Gone - Book Review

Gone (Gone #1)
by Michael Grant

What is it about:
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...

What did I think of it:
People have been telling me that if I loved the The Enemy series by Higson, I would also love the Gone series by Grant. So I picked up the first book.

Hmmmm...

If I had read this book before reading the The Enemy series I would most probably have liked it better. Now I couldn't help comparing and I found Gone lacking.

And before everyone says it's because there are no zombies and everyone knows I'm a zombie fanatic: that might have been part of it, but it's not the only thing.

There's a clear difference in storytelling. Higson's characters are more real in my opinion. They're a glorious shade of grey. You can loathe a character one moment, but understand and sympathize with him/her the next. Grant's characters are more black and white. There are a few minor characters who are in the grey zone, but the major characters fall clearly either in the white or the black zone. Because of this I couldn't relate to any of them.

Apart from that the premise made it difficult to believe in what was happening as well. Adults disappearing: check! I can live with that. Bring on the mayhem! But when the kids go exploring and discover more about the disappearances, it got a bit iffy for me. Maybe there will be a perfect explanation in later books, but for now it didn't work for me.

All in all this was entertaining, but it didn't make me want to grab for the next book to find out more. I don't think I'll continue with this series.

Why should you read it:
It's entertaining YA speculative fiction.