"A small town in Southern California: In the blink of an eye everyone over the age of 15 disappears. Cut off from the outside world, those that are left are trapped, and there's no help on the way. Chaos rules the streets.
Now a new world order is rising and, even scarier, some survivors have power - mutant power that no one has ever seen before..."
Gone by Michael Grant follows the story of everyone under the age of 15, predominantly the protagonist, Sam Temple, as they face a world they could never have imagined. In the blink of an eye everyone over the age of 15 disappears, leaving Sam and the girl he's in love with, Astrid, along with every other remaining child, to fend for themselves in a new world full of mutations, betrayal and a lurking darkness.
In all honesty, the first time I read this book in the summer of 2012 I didn't particularly like it. I found it difficult to get into, tedious to read when I could and it didn't make me any more of a fan of the sci-fi genre. Gone simply felt like something I had read before, as well as seen in films, despite it being a brilliant concept. Having said that, this year I figured I'd give the series another shot now that all the books have been released and, whilst my judgement the second time round remained slightly clouded by my first experience with this novel, my opinion did change for the better.
On the whole, I found the pacing of this novel generally enjoyable and exciting to read, although it did occasionally fall flat and didn't quite meet my expectations. Having said that however, it has a rather impressive premise, á la Lord of the Flies meets X-Men, that stretches the YA genre through Grant's shocking and cruel use of imagery that isn't quite Saw-gruesome, but does make you cringe and wince over his use of descriptive techniques and his clear desire to present the harshness of this new, dark world in a way that many authors have avoided in fear of not drawing their younger target audience in. It does however feel like Grant could have done more with the story as I felt that the middle of the book was more of a filler as opposed to part of the novel.
I found the characters in this novel a bit of a mixed bag, some of them I liked, even loved, others I found boring and frustrating; unfortunately Sam Temple was one of those characters. Although I'm appreciative of the fact that his character is only 14-years-old, I found his entire 'I'm not trying to be the hero nor do I want to be the hero' charade irksome and pointless when it's clear that he's well aware that he is Perido Beach's only hope - there's also the small matter of him continually ending up in scenarios which result in him being branded the hero. It was also confusing to see him accept the fact that Astrid 'The Genius' perceived him as a hero and the person who should take charge of the situation, yet continue to moan and complain when either trait came into play for him or another character perceived and treated him in the same way. Astrid on the other hand was a character I loved. It's great when you find female characters, particularly within the sci-fi genre, that aren't oppressed tertiary or secondary characters and, instead, stand for being everything other than the pretty damsel in distress. Her character is beyond intelligent, maternal and carries the traits of a natural born leader and I love that in any and every character.
It's clear that whilst Grant put a lot of effort into creating this world and interlinking the narrative and creating arks for the later novels, it does become a little cliché at times, which I think is common within the YA genre. Whilst I appreciate Grant's desire to illuminate typical teenage problems and how that just because the world has changed doesn't mean their problems have suddenly diminished, I felt that I was, at times, reading something like Pretty Little Liars or The Vampire Diaries with over-dramatic, unnecessary, predictable twists.
However, what's particularly interesting about this novel is despite it primarily focusing on Sam, it occasionally changes perspective to other characters who appear to take prominence later on in the book and, I assume, later in the series. I liked how the story often backtracks a little when coming to focus on another character as it sheds light for the reader on the current situation, giving an understanding of more than just one perspective as well as allowing the narrative to move in different directions by enlightening you in each character's thought process. At the same time however, the switch on character focus can confuse the story a little as one minute you could be making your way through a fast-paced chapter which focuses on one character, then the pace suddenly ceases in the next chapter, landing you with a character in a completely different situation that you haven't met before or are unfamiliar with, so it definitely takes some getting used to.
I think it would be safe to say that the climax is so much more satisfying to read than the rest of the book. It's exhilarating, allowing your imagination to run wild, as a multitude of events take place simultaneously. The themes of death and horror prevail in the climax, lasting a few chapters instead of just a couple of pages, and presenting an ending that actually makes me want to read the sequel, Hunger, as opposed to wanting to put it off as I expected it to.
Overall, this is a story about children trying to adapt to and survive in a new, frightening world that offers great opportunity for action-packed scenes and excitement, yet, unfortunately, sometimes falls short due to irksome characters, a sudden change in character focus or the dominance of typical teenage drama. This series definitely has a lot of potential but Gone doesn't quite push it.
I give Michael Grant and Gone 
I think it's safe to say, given my sheer lack of dedication so far this year, that I'm probably one of, if not the most, unreliable blogger as of late. I have a tendency to set myself unrealistic goals in terms of when I can come back to the world of blogging and, whilst returning straight after my exams was initially realistic, I decided against it when my grandfather sadly passed away just a couple of weeks ago.