Gone (The Gone Series)

by Michael Grant

Paperback, 2015

Status

Available

Call number

813.6

Publication

Egmont (2015), Edition: 01, 576 pages

Description

In a small town on the coast of California, everyone over the age of fourteen suddenly disappears, setting up a battle between the remaining town residents and the students from a local private school, as well as those who have "The Power" and are able to perform supernatural feats and those who do not.

User reviews

LibraryThing member CaroTheLibrarian

PLUS
* What would happen if adults suddenly disappeared? It's not a new premise for a book (think Lord of the Flies) but this has a terrifying sci-fi spin that means anything could happen.
* This is definitely one for Young Adults not younger kids. The society the kids are left with becomes

increasingly strange and disturbing as power struggles between groups and factions take over. There is violence, death and betrayal (and a bit of romance just to cheer things up a bit!)
* The sci-fi aspect really notches up the tension, as the charaters and the reader struggle to work out what is going on, and what might happen next.

MINUS
* The ending is weak, and is really only setting up for the next book in the series (three so far, and at least another one beyond that).

OVERALL
* An enjoyable pacy read and a must for fans of dystopian fiction with lots of though provoking talking points, but if you want a nicely wrapped up ending give it a miss!

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LibraryThing member mjspear

In this dystopic future, all of the adults (aged 16+) have disappeared. Children and teens are in charge and trouble ensues!

This reader was disappointed in the writing and character development (lack thereof).... got the jist of the story and stopped there. Quarantine: The Loners is a superior

(although violent) alternative.

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LibraryThing member lyricaltwin

An action-packed dystopian novel, Gone sets up an adrenaline-filled series. It had a vibe similar to Lord of the Flies and was a great read.

LibraryThing member Bibliotropic

I don't think I could have enjoyed this book more. Honestly and truly, it was a fantastic book, much more so than I originally had anticipated. Fast and smoothly paced, this book shows the darker side of what every kid dreams at some point in their lives: "What would happen if all the adults were

gone and kids ruled the world?"

Unsurprisingly, a utopia does not spring up. Bullies still act like bullies, except now there's nobody to keep them in check and from gaining more than limited local power. Deaths happen, because there are still babies left when the adults vanish, and only inexperienced children left to do their best. This book does not shy away from a dead baby scene, portraying it as one of the consequences of this new and strange life. A disturbing and upsetting consequence, but something that needs to be dealt with. Most "what if there were no more adults" fantasies don't bother to deal with such issues.

For a book involving fantastic powers and strange monsters, I have to say that Gone was incredibly realistic, especially in its portrayal of people. Some fall apart and panic, others try to maintain some level of normalcy, other rush in and try to rule over the mess that they're left with. Friends are not always loyal, things are not always as they seem, and sometimes the lines between sides are not as clear as they first appear.

What seems at first like a very simplistic writing style plays well with the events, making tense scenes tenser and battle scenes more gripping.

I heartily recommend this book, especially to those who are interested in good portrayals of people in weird crisis situations. I'm looking forward to tracking down the sequel, and I hope it's just as enthralling as this one was.

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LibraryThing member Booklady123

Perdido Beach seems like hundreds of other small coastal towns. It does have a nuclear power plant and a private school (Coate’s Academy) for, well let’s call them challenging students. But everything is pretty normal until normal disappears.

It’s every kid’s dream. All the adults just

disappear. Anyone over the age of 14 just “poofs” out. Kids rule. Yet, it turns out to be more of a nightmare than a dream come true. Order disappears along with the adults. Bullies reign. To make things even more unsettling, animals start mutating and some kids develop strange, often dangerous powers. And there’s no getting out. An impenetrable bubble has surrounded the town of Perdido Beach, cutting everyone off from the outside world. This story is an intense battle between good and evil. Some readers might find it reminiscent of Lord of the Flies.

The survivors have divided themselves into two groups. One is led by Sam, a teen from the local public school. Known as School bus Sam because he once took charge and saved the day when the bus driver had a heart attack while driving a busload of kids. The other group is lead by Caine, a student from Coate’s Academy. Sam is the reluctant hero, while Caine is a power grabbing bully. They share a hidden past they are both unaware of until one of Caine’s followers starts researching everyone’s backgrounds.

Young adults (and adults) who enjoy futuristic dystopian stories will enjoy this series. Gone is the first in a series. However, adults should be prepared to be shocked by some of the behavior. Kids can be scary. If you enjoyed Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games or James Dashner’s The Maze Runner, you should give this series a try.

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LibraryThing member hewayzha

All too realistic and disturbing picture of young people striving to survive the disappearance of everyone over the age of fifteen. Wild animals have mutated and become for more dangerous. Some of the young people have also developed powers beyond the norm. Naturally there are always those who will

exploit any situation, especially one like this. So of course, there are two sides, the good guys and the bad guys. However the lines sometimes blur as the teens predicament gets worse. The future is very much in question and it seems that there will be a sequel, since the story ends with the defeated bad guy heading off into the desert with a mutant coyote in search of "the darkness". The characters were interesting and ones you could identify with, either through people you know or have known or yourself personally. The maturity and selflessness shown by some is somewhat startling but refreshing. I enjoyed the book even if I was horrified at times. I will be looking forward to the sequel, I hope it comes out soon.

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LibraryThing member hpluver07

One day everyone over 14 just disappears. Now only the kids are left. And some of those kids are starting to get powers. Once you turn 14, you will disappear.

LibraryThing member rampeygirl

This book was a real page turner from the first sentence. Michael Grant kept the plot moving at a steady pace and left the story wide open for a sequel. This is a great read for an age range of 12+. The book does contain violence that may be mature for younger readers. This is a great debut novel

for Mr. Grant and I look forward to reading more of his books in the future.

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LibraryThing member lalawe

If everyone fifteen and older disappeared, what would the kids who remain do? How would they take care of themselves? Would they try to carry on as usual, or would society collapse? Could they ever find out what happened to all the adults? And what happens when someone turnsfifteen?

I loved Lord of

the Flies in school, and one of my favorite guilty pleasures is the Kiwi TV show The Tribe (in which all adults die off of a virus), so I was already predisposed to like this book. And the author doesn't disappoint - the characters are wonderfully portrayed, the plot is gripping, and the story was well-paced. Sam, the main character, is a rather responsible fourteen-year-old - but he isn't perfect. He makes bad decisions - like any teenager - and he learns from them. One of my favorite things about this book is the wealth of diversity in the supporting characters - the autistic child, the coward, the caregiver, the bulimic - all of these people who have been thrown into an impossible situation and now have to find ways to cope.

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LibraryThing member midnighttwilight101

All at once everyone over the age of fourteen disappears. Gone. In the blink of an eye everything changes. Unfortunately it turns into survival of the fittest and the bullies take over. Sam is known as somewhat of a hero, so it's no surprise some of the kids want him to be their leader rather than

the bullies. But Sam doesn't want to lead, he's just as scared as everyone else. But he has something unexplainable about him, a magic power. Other kids are finding they have powers too. And it's not only the kids who are changing, animals too. But it doesn't just end with the main poof out. Once anyone turns fifteen, the exact date and time of their birth, they also poof out. Sam's birthday is coming fast and they need to find a way to stop him from poofing out or things may get even more out of control.

I loved this book!!! It has the perfect mix of supernatural and realism. The characters were awesome, and even though i am older than them i still felt i could easily relate to them. This book was amazingly written. This was a long book, but it flowed very well and seemed to go by very fast. I can't wait to read the next book in this series, i want it now!!!

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LibraryThing member Df6b_Taylorw

I am in love with this book. I love the suspense that fills the book from page to page until the very end of the book. I like how you see the characters devolup and grow and try to figure out what they are going to do about their current situation with no parents or people over 14 years old. The

book took alot of unexpected twists and turns along the way and i think that is very cool and keeps the reader interested through out the whole book which is a good quality to have.

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LibraryThing member 59Square

This is definitely very Lord of the Flies-ish, but fairly interesting if long. Sam is sitting in class one day when suddenly his teacher disappears. And then he (along with other teens) begins to realize that all of the people over age 15 have disappeared - and Sam is only a few weeks away from his

15th birthday. There is a lot of stuff going on in this book - people have begun to develop paranormal powers, animals have begun to mutate, and there is a barrier around a 10 mile radius, keeping the real world at bay. Within this there is a huge power struggle, the realities of loss of food, loss of adult supervision, etc. It's not pretty. At the end there is a pretty strong religious theme, but it doesn't come in until late which makes it more jarring. And there are some disturbing things that these kids do to each other in the name of survival which makes this book intense. There is a sequel coming out, and the book is definitely not resolved at the end. I don't think I will read anymore, but apocalyptic stuff and science fiction is not my thing, so I'm just glad I made it through! BTW, Michael Grant is Katherine Applegate/s husband, and I wonder if he would have been better edited if he wasn't.

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LibraryThing member dasuzuki

I have been wanting to read this book for so long and finally it came in for me at the library. I meant to just start reading it and finish it later because it’s pretty hefty weighing in at 576 pages but I couldn’t put it down and ended up finishing it last night. When all the adults disappear

it reminded me of the Left Behind series but in reverse with only the young left but when you finally find out what is responsible for the adults disappearance it was a shocker for me. Grant creates a wonderful cast of characters who all complement each other both among the “good” kids and the “bad” kids. You also see how various kids react to this unbelievable event. While some actions are expected like the bullies trying to take over and intimidate others into following them you also see things like one boy taking comfort in running a McDonald’s restaurant. This book does leave you hanging though. You find out what caused the adults disappearance but not what the “sinister creature” mentioned in the book description is and what it’s purpose is. I definitely recommend this to both adults and young adults especially those who like the post-apocalyptic stories that follow how people rebound after a disaster.

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LibraryThing member ewyatt

An action-packed read that imagines a society where everyone over the age of 14 disappears. Sam is a surfer-boy who is hiding a secret power. When all the adults disappear, it is up to the kids to keep things going and trying to figure out what to make of all the strange mutations among people and

wildlife. Not to mention trying to survive the nasty battle brewing between Sam and Caine. This was a real page turner and would definitely appeal to those who like healthy doses of action and a bit of supernatural mystery in their books.

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LibraryThing member adpaton

I bought this book for my daughter because I found the precis intriguing and, indeed, the premise is really grand. Comparisons with Lord of the Flies are inevitable, although perhaps Children of the Corn is more apposite.
All of a sudden, just like that, everyone over the age of 15 vanishes,

leaving small town America in the form of Predido Bay at the mercy of/in the hands of the children. It seems to be a sine qua none that in any group of teens, especially American teens, a large percentage are unstable, potentially homicidal bullies. And there is always another group who almost unbearably saintly.
Inevitably there is conflict but fortunately the forces of evil are generally pretty stupid, although they may possess some sort of low cunning, and the small band of goodies are inevitably victorious. Gone has a twist in that not only do the adults mysteriously disappear, but animals start mutating [dangerously, natch] and some children develop special powers.
There is a secret atomic facility which is probably the cause of whatever has happened; the bay and it's surrounds appear to have been removed from normal time and placed in another dimension - or moved to a parallel Universe? There are no answers in this book [the first apparently of six] just more and more questions. Questions to which, alas, I shall never know the answers.
I do not intend to continue with the series and found the book disappointing, not living up to the plot premise and, frankly, not frightfully well written or edited. Lest I be accused of judging apples by pears - applying adult rules to a young adult book - let me hasten to add that my young dauhgter started to read Gone but gave up quite quickly, finding it boring. So its not just me.

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LibraryThing member ShellyPYA

One day, all adults and teens over the age of 14 disappear suddenly. The kids and teens that are left are forced to form some semblance of order. Who will take care of the babies? Who will ration the food? Sam is the obvious choice; he stepped up to save a child from a burning building. But he

doesn't want the responsibility, so Orc, the local bully, takes charge, until the kids from Coates Academy enter the town and decide to take over. They have special powers, like being able to move things with their minds, but so do some of the kids in the town. As the bullies and Coates kids set up a dictatorship, Sam and his friends decide to fight back. But Sam's 14th birthday is coming soon - will things be resolved before he too disappears?

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LibraryThing member sbrew1

Readers Annotation:
Sam is sitting in class when all of a sudden the teacher disappears before their eyes. With the whole population under 14 years old the world begins to fall apart.
Plot Summary:
Everyone over the age of fourteen disappears. Everyone else disappears on their fourteenth birthday.

But the strangeness only starts there. There's a dome surrounding the land within a ten-mile radius from the nuclear plant. The wall is impassable and burns you if you touch it. There are strange mutations in the animals; seagulls with talons, winged snakes, and talking coyotes. Some kids have also developed strange powers. Sam is running out of time before he turns fourteen and disappears too. The kids from Coates Academy come down to the town of Perdido Beach and Caine appoints himself as leader. People are dying because his sheriff and gang of bullies keep beating people up who break the rules imposed on them by Caine. Some of these rules are actually valid, others are meant to prevent people from gaining power to oppose Caine. Sam, Quinn, Edilio, Astrid, and Little Pete are thrown together for survival. Sam knows that something is not right about Caine. Sam has the ability to shoot fire from his hands, but he doesn’t use it because he feels responsible for the disappearances. They are always running from Caine or one of his buddies. They meet a girl named Lana who is a healer and find out that Little Pete has special abilities of his own. They rescue a bunch of kids who Caine had cemented their hands in blocks, the kids join their group to overthrow Caine as a leader.
Evaluation:
The new world described in Gone is almost like a parallel universe. I really enjoyed the references to Star Wars and Harry Potter. Trying to figure out what was happening to Sam’s world was very stimulating. There is a lot of exciting action in this novel, I still enjoyed it even though the kids' powers sometimes seemed like they were taken from comic books. I wanted to cheer at the ending of the novel. It is a fantastic story that teens will greatly appreciate. Ages: 15+/Interests: Science Fiction, Action Adventure, Fantasy.

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LibraryThing member nm1990

This is the way the world ends.

Sam lives a fairly average life in Southern California. He goes to school, hangs out with his best friend, Quinn, and goes surfing in his free time. Granted, he’s got a secret that no one can know about. One that Sam doesn’t quite understand himself. But other

than that, his life is pretty normal. That is, until one day, everyone over the age of fourteen disappears without a trace.

The disappearance of every adult throws Sam’s world into chaos. Now, he and his fellow “FAYZers” (FAYZ stands for Fallout Alley Youth Zone) have to find a way to survive and provide for themselves. This creates problems enough, but throw in the arrival of the mysterious kids from Coates’ Academy, along with the discovery of the unnatural talents that Sam and several others possess, and the fragile semblance of order dissolves.

I’d heard a lot of good things about this book before I picked it up, and I have to say, I think Gone lived up to the praise it received. The only problem I had with the book was that it got off to a bit of a slow start. That and one of the characters was named Edilio,which led me to having the song What’s the Dillio? by Mest stuck in my head for several days. But Edilio was a good character and I got over it after a while :) .

I definitely enjoyed the book. It reminded me of what a cross between X-Men and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies (which is a great classic that you should read) would look like. The book is also followed up by a sequel, Hunger, which I plan to read and review once I can get my hands on a copy. I’d recommend this book to lovers of fantasy, sci-fi, or those who are just looking for an overall good read.

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LibraryThing member edspicer

One of the best books I’ve ever read. The mean reality of it and the creativity of the author. A great read with a fabulous ability to point the world in the reader’s mind and the thrilling adventure and action. AHS/LM

LibraryThing member RefPenny

All of a sudden everyone over the age of 14 disappears. And that is just the start of the weirdness. There is a strange dome cutting the area off from the rest of the world and some children develop mysterious powers. The children quickly organise into groups - the bullies, led by Caine and the

others, led (reluctantly) by Sam.

This book has everything - drama, suspense, fantasy, horror, and romance and a cast of realistic characters. It is the first in a series so the situation is not entirely resolved at the end.

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LibraryThing member 8F_SAM

This book was both awesome and cool! I love the concept of how all the people over 15 disappears, and the main character's gonna disappear any day now. But I think it started a little too early in the book..I mean it started like on the first page! The author should've at least gave a chapter on

how normal life was on Perdido Beach! :D But other than that, it was an awesome book!

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LibraryThing member sunbrarian

Imagine a world where the operating system has been hacked and the rules rewritten, where the laws of physics no longer apply. Imagine a world where everyone 15 and older has suddenly vanished. Imagine being trapped in a sphere with a 20 mile diameter, a nuclear plant at the center.

Welcome to

FAYZ. Cut off from the rest of the world, life for the residents of small town Perdido Beach has changed and no one knows why. As the survivors start to come together, strange things start to happen.

Friendships devolop and rivalries form. No one is certain of anything except the fact that on your 15th birthday, you will disappear too.

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LibraryThing member Kaoden39

I just finished this book. I don't know why but I am drawn to the post-apocalyptic type novel like this. This is to me along the style of a good old fashioned white hat/black hat story. It was startling clear to me who was who. I think that Mr Grant managed to find the darkside of these characters

rather well.

Imagine being in a place where everyone 15 and over disappears. Now imagine yourself being ready to turn 15 soon after and not knowing whether you will disappear or not. Next imagine yourself as being the one kid that everyone trusts and expects to be able to handle everything. Imagine just being a normal kid that knows the difference between right and wrong and then you will be Sam.

I think that Sam as the classic white hat works well, and who better than a Caine to be the bad guy? There are things that make Caine an almost pitiable bad guy, but no he is truly bad. Astrid is your classic heroine as well as Diane is the classic villain. The thing I like most about this book is the ensemble cast of the story, there are other strong white hats/black hats in the story.

I think that children that step up and help to care for the others whether it be to care for the smaller children or the ones that are hurt or ill. Or even being the kid that goes into the Mc Donald's and making the foods that have always represented what is comfortable and fun are the real heroes. They are the ones that keep the normalcy and keep them all together.

*Spoiler Alert*
Okay, so I don't like to add spoilers but I have to give my thoughts on this. It is the classic oh we live near a nuclear reactor so there are mutants and blah, blah, blah. I think that I see it differently than mutations, and I am sure that it is the intentions of Mr Grant for us to see it this way. One character I am quick to with hold judgment on is the character of Little Pete, now all through the story it has been mentioned that he is severely autistic. I am wondering to the extent of his autism, and then when you discover the reason behind the children being in the position that they are in you begin to really wonder.

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LibraryThing member MrsRish

This book is a classic good versus evil book with a supernatural twist. If you have a weak stomach, avoid this book because the fighting scenes later in the book are gruesome. Many questions remain unanswered but there are sequels.

LibraryThing member Euphoria13

Where do i begin? Wow, where do i begin? This book was AMAZING! Dare i say, EPIC!? Gone is the first book in the "Gone" series by Michael Grant. The books that follow are Hunger (Gone #2) and Lies (Gone #3)and Plague (Gone #4) which is expected to be released Spring 2011.

The story begins with our

protagonist Sam Temple, in class, in what seems to be another day at school, when suddenly, in the blink of an eye (literally speaking) everyone just disappears! Poof, Gone! Thus commences the inevitable battle for survival and power. Sam, a natural born leader, who does not want power nor leadership, does all that he can to protect the ones who are left behind in the world of The FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone)In The FAYZ, nothing is ever certain and nothing is normal.

Everyone within is trapped by a Giant Sphere. There is no way in nor out of the FAYZ. Powers are discovered among the young, animals begin to mutate, some can even speak! Acquaintances become friends and friends become enemies. Michael Grant's style of writing is superb! The pace is pefect!Written from different POV of the characters, as you read, you will see the story unfold before your eyes

This book was a major page-turner. I seriously was at the edge of my seat reading this. I love it when i find such a good book and get lost within the story. That doesn't happen often with me, so reading Gone was such a pleasure for me! I can not wait to get my hands on a copy of Hunger! For fans of Sci-Fi, adventure, adrenaline, surprises, this book is FOR YOU!

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