Gone

Author: Michael Grant
Recommended Age: Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Teen
ISBN: 978-0-06-144878-2
Year Published: 2008
No. Pages: 558
Genre: Fantasy
Main Character Gender: Male & Female
Read & Reviewed by: Cameron


 How would you react if everybody over fourteen simply vanished? How would you react if those remaining developed powers and if animals were mutating?

Sam Temple is 14 years old and loves to surfboard. One day, when he is alone in his house, he creates a ball of light with his hands that lightens up his darkened room. This frightens him and he knows that something is wrong, and then he is sure because when he was sitting in his desk, daydreaming, his teacher disappears. Gone. Soon the kids in Perdido Beach realize that when you hit fifteen, you disappear. Nobody knows if those who are gone are dead or if they got outside of the unbreakable barrier.

I personally loved this book. It is a third person narrative which was a great choice for this book because you get a better idea of what is going on in the whole town rather than just with one person. The story is told through many characters which enables greater depth in the storytelling and drew me in even more.

This novel is non-stop action which I think will draw a reluctant reader in. How many of us have dreamed of not having adults in our life? Reading this book made me realize why we need adults, for law and order. I found this novel really thought provoking.

I didn’t love really one character in particular because you get to know so many of them. Michael Grant presented both the good and evil sides of each character, which made them more believable. No one is perfect, especially when there is so much chaos.

This novel is the first in a series and I read the first three books back to back. I would recommend it to any young adult readers who want a suspenseful read.