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A review by katykelly
Gone by Michael Grant
4.0
4.5 stars.
Excellent teen dystopia/horror.
You're in school on a normal day, kind of bored. Then your teacher vanishes. And everyone else over the age of fifteen. Your town's inside a giant dome. What do you do?
In this spin on Lord of the Flies (though not quite), we see factions of adolescents taking sides, some hungry for power, some just wanting to survive and find a way out.
It's a brilliant premise, and all those details you wouldn't want to be in there ("what about the babies in their cots?") make an appearance.
The first in a series, 'Gone' sets up character and story alike for future battles and resentments, heroes and villains.
My qualms with the book? I'm not a fan of supernatural explanations and happenings (though I'm quite aware that this story couldn't have happened otherwise!) so some parts of the book annoyed me a bit, but that's just me. The main gripe I had was the way these 14-year-olds talk and think. It just didn't feel right. They would have to mature quickly and take on some awful responsibilities, yes, but I kept getting pulled out of the story by their language and feeling it didn't ring true. But that's probably just me.
It certainly didn't stop me enjoying the book. A great idea, for a great series, that hopefully will keep Hunger Games fans happy when they've finished that trilogy.
Excellent teen dystopia/horror.
You're in school on a normal day, kind of bored. Then your teacher vanishes. And everyone else over the age of fifteen. Your town's inside a giant dome. What do you do?
In this spin on Lord of the Flies (though not quite), we see factions of adolescents taking sides, some hungry for power, some just wanting to survive and find a way out.
It's a brilliant premise, and all those details you wouldn't want to be in there ("what about the babies in their cots?") make an appearance.
The first in a series, 'Gone' sets up character and story alike for future battles and resentments, heroes and villains.
My qualms with the book? I'm not a fan of supernatural explanations and happenings (though I'm quite aware that this story couldn't have happened otherwise!) so some parts of the book annoyed me a bit, but that's just me. The main gripe I had was the way these 14-year-olds talk and think. It just didn't feel right. They would have to mature quickly and take on some awful responsibilities, yes, but I kept getting pulled out of the story by their language and feeling it didn't ring true. But that's probably just me.
It certainly didn't stop me enjoying the book. A great idea, for a great series, that hopefully will keep Hunger Games fans happy when they've finished that trilogy.