Gone [Hardcover]

If you need to go on a crash diet then my advice is to read this book. When I first downloaded Gone onto my Kindle I thought it was going to take me ages to get through it as it's pretty hefty - digitally speaking - but within only a few days I was distraught to find I'd hit the last page. Apart from work I suspended all other activities and a bowl of cereal became a suitable substitute for dinner. I literally trembled my way through Gone and could not abide putting it down in case something hideous should happen to the characters in my imagination. Every time I had to switch off, the heroes were on the point of defeat and I couldn't bear to leave them hanging there, so switch offs were fairly infrequent (that's what I particularly love about my Kindle, needing no hands to read is a real aid to multi-tasking!).

The writing is spot on for this kind of story, the pace is perfect to keep your heart pounding and the story complex and long enough to leave you satisfied. So many questions are raised right from the start and the lack of answers is agonising but the real key to Michael Grant's writing is that no answer is predictable. I was literally left scratching my head, teetering on the point of confusion when I turned the final page and I don't know how I have managed not to dive straight into the next book - some form of mental masochism I suppose.

It's the main character, Sam, that holds all the threads of the story together and keeps his friends alive with his quick thinking and natural courage. Sam offers a glimmer of hope that in the event of adult eradication a leader would step up who was good-natured and had incredible common sense but at the same time, his inevitable demise hangs over the reader as a countdown to his fifteenth birthday is issued at the start of every chapter. Sam and his friends are so easy to empathise with, they all have their own problems and their own way of dealing with those problems and none of them lack characterisation.

Perhaps the most terrifying aspect of this story is that it is so reasonable to imagine that out of the book universe, if all the adults really did vanish, every single event the characters go through could actually happen. Why wouldn't the bullies become tyrants? Why wouldn't it take so long to organise search parties for the youngest survivors that they end up finding only corpses? Why wouldn't a kid take over the McDonald's to try to boost morale? More importantly, the kids have real problems like bulimia, cowardice, autism and psychopathy, which makes for an interesting cast that set up engaging plot assets and storylines - they're not just your average book heroes with endearing little flaws, they have the hardcore issues you would find in any bunch of actual kids.

You do start to freak a little at the realism, like when you were forced to read Lord Of The Flies for GCSE, and that's exactly what this book is - Lord Of The Flies with microwaves and mutations. There are moments when I felt genuinely uncomfortable and slightly disturbed, there are vivid images that will stay with you, popping into your head at unexpected times and reminding you that you haven't read any of the sequels yet. But if you can swallow all that, you'll find in Gone an astonishing exploration of courage - what it means to different people, how different people achieve it and how people deal with not having it.

Gone is so worth reading and when you have, I challenge you to say you were not deeply affected by it.

I am Thirty Six years old. I had just finished reading "The Hunger Games" Trilogy, and was craving for more of the same. That is when I came across the "Gone" series. I thougt I would give it a go.

From the first chapeter, I was sucked into a deeply chaotic world of scared kids and strange happenings. I have a 10 year old son who suffers from various aspects of Autisum and ADHD. His little brother Is serverly Autistic. Reading these books, I felt an instant connection to these charaters. "Little Pete" is written exactly as Jack and I could see the manurisims and character traits in every description from the author.

These books are well written and very intensly reaserched. The action is tense and captivating, while the peril has you on the edge of your seat. I felt myself screaming at the charaters at some points and cheering at others at three o'clock in the morning because I had to keep reading.

This series will have your willing the heros and cursing the villans. It is simply amazing. There are parts that will shock you, for a kids author, but he keeps it just the write side of dark.

I would advise any body with the love of "Lord of the Fies" "Hunger Games" "X-men" to get this book. It is all three in one with a modern backdrop.

I cant wait to read the others in the series. I hope they are as good as the first and more compelling.

Simply Brilliant.

I took this book on holiday with me and read it in a day. Realy great read, am awaiting the next book! My teenage daughter also read it and loved it. Book cover states 12+, which i agree with due to some violence and the nature of the story (all adults disappear and kids turn to bullying and violence with no rules). If you've read the hunger games, which has more violence, you should be fine with this. No swearing or sexual content at all. No graphic descriptions of violence, but the lack of adults causes disturbing behaviour that sensitive individuals may find upsetting to read about. This book is a real page-turner, the only downside is the story doesn't end - another 5 books to go!