Book Review - Gone by Michael Grant

Gone by Michael Grant is geared for older kids to teens, but the writing is sophisticated enough to appeal to adults.

Gone is about a scenario that's like a kid's dream come true - one morning, everyone over the age of 13 disappears. A dome encompassing a 20 mile radius around Perdido Beach, CA cuts off all the remaining children from the rest of the world. Disturbing changes occur such as animal mutations and special powers developing in many of the children.

A divide occurs among the children - the students from Coates Academy (an upperclass school for rich delinquents) seize control under the leadership of older student Caine (who has the power to move things by mental telepathy) and a gang of other kids with significant powers.

The kids from the public school gather around natural but reluctant leader Sam, who has his own powers but keeps it hidden. Things come to a head when Caine appoints pretty much violent and psychotic kids to act as policemen, and who immediately start abusing their power. An added pressure is that both Caine and Sam are about to have their birthdays in one week, and likely to disappear to the great beyond like all the others before them.

In the end, a line is drawn between two factions - the children loyal to Sam versus those tied to Caine, and an epic battle ensues. But on the backdrop of this drama is a very real supernatural entity of darkness which is responsible for making all those older than 13 disappear. Pretty heavy stuff if you ask me.

The book is pretty violent so I was surprised that it was being marketed to older kids. I thought the themes of death, abuse, violence and young love that's addressed in the book would actually be better suited to older teens actually.

Check out Gone by Michael Grant on Amazon!