Gone (Gone, 1)

Title: GoneAuthor: Michael GrantRating: 4.5 StarsMy ReviewOk, 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 LikeObviously 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. :)

TheIn Michael Grant’s Science fiction book “Gone” Children under 15 are forced to fend for themselves.This leads to some obstacles that prove to be quite difficult. In this book it starts with children being in the school learning and in a blink of an eye multiple people disappear. they come to realize all people over 15 have disappeared and are quite confused. They leave the school and realize that the town is quite hectic. There is a burning building and the main character Sam runs in there to help the child improve to the rest of the town that he is worthy of leadership. although they already suspected him because he had helped them a few years ago when a bus driver had a heart attack. Sam and his friends Astrid, Quinn, and MiguelI'll go to the Radioactive facility where they find Astrid's little brother who has autism. When they come back they find out that the kids from a private school in town have started to build a government and they have selected a few leaders. They say they will call the area where they cannot leave FAYZ also known as Fallout alley youth zone. The main leader Caine rules of authority is an aggressive person and makes sure everyone follows his rules. He also has special powers like Sam and Ashley's little brother Pete. But he bans them from people so they will not try to rebel against him. Sam and his group of friends realize that Caine is up to no good and try to figure out how to stop him. After leaving town and discovering some clues of how things have happened they come back to discover Caine and his right hand man are building an army to fight Sam in his crew so when they enter town the battle begins.My personal opinion on this book was I was quite surprised by how well it was. It has been a while since I had read a longer book which is about 500 pages and it was quite a page turner. There are not many things about this book that I would say would make it better. There were many instances in the book where it had caught me off guard or surprised me by a plot twist. such as earlier in the book where we find out characters have superpowers. When I got to the end of the book I realized how good it was. Every time I read it I was quite excited to keep going and see what would happen in the end. The author had written this quite well based from the main character Sam's perspective. I feel he used a good bit of imagery describing what things looked like quite well so you can imagine them yourself. I still can't believe how times looked away from me and how fluently the book went by.This book is a great page Turner and would be a good read for any teenager and adult. It has a great plot and many different twists to it. There are lessons where The teenage reader can find a few necessary Things To Know.

This was a series i had started as a teen. I moved on to other books and had forgotten the name and author name for years untill i was able to find someone who knew what i was describing and gave me the name. I am now buying each of the books in the series and re-reading!The storyline is great, detailed, and captures a feeling of how life might be if the events of the books actually happened, the struggles a bunch of parentless kids would handle moving foreword in a new world.

Interesting world, characters and plot, darkness and love surrounding this horrible apocalypse that Mr. Grant created. Inn no look forward to further books!

Excelente!

I'm not even going to lie, but when I was a kid I always wished that the adults would disappear so kids could rule the world. That is exactly what happens in Gone, but Michael Grant throws in a little supernatual/super power flare into it. There's action, humour, villains and a mystery so addictive you won't be able to put it down. This is an excellent book and if the rest of the series is anything like it I know I am in for a treat. Now excuse me while I go order the rest of the books in the series.

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.

The Gone series is one of my beloved favourites. It is a story of a dome that traps everyone in the fictional town of Perdido Beach. Oh, but there's a catch! Everyone over the age of 14 disappears, blinks out, goes for a hike or digs a hole, however you want to say it, they're GONE. This book is similiar to the New York Times Bestseller, Under The Dome by Stephen King. However this book features powers while Under The Dome is just a dome, no powers. I strongly recommend this book.

It was thrilling and amazing , the beginning also very interesting , all these powers and wars and , also the. Horror in the children living in this new world