Perdido Beach was a normal neighborhood until the day when it became the Fallout Alley Youth Zone (FAYZ). All the teenagers and adults have mysteriously disappeared into thin air, leaving the city to those 14 years old and under. Bullies are taking control. Strange anomalies are popping up in nature, even in the kids themselves. Food is running out. And there’s no way out, until your 15th birthday.
The madness of Perdido doesn’t sit well with Sam, the quiet hero type. But he finds allies in his friend Quinn and an age-long crush, Astrid. They’ll prove more important than ever before when a new leader shows up in town. Caine and his crew of prep school kids are smart, controlling, and with a very deep secret behind their goals of “unity”. Sam must begin to solve the mysteries behind the nuclear center, a nameless darkness, and even his own history before Perdido Beach is well and truly lost.
This book felt a little bit like young X-Men on radioactive crack. From the first few pages I was drawn into the story and completely interested in the characters. Michael Grant juggled two story lines that would eventually intersect and managed to make them both as interesting as the other. Usually, when that happens, I care about one character and their trials more than the other’s and skim the bothersome parts. And when the powers started surfacing, it got really exciting. I have always been especially fond of superpower stories. Plus, dystopia = made of awesome. Honestly.
Sadly, with a plot like that, Gone sometimes felt a little formula. I predicted a few of the plot twists that I wish had been more difficult to see coming and the bullies were completely stereotype. Which may have been to prove a point, so I was not exceptionally bothered by it. Another thing that kind of put me out was the Sam was fictional. *sigh* Just like Marquis Shevraeth, Jacob, George Cooper, Prosper, Bobby Pendragon, Draco Malfoy… *rambles for several hours*
All the same, it was a very fun and solid read, well worth the 558 pages. I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel. 5.5 out of 7 leaking nuclear plants for Gone.
Mourning Professor Xavier,
Aella Siofra
PS: I thought that the UK cover for this was infinitely more awesome? Am I alone in this? Medeia, any thoughts?
PS2: If you don’t know who Shevraeth is than go read Crown Duel. Poseidon commands it. Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith.
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September 29, 2008 at 12:02 am
Steph
When I heard this was Harper’s, I was impressed–I’m usually in love with their covers, but was somewhat less-than-captivated by this one. It’s too…plain.
However, I’d gladly read the book. Too bad they don’t ship abroad–and that their hardcovers are too expensive for us foreigners!
Great review, Aella ❤
Steph
September 29, 2008 at 12:38 am
charley
I’m a fan of the less is more approach to writing, so I’m suspicious of an author who needs 558 pages to tell their story. I expect a book of that length to be phenomenal. It’s too bad Gone doesn’t quite deliver, but the premise sounds interesting.
September 29, 2008 at 2:12 am
sERAFINA zANEs
The UK cover totally owns this one. They look so…ugh.
This book…I can’t talk about it without being angry/cracking up. The main characters had such obnoxious holier-than-thou attitudes I completely rooted for the sociopaths, the science made no sense, the Bible imagery was thick and obvious, and HOW DID THE RADIOACTIVE COYOTES LEARN ENGLISH ANYWAY? And SINCE WHEN is Weezer “ska-punk”?
Sorry. I’m kind of irrational about this book. The “blame the autistic kid” stuff kind of p*ssed me off too…almost as much as when they turned him around towards the fresh-dug grave to make out, wtf.
Ummm, yeah, irrational. Ugh.
September 29, 2008 at 9:58 am
Aella
Haha. In agreement with the Weezer comment. Ska-punk? What? Early Less Than Jake stuff is Ska-Punk. Weezer is NOT Ska-punk.
September 29, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Ink Mage
I am planning on reading this book really soon, so I’m excited to see your thoughts on it.
You are not alone! UK covers are often infinitely more awesome than those created for us boring Americans. (Yes, yes, I’m an Anglophile.)
Crown Duel is SO GOOD! 😀
September 29, 2008 at 11:19 pm
khy
Shevraeth….sigh. You’re not the only one who wishes he weren’t fictional.
September 30, 2008 at 12:00 am
Medeia
On the cover: uh, yeah the UK one’s better.
On Shevraeth: *stares dreamily into space*
September 30, 2008 at 12:02 am
Medeia
And waaaait a sec… *tries to picture X-men on crack* … okay… *tries to picture X-men on radioactive crack*…. that’s just scary
September 30, 2008 at 12:15 am
Aella
Oh wow. I had completely forgotten how completely amazzzing Shevraeth is. *rushes to library before Medeia can refresh her memory’*
September 30, 2008 at 4:34 am
Serafina Zane
I dunno, nobody hurt me, I think Shevraeth is pretty amazing and all, but I dunno if I’d rate him the extra z’s myself. He’s definitely one-z amazing though.
Most of the characters I wish weren’t fictional would be horrible people in real life. Much like they are in their books. I love them anyway.
Yeah, I had to reread that half a dozen times before I registered that was really what he’d said, because just wrong. WEEZER NO SKA-PUNK. NO. Not even remotely! Ska should have trombonists. And…be ska. Weezer is not even hyphenated ska.
I dunno, I don’t prefer all UK covers…there are some where I think we get the better deal. And there’s the awesome covers in non-English speaking countries where I wish I could just get the cover on an English edition.
October 1, 2008 at 12:56 am
Cassandra
the UK cover is SO much better… even the ARC one was better than the new one. It was just “GONE” with big cool letters. The US cover looks like something you’d see on a crappy romance novel. Guy and girl staring off into space, girl wearing flow-y blouse and too much lipstick… eww…
October 19, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Ellie
Sounds… interesting. Does the summary remind anyone else of The Tribe? Assuming that anyone knows what that is?
Oh, Shevvy. Most amazing fictional character ever written. Like, by far. He SO trumps Edward.
January 1, 2012 at 4:04 am
YA Connection - The Story Siren
[…] of Charybdis Reviews reviewed Gone by Michael Grant. “This book felt a little bit like young X-Men on radioactive crack. From […]