lines:

"Where's your teacher?" Astrid asked.

There was a collective shrug. "He poofed," Quinn said, like maybe it was funny.

"Isn't he out in the hallway?" Mary asked.

Astrid shook her head. "Something weird is happening. My math study group . . . there were just three of us, plus the teacher. They all just disappeared."

"What?" Sam said.

Astrid looked right at him. He couldn't look away like he normally would, because her gaze wasn't challenging, skeptical like it usually was: it was scared. Her normally sharp, discerning blue eyes were wide, with way too much white showing. "They're gone. They all just . . . disappeared."

Next Book:
Hunger - Gone #2

Rating: