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Gone #1-6
Gone / Hunger / Lies / Plague / Fear / Light
This collection contains all six books in New York Times bestselling author Michael Grant's breathtaking dystopian sci-fi Gone saga. These page-turning thrillers invoke the classic The Lord of the Flies along with the horror of Stephen King. King himself said: "I love these books."
In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: on your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else. . . .
Michael Grant's Gone series has been praised for its compelling storytelling, multidimensional characters, and multiple points of view. Included in this collection are: Gone, Hunger, Lies, Plague, Fear, and Light.
In the blink of an eye, everyone disappears. Gone. Except for the young. There are teens, but not one single adult. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: on your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else. . . .
Michael Grant's Gone series has been praised for its compelling storytelling, multidimensional characters, and multiple points of view. Included in this collection are: Gone, Hunger, Lies, Plague, Fear, and Light.
3168 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 3, 2014
252 people are currently reading
2001 people want to read
About the author
Michael Grant
75 books11.3k followersCo-author with Katherine Applegate of Ocean City, Making Out, Summer, Animorphs, Everworld, Remnants, Eve and Adam.
Pseudonymous coauthor with KA of Christy (the TV spin-off books), Sweet Valley Twins, Girl Talk and various Disney spin-offs.
Pseudonymous author of Barf-O-Rama.
Author of Gone, BZRK, The Magnificent 12, Messenger of Fear, Front Lines, Monster and A Sudden Death in Cyprus.
AKA Michael Robinson (restaurant reviews and newspaper features).
AKA Michael Reynolds (legal name) political media producer. (Team Blue).
Pseudonymous coauthor with KA of Christy (the TV spin-off books), Sweet Valley Twins, Girl Talk and various Disney spin-offs.
Pseudonymous author of Barf-O-Rama.
Author of Gone, BZRK, The Magnificent 12, Messenger of Fear, Front Lines, Monster and A Sudden Death in Cyprus.
AKA Michael Robinson (restaurant reviews and newspaper features).
AKA Michael Reynolds (legal name) political media producer. (Team Blue).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
January 27, 2016
“ONE MINUTE THE teacher was talking about the Civil War. And the next minute he was gone.”
I really enjoyed this series. Or more precisely, this series is one of the most compelling and perfectly imagined series I have read, ever! I Especially enjoyed Gone, Hunger, Fear and Light (#1, #2, #5, #6), but clearly I wouldn't recommend skipping the middle books, as they too are important to the series as a hole, and as I couldn't, not rate them 5, even though I liked the other books in there series better!
Like any story of good vs. evil, this series sees the protagonists through lots of hardship before eventually allowing good to prevail in some form or other. Another great thing about it, is the fact that not even the antagonists are pure evil, as ultimately there are much larger powers in play. Adding a common enemy, allows for even the bullies to be more than just stereotypes, and while they were in fact perfectly evil, I liked that I got to know them as well. Speaking of antagonists, I really enjoyed how they added to the complexity of the story. I was also very pleased with the fact that the cast of characters wasn't just a great bunch of kids, but also great in their diversity of ethnicities, personalities, abilities, and beliefs.
I highly recommend this to any teen or adult looking for a amazingly compelling, yet suspenseful, and somewhat terrifying read!
I really enjoyed this series. Or more precisely, this series is one of the most compelling and perfectly imagined series I have read, ever! I Especially enjoyed Gone, Hunger, Fear and Light (#1, #2, #5, #6), but clearly I wouldn't recommend skipping the middle books, as they too are important to the series as a hole, and as I couldn't, not rate them 5, even though I liked the other books in there series better!
Like any story of good vs. evil, this series sees the protagonists through lots of hardship before eventually allowing good to prevail in some form or other. Another great thing about it, is the fact that not even the antagonists are pure evil, as ultimately there are much larger powers in play. Adding a common enemy, allows for even the bullies to be more than just stereotypes, and while they were in fact perfectly evil, I liked that I got to know them as well. Speaking of antagonists, I really enjoyed how they added to the complexity of the story. I was also very pleased with the fact that the cast of characters wasn't just a great bunch of kids, but also great in their diversity of ethnicities, personalities, abilities, and beliefs.
I highly recommend this to any teen or adult looking for a amazingly compelling, yet suspenseful, and somewhat terrifying read!
September 9, 2017
OH GOOD, LET ME DO A SERIES REVIEW. I don't care about reviewing all six books because I don't remember which ones I liked best - I read the whole thing in a week, and then read Light a month later when I released. But this series is fabulous. The Gone series is basically Lord of the Flies with much better characters. This series is seriously weird and yet SO much fun and SO emotional.
This series is the gold standard of dramatic tension. Grant's plotting is brilliantly crafted, full of twists and turning. The events are often viscerally terrifying. Michael Grant's writing draws you in, making you feel as if the events are actually happening.
In terms of which book is my fave... who fucking knows. So I don't remember much about Hunger but it changed me as a person? I'm pretty sure mostly because I fucking love Diana. I think Lies was my least favorite and I honestly remember nothing about it. Plague is definitely the scariest; I don't remember the last time I was so terrified by a book. Fear and Light are both good, although not quite as great. The best part of Light is the fantastic conclusion. I am so, so okay with who lived and who died. Seriously, there are one or two characters I was sure were going to die and they didn't!! I'm so blessed!!
CHARACTERS AND STUFF
All the characters are SO GOOD. Seriously, this series has such great characters. There are so many side characters and somehow you get attached to all of them. Even the antagonists get your sympathy, and sometimes even your genuine love. There's one particular villain-to-hero growth arc that touches my heart more than any other.
[minor spoiler alert] I'm talking about Diana Ladris. She's seriously such a developed, heartfelt character. Diana's crisis over that one thing she did in Hunger made me fall in love with her. And then her arc?? Murdered me. We're so #blessed by her character growth. My original review of Light was “In this cruel world of YA lit, all I have left is Diana's character arc.” And I want to talk about this character arc a little. Diana is a self-confessed “bad girl.” She's not the greatest person; within this series, she does some fucked-up things and manipulates situations to her advantage. But she still gets a character arc and a happy ending. Bad characters in YA lit hardly ever get happy endings, and the fact that she did is amazing.
Some of my other faves are pretty surprising too. I can't believe I like Caine as a character? Fight me Michael Grant.
There's not much romance, but the existing romance is great. Sam and Astrid have a touch of instalove, but they get really developed throughout the book series. And the other romantic plots are even better, maybe just because they have less focus and way less instalove. Diana and Caine have an incredibly unhealthy dynamic on both sides, yet their characters are each so developed that you get invested anyway.
This series has great diversity too, with major lgbt characters and non-white characters. Yes, the two physically strongest characters are both guys, but this series does have a ton of high-powered girl characters, like Dekka and Brianna and Taylor. And there are of course other interesting, multifaceted girl characters, like Lana, Astrid, and Diana, who is my personal favorite character of anything ever. Sorry, I'll shut up about Diana's character arc someday.
This series is the gold standard of dramatic tension. Grant's plotting is brilliantly crafted, full of twists and turning. The events are often viscerally terrifying. Michael Grant's writing draws you in, making you feel as if the events are actually happening.
In terms of which book is my fave... who fucking knows. So I don't remember much about Hunger but it changed me as a person? I'm pretty sure mostly because I fucking love Diana. I think Lies was my least favorite and I honestly remember nothing about it. Plague is definitely the scariest; I don't remember the last time I was so terrified by a book. Fear and Light are both good, although not quite as great. The best part of Light is the fantastic conclusion. I am so, so okay with who lived and who died. Seriously, there are one or two characters I was sure were going to die and they didn't!! I'm so blessed!!
CHARACTERS AND STUFF
All the characters are SO GOOD. Seriously, this series has such great characters. There are so many side characters and somehow you get attached to all of them. Even the antagonists get your sympathy, and sometimes even your genuine love. There's one particular villain-to-hero growth arc that touches my heart more than any other.
[minor spoiler alert] I'm talking about Diana Ladris. She's seriously such a developed, heartfelt character. Diana's crisis over that one thing she did in Hunger made me fall in love with her. And then her arc?? Murdered me. We're so #blessed by her character growth. My original review of Light was “In this cruel world of YA lit, all I have left is Diana's character arc.” And I want to talk about this character arc a little. Diana is a self-confessed “bad girl.” She's not the greatest person; within this series, she does some fucked-up things and manipulates situations to her advantage. But she still gets a character arc and a happy ending. Bad characters in YA lit hardly ever get happy endings, and the fact that she did is amazing.
Some of my other faves are pretty surprising too. I can't believe I like Caine as a character? Fight me Michael Grant.
There's not much romance, but the existing romance is great. Sam and Astrid have a touch of instalove, but they get really developed throughout the book series. And the other romantic plots are even better, maybe just because they have less focus and way less instalove. Diana and Caine have an incredibly unhealthy dynamic on both sides, yet their characters are each so developed that you get invested anyway.
This series has great diversity too, with major lgbt characters and non-white characters. Yes, the two physically strongest characters are both guys, but this series does have a ton of high-powered girl characters, like Dekka and Brianna and Taylor. And there are of course other interesting, multifaceted girl characters, like Lana, Astrid, and Diana, who is my personal favorite character of anything ever. Sorry, I'll shut up about Diana's character arc someday.
July 30, 2015
My god. This is a breathtaking series. Absolutely stunning. I couldn't put these books down! I think I started reading them right after Plague came out, and then when I finally finished Plague I had to wait for the next book to come out before I could continue! I remember being so frustrated with having to wait a whole bloody year before I could find out what happened next. And then there was an either BIGGER cliff hanger after Fear finished and I had to wait for Light. These books are depressing like that.
So this small town in California, Perdido Beach, is suddenly trapped in this huge dome. And not only that, every adult over the age of 15 disappears. And if you thought that was bad, strange things start to happen within the walls of Perdido Beach. The kids start changing, they start developing powers while the animals start mutating. Snakes fly, coyotes talk and every crop field is filled with these man-eating worms that will devour you within minutes (Soon discovered in Hunger). And now, kids rule the streets, facing hunger, violence and death. They name it the FAYZ, Fallout Alley Youth Zone.
You are taken into the world of Perdido Beach, you are put into the mind of each character and you get to see the entire world open up to you. This is what I like about this series. It doesn't focus on the one person, it focuses on as many people it can focus on without being over crammed with characters.
We have Sam Temple as the main protagonist. Over the time of books he develops a relationship with the annoying Astrid Ellison. I like Sam, but he wouldn't be one of my favourite characters. Although he was well written, and he opened up more and kind of matured as the books went on, I still found him really really boring compared to the other characters. Sam has the power to be able to shoot deadly rays of powerful green light from his hands, kind of like really powerful lasers. As the book starts, he's a nobody that people only know as the kid who once saved a school bus full of children when their bus driver once had a heart attack. But after that he was forgotten. He only got known again once the adults disappeared because he has a gift of leading and people soon began to look up to him because he has a strong head and always knows what he's doing.
Sam was okay I guess, but he was just blacked out by how interesting the other characters are. You have his love interest, the annoying Astrid Ellison. But then you have Diana and Caine. Diana has a very weak yet useful power of being able to read the strength of other people's power. She rates it like Phone signals, in bars. 1 bar being the weakest and the highest known bar so far is a four bar. There are only two people in the Fayz with four bars, Caine Soren and Sam.
Astrid, otherwise known as Astrid The Genius, is probably the most annoying character in the entire series. She's hysterical and thinks she knows what she is doing when really all her plans just fall to pieces. She takes the role of leading the Fayz after Sam steps down because it's too much for him. Which I can understand. Sam never wanted to be leader, the weight was just thrown onto his shoulders against his will. It must be hard being responsible for so many people, especially since they are all kids and usually tend to point a finger at him when everything goes wrong.
Astrid is extremely religious and spends most of her time caring for her severely autistic little brother, Peter (Little Pete). Little Pete may not be able to communicate with anyone or even understand anything that is going on, but he's actually the most important person in the entire book series. He may not realise it or the other characters may not realise it until further on in the books. But he is the most powerful person in the entire Fayze. Much higher than a four bar and not being able to control his own powers. Which means he is incredibly dangerous without wanting to be.
Caine Soren is one of my favourite characters, his main love interest being Diana, he is the fraternal twin of Sam Temple, although they do not realise this until after the Fayz incident. Caine is power hungry for leadership and often punishes people in severe ways to get what he wants. He is scheming and the most hated person in all of the fayze, having the power of telekinesis.
Caine's girlfriend, Diana, is often known as being bitchy and manipulative. But as the series goes on we see more of her and to be honest, no matter how evil she is, it only makes us love her even more. She is the only person who Caine will just sit back and listen to. He has a soft spot for her and even enjoys it when she torments him or makes fun of him, he barely even notices it until she leaves his side and he suddenly finds himself missing her. That's what I love about this couple, they don't even realize they're in love until they are separated.
Caine seems to change a bit as the series goes on too, he gets even madder and even more crazier, not learning from his lessons one bit. Along his side is the sadistic and psychopathic Drake Merwin.
Where do I begin with Drake? HE IS MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!!!!! Yeah, he does torture people for fun and isn't interested in anything else other than the suffering of others. But he is honestly the most interesting character in the entire series. As the series goes on, his mentality gets worse as he begins worshipping the monster within the abandoned mine (long story) and becoming more... Strange, you'll find out soo enough.
Drake soon becomes a pure example of being able to fear someone without them needing powers. After having his arm burnt off by Sam, Drake goes to the monster in the abandoned mine to see if it can cure him of his amputation. The monster can't give him back his original arm but gives him something much better. Drake ends up with a whip like tentacle that he tends to wrap around his waist when he isn't attack people with it. I just love him so much, although we never find out why exactly he is the way he is, it sort of leaves him seeming more mysterious and likable. Drake is just such an interesting character and is probably my main highlight of the series.
And here's the rest of the characters in this series of books:
Quinn Gaither is Sam's best friend who stands by Sam's side throughout the books. But at the end of Gone, he begins to drift away from Sam, soon finding a hobby in fishing and finding that he finally has something useful to do since he felt useless not being a good fighter or not having any powers, he didn't feel in place at Sam's side like Edilio or Lana was. To mean, Quinn wasn't exactly that interesting in the books. He wasn't that much detailed and I didn't really see anything in him like I did with the rest of the characters. He just felt like an extra wheel to be honest.
Edilio Escobar Soon becomes Sam's right hand man in replace of Quinn, seeming a little weak as the books start off, but as the series went on you just came to love him more and more. Edilio is from Mexico and Immigrated to California with his family. Edilio also proves to be a good leader, taking after Sam once he doesn't want to do it anymore for probably the 3rd time. Sam was on and off with the whole leadership thing, Edilio is another one of my favourite characters, mainly because of his bravery and how strong he stays, not matter what happens to him. He proves that you can still be a great leader even if you don't have powers.
Lana Arwen Lazar Is another one of my favourite characters, mainly because she changes so much as the series goes on. At the start in Gone, she seems a bit weak and too normal. By the end she's a complete badass. She has healing powers, which come off as an advantage for her because it means she is untouchable. And I don't mean by the healing stuff. I mean no one wants to upset her because otherwise she'll probably not heal them or something. Throughout the series, Lana lives in the cliffeside hotel, which becomes her own property for just her and her faithful dog Patrick, who remains faithful throughout the series. She smokes, carries a gun around and scares the living daylights out of everyone she meets. Lana is just pure badass. I really love her character. She has some aspects about her that are relatable but at the same time she's completely unique to the rest of the characters
Albert Hillsborough Is kinda like the businessman of the Fayz. He gains power by his really excellent business techniques and ideas. Since the rest of the Fayz's money was stolen at the start of the incident, Albert makes his own currency names after him and also sets up businesses like Macdonalds, fishing and farming the crops. If it wasn't for Albert, the entire Fayz would fall apart. He's snobby and unlikable but at the same time you respect him for what he does for the other kids.
Dekka Talent Is a girl with the power of being able to disable gravity, this means she can make herself and objects float in the air, also using her own technique of creating her own small tornado out of dust and rocks to attack people with. She is also loyal to Sam. Dekka is hard not to like, mainly because of how headstrong she is and how she always remains strong throughout the series. She faces abuse for having dark skin and also being a lesbian but always holds her head up high anyway. She's a reasonable role-model.
Brianna aka "The Breeze": Is a girl who has the power to be able to run at incredibly fast levels of speed, being proven to be even faster than a bullet later on in the books. Brianna is big-headed and is the one person in the Fayz who embraces her power the most, even giving herself her own superhero name, 'The Breeze'. Brianna proves to not often listen to instructions and also seems to does stuff at her own will. She is childish and annoying. I didn't really like her character despite how useful she is and how much other people seemed to like her. I just found her annoying.
Computer Jack Is a clever guy who doesn't seem to know which side he is on. Throughout the book series Jack switches from Caine's side and then back to Sam's side. Usually against his will but it leaves him with a pretty bad reputation. He's shy most of the time, especially when talking to girls. And he also has the power of super strength. He gets the nickname 'Computer Jack' from being incredibly skilled with computers. But despite his strength and knowledge, Jack is weak when it comes to being manipulated and made to do things he doesn't want to, especially when the lights of Diana is involved.
Charles "Orc" Merriman: Is attacked by coyotes in Gone, he should have died but for some reason his wounds turned into this weird stone-like-gravel stuff, which eventually spread further throughout the series. By the end of light, he is completely covered in the stone-like-gravel stuff apart from one patch of human flesh on the one eyes. Before this happened, Orc was an abusive bully who developed an alcohol problem after he accidently killed a girl called Bette in the beginning of Gone. His half-human, half-gravel-like mutation makes his skin invulnerable to most physical damage, this makes him nearly indestructible and also gives him superhuman strength. Orc's situation goes from worse to even more worse in the middle of the books as he begins to spiral out of control. He commits more accidental murders with his uncontrollable super strength and also believes that Astrid is the only person that doesn't see him as a murderering monster. Despite being a murderer and seemingly an asshole at the start of the series, you begin to feel more sorry for Orc as he starts to regret his actions and even start to put things right. He doesn't really have a side in any of it, usually doing whatever he wants but still going ahead with Sam's plans when he is desperately needed.
Mary Terrafino: Otherwise known as 'Mother Mary' for her kindness towards the young children at the daycare center. Mary takes in all the kids in the Fayz that are too young to be left alone.She is portrayed as kind and warmhearted towards the kids and an ideal mother figure. She is highly respected throughout the Fayz for doing the job that no one else could be bothered to do. But despite all this, Mary starts to suffer from depression which leads to Anorexia and Bulimia. And on top of this she is suffering from the stress of being responsible for so many other children. This becomes the downfall of Mary and she soon spirals out of control as you will later find out in the books.
Taylor: Is a girl with the power to teleport. She is a loyal supporter of Sam and even is known to have a crush on Sam later on in the books. She doesn't really become at all important until the last book, you don't even like her and it feels like she's just... There. Her power is kind of useful but not until the later books where she becomes more powerful.
Penny: Is another physco in the Fayz, having the power to be able to give people horrifying and realistic illusions. These become so realistic that they feel real to the victim and can even cause them to go insanely mad. Penny, like Drake, is sadistic and after certain events at the end of Lies, becomes to have a pleasure in watching people suffer. She stands along side Caine, seeming to be loyal to him until the events from Lies to Fear in which she shows her true colours. Penny, unlike Drake, is just annoying. She's interesting, but it just feels like she's trying to be as cool as Caine and Drake but just fails terribly.
These books are really amazing. They give of a spooky feeling and really make you think of what you would do in this situation. Is portrays the havoc and fear of all these innocent children made to live in this hell brilliantly. You are immediately put in the minds of the children in the Fayz right from day one. It really is a spectacular book series and definitely worth a read.
My only problem with this series WAS THE DAMN CLIFF HANGERS. Alright, so I see why Michael Grant put them there, to make me want to read more. But seriously, they killed me. I had to wait a whole year to find out what happens and it was torturous. I can just picture Michael Grant sitting at home with this evil laugh while we all suffer like this and beg him to give us the next book. It's absolute torture.
All the books fitted in well together. The one I liked least was probably Lies just because it seemed to be more like a filler for the future events of the rest of the books, never the less, it was still epic though. I like how the chaos got worse and worse as the books went on and I was naturally happy with the ending. It had it's own sweet touch to it and wrapped all the books perfectly, answering all our questions and leaving us reasonably happy. We may not have been happy with what was overcome (Some of us in particular) but this really is the perfect book series to read when you're looking for a good series based around this genre. The Gone series is perfect, I can hardly find any flaws. These are highly enjoyable and for all kinds of readers.
So this small town in California, Perdido Beach, is suddenly trapped in this huge dome. And not only that, every adult over the age of 15 disappears. And if you thought that was bad, strange things start to happen within the walls of Perdido Beach. The kids start changing, they start developing powers while the animals start mutating. Snakes fly, coyotes talk and every crop field is filled with these man-eating worms that will devour you within minutes (Soon discovered in Hunger). And now, kids rule the streets, facing hunger, violence and death. They name it the FAYZ, Fallout Alley Youth Zone.
You are taken into the world of Perdido Beach, you are put into the mind of each character and you get to see the entire world open up to you. This is what I like about this series. It doesn't focus on the one person, it focuses on as many people it can focus on without being over crammed with characters.
We have Sam Temple as the main protagonist. Over the time of books he develops a relationship with the annoying Astrid Ellison. I like Sam, but he wouldn't be one of my favourite characters. Although he was well written, and he opened up more and kind of matured as the books went on, I still found him really really boring compared to the other characters. Sam has the power to be able to shoot deadly rays of powerful green light from his hands, kind of like really powerful lasers. As the book starts, he's a nobody that people only know as the kid who once saved a school bus full of children when their bus driver once had a heart attack. But after that he was forgotten. He only got known again once the adults disappeared because he has a gift of leading and people soon began to look up to him because he has a strong head and always knows what he's doing.
Sam was okay I guess, but he was just blacked out by how interesting the other characters are. You have his love interest, the annoying Astrid Ellison. But then you have Diana and Caine. Diana has a very weak yet useful power of being able to read the strength of other people's power. She rates it like Phone signals, in bars. 1 bar being the weakest and the highest known bar so far is a four bar. There are only two people in the Fayz with four bars, Caine Soren and Sam.
Astrid, otherwise known as Astrid The Genius, is probably the most annoying character in the entire series. She's hysterical and thinks she knows what she is doing when really all her plans just fall to pieces. She takes the role of leading the Fayz after Sam steps down because it's too much for him. Which I can understand. Sam never wanted to be leader, the weight was just thrown onto his shoulders against his will. It must be hard being responsible for so many people, especially since they are all kids and usually tend to point a finger at him when everything goes wrong.
Astrid is extremely religious and spends most of her time caring for her severely autistic little brother, Peter (Little Pete). Little Pete may not be able to communicate with anyone or even understand anything that is going on, but he's actually the most important person in the entire book series. He may not realise it or the other characters may not realise it until further on in the books. But he is the most powerful person in the entire Fayze. Much higher than a four bar and not being able to control his own powers. Which means he is incredibly dangerous without wanting to be.
Caine Soren is one of my favourite characters, his main love interest being Diana, he is the fraternal twin of Sam Temple, although they do not realise this until after the Fayz incident. Caine is power hungry for leadership and often punishes people in severe ways to get what he wants. He is scheming and the most hated person in all of the fayze, having the power of telekinesis.
Caine's girlfriend, Diana, is often known as being bitchy and manipulative. But as the series goes on we see more of her and to be honest, no matter how evil she is, it only makes us love her even more. She is the only person who Caine will just sit back and listen to. He has a soft spot for her and even enjoys it when she torments him or makes fun of him, he barely even notices it until she leaves his side and he suddenly finds himself missing her. That's what I love about this couple, they don't even realize they're in love until they are separated.
Caine seems to change a bit as the series goes on too, he gets even madder and even more crazier, not learning from his lessons one bit. Along his side is the sadistic and psychopathic Drake Merwin.
Where do I begin with Drake? HE IS MY FAVOURITE CHARACTER I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!!!!!! Yeah, he does torture people for fun and isn't interested in anything else other than the suffering of others. But he is honestly the most interesting character in the entire series. As the series goes on, his mentality gets worse as he begins worshipping the monster within the abandoned mine (long story) and becoming more... Strange, you'll find out soo enough.
Drake soon becomes a pure example of being able to fear someone without them needing powers. After having his arm burnt off by Sam, Drake goes to the monster in the abandoned mine to see if it can cure him of his amputation. The monster can't give him back his original arm but gives him something much better. Drake ends up with a whip like tentacle that he tends to wrap around his waist when he isn't attack people with it. I just love him so much, although we never find out why exactly he is the way he is, it sort of leaves him seeming more mysterious and likable. Drake is just such an interesting character and is probably my main highlight of the series.
And here's the rest of the characters in this series of books:
Quinn Gaither is Sam's best friend who stands by Sam's side throughout the books. But at the end of Gone, he begins to drift away from Sam, soon finding a hobby in fishing and finding that he finally has something useful to do since he felt useless not being a good fighter or not having any powers, he didn't feel in place at Sam's side like Edilio or Lana was. To mean, Quinn wasn't exactly that interesting in the books. He wasn't that much detailed and I didn't really see anything in him like I did with the rest of the characters. He just felt like an extra wheel to be honest.
Edilio Escobar Soon becomes Sam's right hand man in replace of Quinn, seeming a little weak as the books start off, but as the series went on you just came to love him more and more. Edilio is from Mexico and Immigrated to California with his family. Edilio also proves to be a good leader, taking after Sam once he doesn't want to do it anymore for probably the 3rd time. Sam was on and off with the whole leadership thing, Edilio is another one of my favourite characters, mainly because of his bravery and how strong he stays, not matter what happens to him. He proves that you can still be a great leader even if you don't have powers.
Lana Arwen Lazar Is another one of my favourite characters, mainly because she changes so much as the series goes on. At the start in Gone, she seems a bit weak and too normal. By the end she's a complete badass. She has healing powers, which come off as an advantage for her because it means she is untouchable. And I don't mean by the healing stuff. I mean no one wants to upset her because otherwise she'll probably not heal them or something. Throughout the series, Lana lives in the cliffeside hotel, which becomes her own property for just her and her faithful dog Patrick, who remains faithful throughout the series. She smokes, carries a gun around and scares the living daylights out of everyone she meets. Lana is just pure badass. I really love her character. She has some aspects about her that are relatable but at the same time she's completely unique to the rest of the characters
Albert Hillsborough Is kinda like the businessman of the Fayz. He gains power by his really excellent business techniques and ideas. Since the rest of the Fayz's money was stolen at the start of the incident, Albert makes his own currency names after him and also sets up businesses like Macdonalds, fishing and farming the crops. If it wasn't for Albert, the entire Fayz would fall apart. He's snobby and unlikable but at the same time you respect him for what he does for the other kids.
Dekka Talent Is a girl with the power of being able to disable gravity, this means she can make herself and objects float in the air, also using her own technique of creating her own small tornado out of dust and rocks to attack people with. She is also loyal to Sam. Dekka is hard not to like, mainly because of how headstrong she is and how she always remains strong throughout the series. She faces abuse for having dark skin and also being a lesbian but always holds her head up high anyway. She's a reasonable role-model.
Brianna aka "The Breeze": Is a girl who has the power to be able to run at incredibly fast levels of speed, being proven to be even faster than a bullet later on in the books. Brianna is big-headed and is the one person in the Fayz who embraces her power the most, even giving herself her own superhero name, 'The Breeze'. Brianna proves to not often listen to instructions and also seems to does stuff at her own will. She is childish and annoying. I didn't really like her character despite how useful she is and how much other people seemed to like her. I just found her annoying.
Computer Jack Is a clever guy who doesn't seem to know which side he is on. Throughout the book series Jack switches from Caine's side and then back to Sam's side. Usually against his will but it leaves him with a pretty bad reputation. He's shy most of the time, especially when talking to girls. And he also has the power of super strength. He gets the nickname 'Computer Jack' from being incredibly skilled with computers. But despite his strength and knowledge, Jack is weak when it comes to being manipulated and made to do things he doesn't want to, especially when the lights of Diana is involved.
Charles "Orc" Merriman: Is attacked by coyotes in Gone, he should have died but for some reason his wounds turned into this weird stone-like-gravel stuff, which eventually spread further throughout the series. By the end of light, he is completely covered in the stone-like-gravel stuff apart from one patch of human flesh on the one eyes. Before this happened, Orc was an abusive bully who developed an alcohol problem after he accidently killed a girl called Bette in the beginning of Gone. His half-human, half-gravel-like mutation makes his skin invulnerable to most physical damage, this makes him nearly indestructible and also gives him superhuman strength. Orc's situation goes from worse to even more worse in the middle of the books as he begins to spiral out of control. He commits more accidental murders with his uncontrollable super strength and also believes that Astrid is the only person that doesn't see him as a murderering monster. Despite being a murderer and seemingly an asshole at the start of the series, you begin to feel more sorry for Orc as he starts to regret his actions and even start to put things right. He doesn't really have a side in any of it, usually doing whatever he wants but still going ahead with Sam's plans when he is desperately needed.
Mary Terrafino: Otherwise known as 'Mother Mary' for her kindness towards the young children at the daycare center. Mary takes in all the kids in the Fayz that are too young to be left alone.She is portrayed as kind and warmhearted towards the kids and an ideal mother figure. She is highly respected throughout the Fayz for doing the job that no one else could be bothered to do. But despite all this, Mary starts to suffer from depression which leads to Anorexia and Bulimia. And on top of this she is suffering from the stress of being responsible for so many other children. This becomes the downfall of Mary and she soon spirals out of control as you will later find out in the books.
Taylor: Is a girl with the power to teleport. She is a loyal supporter of Sam and even is known to have a crush on Sam later on in the books. She doesn't really become at all important until the last book, you don't even like her and it feels like she's just... There. Her power is kind of useful but not until the later books where she becomes more powerful.
Penny: Is another physco in the Fayz, having the power to be able to give people horrifying and realistic illusions. These become so realistic that they feel real to the victim and can even cause them to go insanely mad. Penny, like Drake, is sadistic and after certain events at the end of Lies, becomes to have a pleasure in watching people suffer. She stands along side Caine, seeming to be loyal to him until the events from Lies to Fear in which she shows her true colours. Penny, unlike Drake, is just annoying. She's interesting, but it just feels like she's trying to be as cool as Caine and Drake but just fails terribly.
These books are really amazing. They give of a spooky feeling and really make you think of what you would do in this situation. Is portrays the havoc and fear of all these innocent children made to live in this hell brilliantly. You are immediately put in the minds of the children in the Fayz right from day one. It really is a spectacular book series and definitely worth a read.
My only problem with this series WAS THE DAMN CLIFF HANGERS. Alright, so I see why Michael Grant put them there, to make me want to read more. But seriously, they killed me. I had to wait a whole year to find out what happens and it was torturous. I can just picture Michael Grant sitting at home with this evil laugh while we all suffer like this and beg him to give us the next book. It's absolute torture.
All the books fitted in well together. The one I liked least was probably Lies just because it seemed to be more like a filler for the future events of the rest of the books, never the less, it was still epic though. I like how the chaos got worse and worse as the books went on and I was naturally happy with the ending. It had it's own sweet touch to it and wrapped all the books perfectly, answering all our questions and leaving us reasonably happy. We may not have been happy with what was overcome (Some of us in particular) but this really is the perfect book series to read when you're looking for a good series based around this genre. The Gone series is perfect, I can hardly find any flaws. These are highly enjoyable and for all kinds of readers.
May 18, 2021
It was a real bad time.
April 15, 2017
Brianna grabs a cello string to attack Drake. And this cello string is an E string. I PLAY THE BLOODY CELLO AND THERE IS. NO. E. STRING. THERE IS AN 'A' STRING, A 'D' STRING, A 'G' STRING AND A 'C' STRING.
Just sayin. Michael Grant, I hate to break this to ya but, you gotta find a better editor.
But that's my only problem. This book series is great and though the first 2 books are slow, and kinda make you think that scraping your eyes out with a fork would be more enjoyable, but the FABULOUS- NESS of the last 4 books over powers whatever sort of pain you went through with Gone and Hunger.
The only book series that creeped me out, made fun of my weak stomach, and kept me up at night that I loved. It's a good kinda creepy. It's a good kinda sick and it keeps you guessing.
Five stars NO DOUBT
Just sayin. Michael Grant, I hate to break this to ya but, you gotta find a better editor.
But that's my only problem. This book series is great and though the first 2 books are slow, and kinda make you think that scraping your eyes out with a fork would be more enjoyable, but the FABULOUS- NESS of the last 4 books over powers whatever sort of pain you went through with Gone and Hunger.
The only book series that creeped me out, made fun of my weak stomach, and kept me up at night that I loved. It's a good kinda creepy. It's a good kinda sick and it keeps you guessing.
Five stars NO DOUBT
December 1, 2015
I just killed like 5 birds with one stone. much reviews. wow. these are all good books its a great series. you should check it out its really grabbing.
July 3, 2023
Oh. My. Word.
I am SO glad I decided to reread these. I think this series has to be upgraded to one of my favorites of all time at this point—maybe a little lower on the list, but definitely up there. These books are freaking AMAZING.
I actually had forgotten a shocking amount from these, so the experience of a reread was actually ideal. I don’t know if I can read them AGAIN anytime soon now, but I got so much more out of them on the second time around. (In fact, the character I happen to share a name with—a rare anomaly—had a lot more screen time than I remembered! So that was a fun surprise.) Someone else wrote that these books are hard to individually review because they all blend together so well and form one massive super-story. That’s true, especially since I just ripped through all six of them in very short order. But I have to at least try to give my thoughts on each of them here, because they’re just that good. Stay tuned after that for some more generalized thoughts on the series.
Gone
What an opening. We start out with a not-quite-literal bang, but things pick up FAST. Already we’re getting to know our main characters and their…quirks, and it’s a super fascinating plot on top of all that character dev. Not to mention, there’s an excellent introductory divide between good and evil characters. Nobody’s perfect, but in terms of villains, the worst ones are thoroughly evil. Things stay grim, but realistic, and the book ends on a note of anticipation—you can tell this is nowhere near the end of the story, and you’re still just ITCHING for more.
Hunger
This book opens with one of the most memorable scenes of the whole series for me personally (no spoilers, but AFTER you’ve read it, go look on YouTube for the “Gone” teaser. No, there’s not actually a show. Yes, I’m hopping mad about it. More on that later, but anyways this exact scene is shown, even if not too accurately from the book, and I’m so totally here for it.) What I loved here is that Hunger builds so naturally on its predecessor—it’s as if the story just keeps going. There’s a new plot twist (several of them) to keep things interesting, but notably the characters don’t change and neither do their personalities. This book is really the stage of commitment. If you stop reading this series here, you’re a disappointment and an embarrassment and please never come near me again for both of our sakes. But if you DON’T, well, you’re in this for the long haul now. No way you can turn back here. Hunger is in my personal opinion one of the strongest books of the whole series.
Lies
This is probably the weakest book of the series. But it’s still seriously amazing. And of course you’ll read it. The plot, as we’ve come to expect, just keeps changing and complicating, but in this book particularly, there are some truly infuriating characters to keep the stakes and emotions high. There’s a bit of a lull in some of the biggest action items of the series, but more than enough character development to make up for it. While our main cast never changes, we do continue meeting new fascinating characters juxtaposed against the familiar ones. Throw them all into a boiling pot of angst, anger, and destruction, and we have a truly gripping narrative in front of us. Lies is maybe the only book that doesn’t have a SEVERELY dangerous “main threat” to antagonize the cast, but there are so many smaller pieces to juggle that we’re still left with more than enough turmoil to go around. Plus, in my opinion, it’s still an absolutely necessary piece of the series. Read on, and you’ll see what I mean.
Plague
Annnnnd we’re back into the action! The book begins with a bang yet again, back with another majorly threatening (and majorly fascinating) issue to contend with. This book probably ties with Hunger for readability and intrigue levels. It’s seriously SUCH a fun ride. There’s actually two levels of threat here, and each affects our main character team differently. We’ve slowed significantly on introducing new characters here (partially because old minor ones kinda keep dying for undisclosed reasons and the general pool is shrinking a bit). So this is an extremely important book for more character development, but sandwich that in with an impossibly cliffhanger plot and you’ve got one knockout of a story. It’s an excellent recovery from Lies, and sets up the stage beautifully for the story to keep pressing on.
Fear
While this title is possibly on the vaguer/misleading side, the story certainly is not. Things are starting to climax, and we can absolutely feel the desperation bleeding through the pages. By this point, nobody is starkly “good” or “evil”, with two exceptions; this crescendo has been steadily building for the last 2-3 books. More death, more suffering—but balanced with the barest slivers of hope that make the story come alive. And just when you think there can’t possibly be another “threat” looming, you’ve got another think coming, because this one is the biggest and baddest and most desperately inevitable than all the rest. This book is for SURE one of the grittiest, but it’s still right on par with the rest of the series. Also, in this book, for the first time, we start getting a bit of outside POV from outside our MCs’ realm. Not my favorite plot point (it’s exceptionally frustrating), but a very necessary and puzzle-piece-fitting part. By the end, the SHOCKING plot twist (and I do mean that) leaves you both reeling and with the feeling that we’re now racing toward the finish line at breakneck speed. You will truly have no choice but to pick up the last book. It will utterly compel you. The two books might as well be melded into one.
Light
The finale of this awesome journey. Not a page or word is wasted. We have gore, suffering, and pain galore, but it still feels so appropriate and balanced. Half this book revolves around the outside world alongside of the MCs’, which isn’t my favorite, but it’s certainly a fascinating new environment for the story. Everything here is just so raw. We feel every single emotion. Character development is at its true zenith, so we know and love and are intimately familiar with all these players. The ending, as we may have realized would be the case, is bittersweet—but, happily, more sweet than bitter. The vibes are immaculate. The ending is jagged and ugly, to be sure, but also satisfying and justifiable. There’s not too much of an open end, and yet it’s not all sealed away, either. Finishing this book feels like finishing a lifetime. Congratulations. It’s now a part of you forever.
You’ll notice, after all that, that I’ve barely spoken at all about the actual plots of these books. That’s on purpose. Others can do that—or, you can just go and read it for yourself. There’s no way I can do it justice.
But here’s more persuasion to read it. Michael Grant writes maybe the most diverse, detailed, easy-to-care-about characters I’ve ever read, and he stirs them up with an absolutely GENIUS plot. There’s never a dull moment, and there’s no sentence that doesn’t contribute to the plot in some way. Those aspects alone are excellent. But there’s more.
These books are, for lack of a better description, what Lord of the Flies is often mistakenly characterized as. While the latter is in reality a metaphorical and highly contextualized work of literature, the former is really, truly, simply the most accurate and reality-based depiction of human depravity and the inner workings of society that I can honestly say I’ve ever seen in a work of fiction. By reading these books, you WILL understand people and society more thoroughly. Economics will make more sense. Maybe human nature will, too. Grant writes such diverse characters that it’s clear he, too, is an expert student of the inner workings of a human mind—the fact that he captures this knowledge perfectly through children and young people is boundlessly astounding. His creativity also knows no limits. The combination is lethal in the best possible way. The best part is that language-wise, they are SHOCKINGLY clean for YA. And I mean, not a single use of s-word, f-word, or any anatomical references whatsoever throughout the WHOLE series. It blew my mind. There are a few words of a more minorly offensive nature sprinkled sparsely here and there, the use of which becomes just a bit more liberal as the books go on, but overall, considering the nature of the series, it is astounding how clean they are.
These are horrifying books. But at the same time, they aren’t horror books. More like extreme thrillers with the creep factor edged a bit higher than normal. But it’s not the kind of creepy that’ll keep you up in bed at night, but rather the kind of creepy that makes you think, “Whoa, how in the world did someone think of that?” and then picture it VIVIDLY in your mind. It’s a creepy you don’t let go of, that sticks with you a bit—at least for me, and I’m not exactly hyper-sensitive to this kind of thing. Yet it’s also morbidly fascinating. Two of my most memorable scenes live completely rent-free in my head, and although my memory was bad enough that I can’t always remember the details and descriptions, the mental pictures are stuck fast. And I absolutely love it. It had me on the very edge of my seat, saying “Dude,” in a way that was both unsettled and fascinated. It scratched the deep itch I didn’t exactly know I had, venturing thoroughly into “creepy” while definitely steering clear of “horror”. The distinction makes them all the more enjoyable.
I’d compare these VERY vaguely to Harry Potter in terms of character development. There’s a full cast of characters, many of them minor, many of them not, but you grow to know and care about them all. They change and grow so much over the course of the series that it’s impossible not to. It’s like living a lifetime alongside them. It’s a true journey if I ever saw one. (Don’t take the HP comparison seriously beyond that. They’re very unalike overall.)
I guess my last thought is one of absolute sheer bafflement that there hasn’t been a movie—no, scratch that, it MUST be a show—made out of these. I don’t get it. It makes no sense. There would be no need to go far off script from the book, and I would hate someone with every fiber of being if they tried. It’s all right here. This would make a glorious and incredible show, and I would watch it like it’s my last day on earth. They could absolutely do it. They SHOULD absolutely do it. There is no reason this wouldn’t be a wildly popular show if they stuck to the book exactly. It would be a riot and a knockout and I am truly baffled why someone hasn’t done it yet. Maybe I gotta do this thing myself. I better see it happen in my lifetime, is all I have to say about that.
I’m all out of words, and I feel like I really haven’t even said much. Just go read it. It’s so, so freaking worth it.
I am SO glad I decided to reread these. I think this series has to be upgraded to one of my favorites of all time at this point—maybe a little lower on the list, but definitely up there. These books are freaking AMAZING.
I actually had forgotten a shocking amount from these, so the experience of a reread was actually ideal. I don’t know if I can read them AGAIN anytime soon now, but I got so much more out of them on the second time around. (In fact, the character I happen to share a name with—a rare anomaly—had a lot more screen time than I remembered! So that was a fun surprise.) Someone else wrote that these books are hard to individually review because they all blend together so well and form one massive super-story. That’s true, especially since I just ripped through all six of them in very short order. But I have to at least try to give my thoughts on each of them here, because they’re just that good. Stay tuned after that for some more generalized thoughts on the series.
Gone
What an opening. We start out with a not-quite-literal bang, but things pick up FAST. Already we’re getting to know our main characters and their…quirks, and it’s a super fascinating plot on top of all that character dev. Not to mention, there’s an excellent introductory divide between good and evil characters. Nobody’s perfect, but in terms of villains, the worst ones are thoroughly evil. Things stay grim, but realistic, and the book ends on a note of anticipation—you can tell this is nowhere near the end of the story, and you’re still just ITCHING for more.
Hunger
This book opens with one of the most memorable scenes of the whole series for me personally (no spoilers, but AFTER you’ve read it, go look on YouTube for the “Gone” teaser. No, there’s not actually a show. Yes, I’m hopping mad about it. More on that later, but anyways this exact scene is shown, even if not too accurately from the book, and I’m so totally here for it.) What I loved here is that Hunger builds so naturally on its predecessor—it’s as if the story just keeps going. There’s a new plot twist (several of them) to keep things interesting, but notably the characters don’t change and neither do their personalities. This book is really the stage of commitment. If you stop reading this series here, you’re a disappointment and an embarrassment and please never come near me again for both of our sakes. But if you DON’T, well, you’re in this for the long haul now. No way you can turn back here. Hunger is in my personal opinion one of the strongest books of the whole series.
Lies
This is probably the weakest book of the series. But it’s still seriously amazing. And of course you’ll read it. The plot, as we’ve come to expect, just keeps changing and complicating, but in this book particularly, there are some truly infuriating characters to keep the stakes and emotions high. There’s a bit of a lull in some of the biggest action items of the series, but more than enough character development to make up for it. While our main cast never changes, we do continue meeting new fascinating characters juxtaposed against the familiar ones. Throw them all into a boiling pot of angst, anger, and destruction, and we have a truly gripping narrative in front of us. Lies is maybe the only book that doesn’t have a SEVERELY dangerous “main threat” to antagonize the cast, but there are so many smaller pieces to juggle that we’re still left with more than enough turmoil to go around. Plus, in my opinion, it’s still an absolutely necessary piece of the series. Read on, and you’ll see what I mean.
Plague
Annnnnd we’re back into the action! The book begins with a bang yet again, back with another majorly threatening (and majorly fascinating) issue to contend with. This book probably ties with Hunger for readability and intrigue levels. It’s seriously SUCH a fun ride. There’s actually two levels of threat here, and each affects our main character team differently. We’ve slowed significantly on introducing new characters here (partially because old minor ones kinda keep dying for undisclosed reasons and the general pool is shrinking a bit). So this is an extremely important book for more character development, but sandwich that in with an impossibly cliffhanger plot and you’ve got one knockout of a story. It’s an excellent recovery from Lies, and sets up the stage beautifully for the story to keep pressing on.
Fear
While this title is possibly on the vaguer/misleading side, the story certainly is not. Things are starting to climax, and we can absolutely feel the desperation bleeding through the pages. By this point, nobody is starkly “good” or “evil”, with two exceptions; this crescendo has been steadily building for the last 2-3 books. More death, more suffering—but balanced with the barest slivers of hope that make the story come alive. And just when you think there can’t possibly be another “threat” looming, you’ve got another think coming, because this one is the biggest and baddest and most desperately inevitable than all the rest. This book is for SURE one of the grittiest, but it’s still right on par with the rest of the series. Also, in this book, for the first time, we start getting a bit of outside POV from outside our MCs’ realm. Not my favorite plot point (it’s exceptionally frustrating), but a very necessary and puzzle-piece-fitting part. By the end, the SHOCKING plot twist (and I do mean that) leaves you both reeling and with the feeling that we’re now racing toward the finish line at breakneck speed. You will truly have no choice but to pick up the last book. It will utterly compel you. The two books might as well be melded into one.
Light
The finale of this awesome journey. Not a page or word is wasted. We have gore, suffering, and pain galore, but it still feels so appropriate and balanced. Half this book revolves around the outside world alongside of the MCs’, which isn’t my favorite, but it’s certainly a fascinating new environment for the story. Everything here is just so raw. We feel every single emotion. Character development is at its true zenith, so we know and love and are intimately familiar with all these players. The ending, as we may have realized would be the case, is bittersweet—but, happily, more sweet than bitter. The vibes are immaculate. The ending is jagged and ugly, to be sure, but also satisfying and justifiable. There’s not too much of an open end, and yet it’s not all sealed away, either. Finishing this book feels like finishing a lifetime. Congratulations. It’s now a part of you forever.
You’ll notice, after all that, that I’ve barely spoken at all about the actual plots of these books. That’s on purpose. Others can do that—or, you can just go and read it for yourself. There’s no way I can do it justice.
But here’s more persuasion to read it. Michael Grant writes maybe the most diverse, detailed, easy-to-care-about characters I’ve ever read, and he stirs them up with an absolutely GENIUS plot. There’s never a dull moment, and there’s no sentence that doesn’t contribute to the plot in some way. Those aspects alone are excellent. But there’s more.
These books are, for lack of a better description, what Lord of the Flies is often mistakenly characterized as. While the latter is in reality a metaphorical and highly contextualized work of literature, the former is really, truly, simply the most accurate and reality-based depiction of human depravity and the inner workings of society that I can honestly say I’ve ever seen in a work of fiction. By reading these books, you WILL understand people and society more thoroughly. Economics will make more sense. Maybe human nature will, too. Grant writes such diverse characters that it’s clear he, too, is an expert student of the inner workings of a human mind—the fact that he captures this knowledge perfectly through children and young people is boundlessly astounding. His creativity also knows no limits. The combination is lethal in the best possible way. The best part is that language-wise, they are SHOCKINGLY clean for YA. And I mean, not a single use of s-word, f-word, or any anatomical references whatsoever throughout the WHOLE series. It blew my mind. There are a few words of a more minorly offensive nature sprinkled sparsely here and there, the use of which becomes just a bit more liberal as the books go on, but overall, considering the nature of the series, it is astounding how clean they are.
These are horrifying books. But at the same time, they aren’t horror books. More like extreme thrillers with the creep factor edged a bit higher than normal. But it’s not the kind of creepy that’ll keep you up in bed at night, but rather the kind of creepy that makes you think, “Whoa, how in the world did someone think of that?” and then picture it VIVIDLY in your mind. It’s a creepy you don’t let go of, that sticks with you a bit—at least for me, and I’m not exactly hyper-sensitive to this kind of thing. Yet it’s also morbidly fascinating. Two of my most memorable scenes live completely rent-free in my head, and although my memory was bad enough that I can’t always remember the details and descriptions, the mental pictures are stuck fast. And I absolutely love it. It had me on the very edge of my seat, saying “Dude,” in a way that was both unsettled and fascinated. It scratched the deep itch I didn’t exactly know I had, venturing thoroughly into “creepy” while definitely steering clear of “horror”. The distinction makes them all the more enjoyable.
I’d compare these VERY vaguely to Harry Potter in terms of character development. There’s a full cast of characters, many of them minor, many of them not, but you grow to know and care about them all. They change and grow so much over the course of the series that it’s impossible not to. It’s like living a lifetime alongside them. It’s a true journey if I ever saw one. (Don’t take the HP comparison seriously beyond that. They’re very unalike overall.)
I guess my last thought is one of absolute sheer bafflement that there hasn’t been a movie—no, scratch that, it MUST be a show—made out of these. I don’t get it. It makes no sense. There would be no need to go far off script from the book, and I would hate someone with every fiber of being if they tried. It’s all right here. This would make a glorious and incredible show, and I would watch it like it’s my last day on earth. They could absolutely do it. They SHOULD absolutely do it. There is no reason this wouldn’t be a wildly popular show if they stuck to the book exactly. It would be a riot and a knockout and I am truly baffled why someone hasn’t done it yet. Maybe I gotta do this thing myself. I better see it happen in my lifetime, is all I have to say about that.
I’m all out of words, and I feel like I really haven’t even said much. Just go read it. It’s so, so freaking worth it.
Read
February 27, 2025I only read the first book in this series, and I hated it. The characters were lacking in personality. They also did not get sad! At one point one of the characters totally vanished, and they then responded with "That's horrible.", which was in no way the correct punctuation for this instance, like maybe express some more emotions? That's just one of the things I hated about this book! For one there was tons of unnecessary violence! And when that violence happened, none of the characters even let out a sound. This one guy got totally punched in the face and he literally just said "Ow." THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO EMOTIONS! There was also some stuff about this guy getting his arm turned into a whip. I was like "Why did you do that? Just why? He was already creepy enough without a weird whip arm!" Another thing: this Darkness? It was very unneeded! It was just a random side plot that added nothing to the story. There were too many moving parts in this book to focus on. If I didn't have to read this for a book competition I would have quit on page 10.There are to many parts to this book that are very horrible. Also there was a lot of this "You hit a girl?" stuff that I found further ruining this book for me (there was also a scene where the characters realized that all the pets would die of starvation, and somehow did NOT run and save them all. I wanted to scream at them, "SAVE THE CATS"). Overall this book does not even deserve a single star, which is why I did not give it one.
Want to read
August 25, 2015You guys remember the early 2000's when we were presented with the Jimmy Neutron movie where all of the adults were abducted by aliens and kids had to survive by themselves?
This is it, except way more serious. Nickelodeon isn't behind this series lmao
This is it, except way more serious. Nickelodeon isn't behind this series lmao
December 17, 2018
The setting is weird. You can't kill, can't eat can goods. Kids moms and dads are disappearing and the kids are going crazy. Kids are killing each other and food is running out. Also the darkness is growing and calling on the kids with powers.
Sam has both personal and external problems. His personal problems are that he wants to know where his mom went. Also he wants to know why he did not know he had a fraternal twin. Sams external problems are that he is the head of the council. San submits to power by being the head of the council. He exerts power by taking down his brother.
Hunger, lack of education, mental health, and sickness is what the characters in this book are aching. These are social issues in my gook. For the author's viewpoint children need parents and the food is running out. Children need guidance and stability. Symbols are that “The FAYZ” is always coming up in this book.
Gone is an interesting and action packed book. I think the type of person that likes action and adventure will like GONE and the rest o the series as much as I do. I enjoyed this book because it gives me something to read when i'm bored.When i'm reading this book it's like opening a door to another world. I really love these books! .
Sam has both personal and external problems. His personal problems are that he wants to know where his mom went. Also he wants to know why he did not know he had a fraternal twin. Sams external problems are that he is the head of the council. San submits to power by being the head of the council. He exerts power by taking down his brother.
Hunger, lack of education, mental health, and sickness is what the characters in this book are aching. These are social issues in my gook. For the author's viewpoint children need parents and the food is running out. Children need guidance and stability. Symbols are that “The FAYZ” is always coming up in this book.
Gone is an interesting and action packed book. I think the type of person that likes action and adventure will like GONE and the rest o the series as much as I do. I enjoyed this book because it gives me something to read when i'm bored.When i'm reading this book it's like opening a door to another world. I really love these books! .
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2022
This whole series is incredible. The characters are interesting and unique, the plot is well developed and manages to get away with a lot of sci-fi tropes without feeling cheesy. The entire book is permeated by this constant tension, and there’s always something that can (and does) go wrong for the characters, which creates this atmosphere as though the smallest of mistakes could have extreme consequences.
This is definitely in my top 3.
This is definitely in my top 3.
June 20, 2023
This is my favorite book series of all time. Adults start vanishing out of thin air leaving the town of Perdido beach abandoned. A dome forms over the town and they call this the FAYZ (the fallout alley youth zone). The kids start to run things themselves and some of them start developing powers. Each book had me captivated and clinging to the characters. I read this entire series in seriously less than a week in middle school and I still think about it all the time. A must-read if you like sci-fi dystopian YA novels.
September 3, 2021
I loved this book! It has a very dystopian feel to it. It has a fast pace, so if you don't like that I wouldn't recommend reading the book. If you enjoyed the hunger games, you will love this book. It is about how one day, all of the adults in a town disappeared. Leaving the kids stuck in the town to fend for themselves, no way out. The story shows how alliances change, trust, and many other things. It does have a little bit of gori, but very little. There are many plot twists and overall, it's an amazing book!
December 3, 2018
I've been thinking long and hard about whether I actually enjoyed this series.
I think it boils down to - how could I have? When the author just throws problem after problem after problem at his characters, with zero breathing space in between them. No time to rest before a new life-or-death issue arose, each more unbelievable than the last.
I enjoyed the first half of the first book a lot. Until we got to the talking coyotes. When it was clear that we were supposed to be taking them seriously, that they weren't just some dreamt-up stress-induced hallucination by a girl in complete and utter agony, that's when I started to drift from this series. I kept on with them to know the final outcome, but with some of the images left in my head, I kind of wish I hadn't continued at all.
I didn't feel anything for hardly any of the characters. Other than Edilio and Quinn, (and to my surprise, Orc. He had a good character arc) if someone died I only had the thought of 'Oh.' Sam, on the other hand, was very cut up over , and it was a name we revisited more than once in the subsequent books. But the readers had only known him for a page before he pegged it. The fact that I'm even saying 'pegged it' instead of 'died' is a testament to how little I cared about this character. It seemed that the author just threw kids in there to kill them off in the next page, which for me is an example of bad writing. Maybe, if Grant could stand to follow the 'Show, don't tell' rule a little better, I might have cared about the dozens of characters he killed. Alas, he didn't follow that rule, therefore I didn't care.
The way that Grant wrote about religion bothered me a lot as well. Maybe because fanatics get my goat in the real world, and the idea of 12-year-olds suddenly talking like they stepped right out of an evangelical sermon seemed ridiculous.
It wasn't only fanatics using strange speech, but other characters too. There were some very adult-like phrases being thrown around, and I can't bring myself to believe that even in a situation as strange and personality-changing situation like the FAYZ, that some of those speech patterns would be used by kids. I can't think of any at the moment, but when one pops into my head I'll come back and edit my review.
Not to mention the haphazard explanations we received for things - or sometimes, the lack of explanations we got. We finally learnt that .
The decisions characters were making throughout the entire series just irritated me. They were either sulking and avoiding any decisions, making terrible leader-decisions, following terrible leader-decisions, being absolute terrible human beings in the decisions they made, or making decisions so stupid that it makes you want to bash your head against a wall.
I think some other reviewers have mentioned it before, but I'm going to as well - the final battle. The grand moment where
I could go on, but I think it's pretty clear what my views are on this.
Not great writing, followed by a plot that gets crazier for no apparent reason other than to make lives hell, with no reprieves, awful character decisions, and a final battle that left me wanting.
I was recommended this series because I enjoyed The Enemy series by Charlie Higson so much. I don't think it was a good recommendation. I'm going to go back to The Enemy.
As a final point, there are people complaining that this hasn't been made into a TV show (although I saw some news that that may change soon). Personally, I'm relieved. I would never want to see all of that horror on TV, happening to kids. It was bad enough having read it.
I think it boils down to - how could I have? When the author just throws problem after problem after problem at his characters, with zero breathing space in between them. No time to rest before a new life-or-death issue arose, each more unbelievable than the last.
I enjoyed the first half of the first book a lot. Until we got to the talking coyotes. When it was clear that we were supposed to be taking them seriously, that they weren't just some dreamt-up stress-induced hallucination by a girl in complete and utter agony, that's when I started to drift from this series. I kept on with them to know the final outcome, but with some of the images left in my head, I kind of wish I hadn't continued at all.
I didn't feel anything for hardly any of the characters. Other than Edilio and Quinn, (and to my surprise, Orc. He had a good character arc) if someone died I only had the thought of 'Oh.' Sam, on the other hand, was very cut up over , and it was a name we revisited more than once in the subsequent books. But the readers had only known him for a page before he pegged it. The fact that I'm even saying 'pegged it' instead of 'died' is a testament to how little I cared about this character. It seemed that the author just threw kids in there to kill them off in the next page, which for me is an example of bad writing. Maybe, if Grant could stand to follow the 'Show, don't tell' rule a little better, I might have cared about the dozens of characters he killed. Alas, he didn't follow that rule, therefore I didn't care.
The way that Grant wrote about religion bothered me a lot as well. Maybe because fanatics get my goat in the real world, and the idea of 12-year-olds suddenly talking like they stepped right out of an evangelical sermon seemed ridiculous.
It wasn't only fanatics using strange speech, but other characters too. There were some very adult-like phrases being thrown around, and I can't bring myself to believe that even in a situation as strange and personality-changing situation like the FAYZ, that some of those speech patterns would be used by kids. I can't think of any at the moment, but when one pops into my head I'll come back and edit my review.
Not to mention the haphazard explanations we received for things - or sometimes, the lack of explanations we got. We finally learnt that .
The decisions characters were making throughout the entire series just irritated me. They were either sulking and avoiding any decisions, making terrible leader-decisions, following terrible leader-decisions, being absolute terrible human beings in the decisions they made, or making decisions so stupid that it makes you want to bash your head against a wall.
I think some other reviewers have mentioned it before, but I'm going to as well - the final battle. The grand moment where
I could go on, but I think it's pretty clear what my views are on this.
Not great writing, followed by a plot that gets crazier for no apparent reason other than to make lives hell, with no reprieves, awful character decisions, and a final battle that left me wanting.
I was recommended this series because I enjoyed The Enemy series by Charlie Higson so much. I don't think it was a good recommendation. I'm going to go back to The Enemy.
As a final point, there are people complaining that this hasn't been made into a TV show (although I saw some news that that may change soon). Personally, I'm relieved. I would never want to see all of that horror on TV, happening to kids. It was bad enough having read it.
July 22, 2023
amazing amazing, glad that i read lord of the flies because it is a lot like that.
January 27, 2023
!Spoiler free!
This book series is a must read. Definitely for older audiences (13+, although depends on maturity level) since there is quite graphic violence and mature themes, but nothing a teenager wouldn't be able to handle - I hate horror/violent books, but seem to be able to be just fine with this one.
But this book is so well written. The concept is thought provoking, the characters all extremely well written and as the series continues, all have exceptional character development.
It does cover topics which may be triggering such as: EDs, depression and suicide, ableism, bullying, abuse and graphic violence.
But Gone is a truly amazing series, and answers the question: what would happen if everyone over the age of 15 disappeared? Definitely 5/5 for me.
[also Diana, Edilio and Sam have my entire heart].
This book series is a must read. Definitely for older audiences (13+, although depends on maturity level) since there is quite graphic violence and mature themes, but nothing a teenager wouldn't be able to handle - I hate horror/violent books, but seem to be able to be just fine with this one.
But this book is so well written. The concept is thought provoking, the characters all extremely well written and as the series continues, all have exceptional character development.
It does cover topics which may be triggering such as: EDs, depression and suicide, ableism, bullying, abuse and graphic violence.
But Gone is a truly amazing series, and answers the question: what would happen if everyone over the age of 15 disappeared? Definitely 5/5 for me.
[also Diana, Edilio and Sam have my entire heart].
May 12, 2021
Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would recommend this book to a peer. I think this book is a great story in general but especially for kids in my age demographic because I think it covers some relatable topics for teens and even though it’s a fiction story it doesn’t step too far out of the range of reality. In addition we also see our character make tough decisions and we see how these choices affect them throughout the story and how eventually we see all of our characters' stories intertwine, as well as the outstanding use of symbolism and representation in the novel.
Read
March 6, 2017A very interesting series that will make you want to read more and more. I love these books.
September 25, 2018
I’ve started reading Michael Grant’s ‘Gone’ series of YA books because my daughter loves them and I wanted to be able to share a common interest with her.
Gone is the tale of a fictional small Californian town, Perdido Beach, where all of a sudden every person aged 15 or over just blinks out of existence.
Sam Temple is an ordinary high school student who is somewhat famous after he saves a school bus from crashing when the driver suffered a heart attack. And at 14 and one of the older children reaming, younger kids start to look to Sam for guidance and leadership.
Sam is initially reluctant preferring to go about his own business of understanding what has happened and searches for answers with his best fined Quin, and high school crush Astrid.
However, when Caine Soren rides into town from Coates Academy (a school for troubled children (In the UK we’d have called it a borstal) and charms his way to being mayor, things start to go wrong for Sam. Caine see’s Sam as a potential rival and sets out to undermine him while consolidating his power and ruling via an iron fist empowering bully’s to implement ‘the law’.
Sam discovers that there is a barrier surrounding Perdido Beach meaning noting can get in or out and he also notes that things are being to change. Many of the children left behind start to display strange abilities and powers such as teleportation, telekinesis, levitation and super speed. Furthermore the local wildlife is mutating with snakes developing wings, and a pack of talking coyote’s.
The also discover that when you turn 15, you also blink out of existence and the race begins to find a way to halt the process, particularly as Sam’s 15th birthday is only a couple of weeks away….
This all leads to a battle climax where Sam and Caine face off to decide the future of Perdido Beacha and its young residence.
All I all I enjoyed Gone as it is fast paced and well written. As a book aimed at teenagers it treads the very fine line or not dumbing down and condescending but also not being overly sophisticated and pretentious and treads it very well.
Gone is the tale of a fictional small Californian town, Perdido Beach, where all of a sudden every person aged 15 or over just blinks out of existence.
Sam Temple is an ordinary high school student who is somewhat famous after he saves a school bus from crashing when the driver suffered a heart attack. And at 14 and one of the older children reaming, younger kids start to look to Sam for guidance and leadership.
Sam is initially reluctant preferring to go about his own business of understanding what has happened and searches for answers with his best fined Quin, and high school crush Astrid.
However, when Caine Soren rides into town from Coates Academy (a school for troubled children (In the UK we’d have called it a borstal) and charms his way to being mayor, things start to go wrong for Sam. Caine see’s Sam as a potential rival and sets out to undermine him while consolidating his power and ruling via an iron fist empowering bully’s to implement ‘the law’.
Sam discovers that there is a barrier surrounding Perdido Beach meaning noting can get in or out and he also notes that things are being to change. Many of the children left behind start to display strange abilities and powers such as teleportation, telekinesis, levitation and super speed. Furthermore the local wildlife is mutating with snakes developing wings, and a pack of talking coyote’s.
The also discover that when you turn 15, you also blink out of existence and the race begins to find a way to halt the process, particularly as Sam’s 15th birthday is only a couple of weeks away….
This all leads to a battle climax where Sam and Caine face off to decide the future of Perdido Beacha and its young residence.
All I all I enjoyed Gone as it is fast paced and well written. As a book aimed at teenagers it treads the very fine line or not dumbing down and condescending but also not being overly sophisticated and pretentious and treads it very well.
March 1, 2021
A COMFORT SERIES FOR ME
My brothers recommended this series for me, I loved it. I really enjoyed reading about the main character (Sam Temple), its a very fast paced series, and you can definitely read a book in one sitting. I have read the complete series about 5 times (and I've read the trilogy that is the aftermath of the FAYZ , Monster, Villain, Hero
I dont give 5/5 stars lightly but I honestly loved this so much.
My brothers recommended this series for me, I loved it. I really enjoyed reading about the main character (Sam Temple), its a very fast paced series, and you can definitely read a book in one sitting. I have read the complete series about 5 times (and I've read the trilogy that is the aftermath of the FAYZ , Monster, Villain, Hero
I dont give 5/5 stars lightly but I honestly loved this so much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 5, 2015
The series starts well, the first two books hardly works of art but they have a fun and interesting concept: everybody aged 15 or over suddenly vanishes from a Californian town, leaving the kids trapped inside an opaque dome, and to fight each other for power and order (did I mention they've mutated to have super powers too?). The series degrades book by book unfortunately, as the author gets more ridiculous with his ideas and failing to give any proper explanations for what's happening - it leaves you thinking "That was just stupid" - and he also attempts to overly explain how the concept occurs, and the reason means it just feels unnecessary. Still good for a bit of fun though, and good to finish largely to see what happens to the characters.
July 2, 2022
This book was absolutely amazing the plot was outstanding and the way Grant portrayed the characters was flawless.The way this can happen in real life is kinda terrifying but i absolutely lovedd to read itt. The romance between Sam and Astrid was written soo good and the image in my head about them is so clear
I would recommend young adults to read it if you like to read fiction books with outstanding romance!!!!
I would recommend young adults to read it if you like to read fiction books with outstanding romance!!!!
July 25, 2016
Highly intertaning
September 18, 2017
my actual rating is 3.666666666666666666666666... (since i calculated my average score for all the books because)
June 20, 2022
I read this book series about eight years ago when I was in high school. While I have not touched it since, it still has a spot in my heart as my childhood supernatural book series. I would go through and review them all individually, but I'd rather review it as a series for a whole retrospective.
Pros:
-The characters. They were some of the most real, but also diverse, characters that I had read at the time. Astrid, specifically, was a favourite of mine. For once, I felt vindicated and represented as the sister of an autistic brother. While this might sound selfish, I've never seen my struggles dissected before until I watched Astrid and Pete struggle. It was weirdly exposing, and something I haven't seen since. Other favourites include Dekka, Sanjit, Brianna (rip), Jack (rip), and Edillio. The expansive cast was also really nice--it made the FAYZ feel like a PLACE.
-I also really enjoyed the story itself. I was pretty much hooked on the first sentence in Gone, and was unable to put it down since.
-For a book aimed toward teens, it was weirdly brutal, but in a good way. For example, when Dekka was infected with the worms, and they had to cut her open for Sam to blast his light to kill them. THAT also lives rent free in my head, but in a good way. While not grimdark, I still did like the heavier elements of violence and sometimes more adult themes. Other examples include Drake the Whip Hand, poor Taylor getting stuck in a building when she bounced wrong, Brianna getting sliced to bits, etc.
-It was also not afraid to kill its characters. I'm STILL not over Jack and Brianna dying, and I remember the FAYZ's death count. That hurt.
Cons:
-The writing style. The books used a lot of short, choppy sentences that could've been mushed together as one larger sentence. It just felt a bit jarring. However, the use of a countdown with each chapter was REALLY good, and added to the tension.
-Some of the tropes used were very of the time the novels came out. For example, Diana and her daughter growing incredibly fast--it was like it was taken out of Twilight: Breaking Dawn with Renesme and Bella. I read Twilight also around that time, and picked up on it almost immediately. Cain making the sound of 'a wild animal' when he saw Diana undressed also lives rent free in my head, and I really wish it didn't.
-Never liked the original covers--they looked not very well made with just stock actors photoshopped on the cover. However, the new edition covers are very nice and I wish they were around when I was reading the novels actively.
-Edillio and Roger felt tacked on at the end for a queer couple, but I'm willing to let it slide with the time period. There just wasn't much development with the two of them--I don't even remember if they've even TALKED before Edillio came out. To be fair, Sam is obvious as hell, but still. This also goes for Dekka and Brianna. I've been going back and fourth if Brianna dying was a bury your gays, even though I'm pretty sure Brianna didn't like Dekka back. It still felt scummy.
I'm definitely aged out of the bracket it was aiming for, so I'm not really sure if I'm going to ever read it again. But it definitely helped shape my fundamental years as a young teenager.
Pros:
-The characters. They were some of the most real, but also diverse, characters that I had read at the time. Astrid, specifically, was a favourite of mine. For once, I felt vindicated and represented as the sister of an autistic brother. While this might sound selfish, I've never seen my struggles dissected before until I watched Astrid and Pete struggle. It was weirdly exposing, and something I haven't seen since. Other favourites include Dekka, Sanjit, Brianna (rip), Jack (rip), and Edillio. The expansive cast was also really nice--it made the FAYZ feel like a PLACE.
-I also really enjoyed the story itself. I was pretty much hooked on the first sentence in Gone, and was unable to put it down since.
-For a book aimed toward teens, it was weirdly brutal, but in a good way. For example, when Dekka was infected with the worms, and they had to cut her open for Sam to blast his light to kill them. THAT also lives rent free in my head, but in a good way. While not grimdark, I still did like the heavier elements of violence and sometimes more adult themes. Other examples include Drake the Whip Hand, poor Taylor getting stuck in a building when she bounced wrong, Brianna getting sliced to bits, etc.
-It was also not afraid to kill its characters. I'm STILL not over Jack and Brianna dying, and I remember the FAYZ's death count. That hurt.
Cons:
-The writing style. The books used a lot of short, choppy sentences that could've been mushed together as one larger sentence. It just felt a bit jarring. However, the use of a countdown with each chapter was REALLY good, and added to the tension.
-Some of the tropes used were very of the time the novels came out. For example, Diana and her daughter growing incredibly fast--it was like it was taken out of Twilight: Breaking Dawn with Renesme and Bella. I read Twilight also around that time, and picked up on it almost immediately. Cain making the sound of 'a wild animal' when he saw Diana undressed also lives rent free in my head, and I really wish it didn't.
-Never liked the original covers--they looked not very well made with just stock actors photoshopped on the cover. However, the new edition covers are very nice and I wish they were around when I was reading the novels actively.
-Edillio and Roger felt tacked on at the end for a queer couple, but I'm willing to let it slide with the time period. There just wasn't much development with the two of them--I don't even remember if they've even TALKED before Edillio came out. To be fair, Sam is obvious as hell, but still. This also goes for Dekka and Brianna. I've been going back and fourth if Brianna dying was a bury your gays, even though I'm pretty sure Brianna didn't like Dekka back. It still felt scummy.
I'm definitely aged out of the bracket it was aiming for, so I'm not really sure if I'm going to ever read it again. But it definitely helped shape my fundamental years as a young teenager.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 4, 2022
The Gone Series – 6 books, over 3000 pages – by Michael Grant is an epic YA adventure.
“Equipped” with a map of Perdido Beach, later known as the FAYZ (Fall Out Youth Zone) and triggered by the countdown at the beginning of chapter one – 299 hours and 54 minutes, you only have time to breathe in and... there you are .. immediately dropped into theThe Gone Series Collection 6 Books Set By Michael Grant action. 😱😱😱💪💪💪
All adults over 15 go “poof” and no one knows why. An endless, unbreakable barrier appears, cutting the kids from the outside world. Some of these kids will develop superpowers.
It's “Lord of the Flies” on crack! 📚📚😏
While you will be amazed by these children's resilience and courage, you may have your heartbroken by the innate cruelty that surfaces in every human being trying to survive and the unavoidable loss of life in extreme situations like the one in the FAYZ.
There is never a dull moment in this story. The characters are likable, even those that may come across as villains at some point. You will relate to their joy and their pain. In the end, they are just kids trying to survive in extreme and unthinkable situations.
Michael Grant's remarkable imagination has no limits. Anything can happen at any moment at any corner of the FAYZ. I don't want to go into too much detail and spoil your fun.
When you finally reach the end, there will be 4 perfect aftermath notes. If you are anything like me you will be simultaneously thrilled for crossing the finish line and sad for leaving this universe behind. 🥰🥰🥰🥰
They will live in my memory for a really long time.
“Equipped” with a map of Perdido Beach, later known as the FAYZ (Fall Out Youth Zone) and triggered by the countdown at the beginning of chapter one – 299 hours and 54 minutes, you only have time to breathe in and... there you are .. immediately dropped into theThe Gone Series Collection 6 Books Set By Michael Grant action. 😱😱😱💪💪💪
All adults over 15 go “poof” and no one knows why. An endless, unbreakable barrier appears, cutting the kids from the outside world. Some of these kids will develop superpowers.
It's “Lord of the Flies” on crack! 📚📚😏
While you will be amazed by these children's resilience and courage, you may have your heartbroken by the innate cruelty that surfaces in every human being trying to survive and the unavoidable loss of life in extreme situations like the one in the FAYZ.
There is never a dull moment in this story. The characters are likable, even those that may come across as villains at some point. You will relate to their joy and their pain. In the end, they are just kids trying to survive in extreme and unthinkable situations.
Michael Grant's remarkable imagination has no limits. Anything can happen at any moment at any corner of the FAYZ. I don't want to go into too much detail and spoil your fun.
When you finally reach the end, there will be 4 perfect aftermath notes. If you are anything like me you will be simultaneously thrilled for crossing the finish line and sad for leaving this universe behind. 🥰🥰🥰🥰
They will live in my memory for a really long time.
November 7, 2017
I think this series was at the least bit, extraordinary, and there were little books like it at the time the first book was made. These books are the first ones that actually made me want to write my own book. No one fits into the clear 'bad guy' description, you cant tell who the antagonist of the whole series until late in the series, unless you look for the clues hidden deep throughout the whole series and it rarely bores you. If you really like this series, like I did, time will fly and you will read it for hours. You never want to pull away from this, and when your done, you will want to read it again! There are lots of hints in the books, and the continuous mystery will get you thinking. One thing relatively bad about it, though, is that a few of the characters, even some main ones, fit into some categories of characters that may become predictive. Except that, I think the books were pretty much perfect!
March 22, 2017
I didn't think that I'd enjoy these books, but it's one of the few YA novel series that I couldn't put down.
Gone 's basic premise has been done before; it felt like a sci-fi/ horror version of Lord of the Flies. However, Grant keeps the story fresh because the rules constantly change. As soon as Sam Temple and the other characters settle in the society that they've formed, they realize that their world is mutating.
The only thing that marred the series for me was the emphasis that religion is useless. . It felt clumsy, preachy, and heavy-handed, especially when everything else was well-done.
However, I highly recommend this series to anyone who needs a new, fast-paced series. It's part mystery, horror, sci-fi, and adventure.
Gone 's basic premise has been done before; it felt like a sci-fi/ horror version of Lord of the Flies. However, Grant keeps the story fresh because the rules constantly change. As soon as Sam Temple and the other characters settle in the society that they've formed, they realize that their world is mutating.
The only thing that marred the series for me was the emphasis that religion is useless. . It felt clumsy, preachy, and heavy-handed, especially when everything else was well-done.
However, I highly recommend this series to anyone who needs a new, fast-paced series. It's part mystery, horror, sci-fi, and adventure.
July 26, 2017
UNDERRATED. This series needs to blow up because it is incredible.
Surfer Sam and Astrid the Genius are hit again and again with struggles and hardships, but also with love and relationship issues. AH. I AM SO ATTACHED TO THIS SERIES. Every book just gets better and better, though also darker and darker, which I enjoyed. So many issues for such young kids!
I don't know how but Grant manages to introduce so many different characters while still making you feel attached to every one, all of the 3 dimensional.
Death, love, hunger, happiness, hope.
AMAZING. READ IT.
Surfer Sam and Astrid the Genius are hit again and again with struggles and hardships, but also with love and relationship issues. AH. I AM SO ATTACHED TO THIS SERIES. Every book just gets better and better, though also darker and darker, which I enjoyed. So many issues for such young kids!
I don't know how but Grant manages to introduce so many different characters while still making you feel attached to every one, all of the 3 dimensional.
Death, love, hunger, happiness, hope.
AMAZING. READ IT.
August 30, 2018
The series is pretty good for the first 3 books, you can tell that the books start repeating themselves in a certain way, yet instead of not mentioning this they mention in the 5th book that the same things keep happening instead of just repeating over and over and in the next book they start to change that up, the 5th book gives build up to the 6th book being completely different. I would recommend you read Gone, Hunger, Lies, etc... But, you should skip plague, that book wasn't as good as the other ones, it is just filling in minor plot holes which aren't as big until the next book.
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