Book Club: Gone by Michael Grant

Lisa:

Cover:

I don’t really know how I feel about this cover. I guess I’m not really into covers that only have the “characters” on them; they just don’t tell me anything about the story.  So I don’t hate it, but also it isn’t anything special.

Characters:

I actually liked all of the characters. The only thing I was worried about, when reading Gone was that I would get confused with the characters, since there are so many. But that wasn’t any issue at all, since each of the character was pretty distinct and interesting!

Favorite:

I would have to say that Sam and Lana are my favourite characters. I enjoyed reading about all of them, but these two stuck out the most to me.  Lana is brave for surviving on her own for so long, and I thought her friendship with her dog Patrick was really sweet!

Sam was also a very tough guy. While many people wanted him to be the leader, and to take charge, he stayed very humble, and instead just wanted to keep to himself. Sam seems to always be there when he is REALLY needed, and I also liked that about him!

Least Favorite:

I don’t think I have one. When I first started thinking about this, I right away thought of Orc and his friends. But I also liked reading about these characters. Why? Because when things stop working and the world seems to be ending, not everyone will be calm, cool, and collected, but some kids will turn to violence. I liked seeing that side of things.

Beginning:                                                                                                                                  

I had kind of a hard time getting into Gone, because it seemed like nothing was happening. All the teenagers and parents are gone, and now the kids of the island have to fend for themselves.

Middle:

Things start to turn violent, when the kids try to create rules and regulations that they are used to. But obviously some of these kids will abuse the leadership they were granted. Besides that, there are a lot of kids just like Sam, Astrid, and Little Pete, who have these special abilities.

End:

WOW! Is all I can say!

Overall Thoughts:

I’m a little sad that it took me so long to get into this one, but it was well worth pushing through! The middle and ending were SO fast paced and action packed, that I can’t wait to start reading the second book, as well as the rest of the series!

Bel:

Cover

A mist of toxic green is the backdrop to the title mostly embossed, besides the ‘o’ which is just an absence of the mist. Very eerie.

Characters

I would imagine most kids would be resilient, and this cast a great job of keeping it together.

Favourite

Albert. A Life saver on many occasions.

Least Favourite

Drake. Whacked in the head.

Beginning

Everyone 15 and over disappears on a day that is otherwise seemingly normal.

Storyline

The fall out of having only 14 and unders running the show. Survival of the fittest at its creepiest.

Ending

Not what I was expecting but thrilling none the less.

Thoughts

This is a YA version of the Dome by Stephen King. It also reminds me somewhat of Lord of the Flies. I found the book to be fast paced though there were some gruesome parts that I had to close the book and come back to it after my stomach had settled. Once you get past those bits, it’s a book that really is difficult to put down.

Quote

“Window seat, window seat, window seat.” Astrid calming Little Pete down.