Gone by Michael Grant

Gone

Synopsis:

In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.

Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. 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...

Review:

With the show Under the Dome coming out this summer it is impossible to not compare this book to that. Yes I know this book came before it, but they have a similar premise - suddenly there is a dome surrounding the people and they cannot escape. With this book however everyone 14 and over just disappears instantly. And once you turn 14, at the exact time of your birth, you disappear as well. Very interesting idea and it played out well. Oh also some kids have special powers, and the power comes from your hands. This plays a huge roll with the evil kids. So there were two schools under the dome - the nice normal kid school and the school for bullies. The nice kids for the most part were good, the bullies the bad guys and man did they do some terrible things to these poor kids with powers. 

It was interesting to watch how some of the kids stepped up to take over some key responsibilities, like taking care of the babies and feeding people. It was also interesting watching Sam, the de facto leader of the nice kids, try to get out of being the leader, but eventually growing into it. He did have help along the way, and it helps when Caine, the leader of the bullies, is so bad. I mean at a certain point you have to step up and do something if no one else will. 

Now it is not just a story of the kids figuring out what to do and how to do it. There is also the darkness. You don't learn a ton about the darkness, but what you do see makes me want to read more. The coyotes who can talk and all the animal abnormalities were really great. There were so many interesting details to this world under the dome that it really kept me going, waiting to see what would happen next. I'm curious to see what will happen in the next book. 

Rating: ★ ★ ★1/2