Review: Gone

Gone by Michael Grant
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had read this novel a long, long time ago and enjoyed it, so I was happy that we were re-reading it for my bookclub so I could remember all of the details that happened in the novel.

Sam and his classmates were in class when something strange happened: his teacher disappeared. Just was there one moment, talking, and the next, gone. Most of the students were not paying attention, so they weren't sure what really happened, but when they walked out to the hallway to see what was going on, other students had said the same thing: their teacher just "poofed".

Quinn, Sam's best friend, was in the same class as Sam, so they were roaming the halls and found Astrid, the girl Sam has been crushing on for a long time. Astrid said that her teacher and the other 3 students in her Advanced study group all disappeared.

When the kids try calling their parents, there is no dial tone on the phone and the TV, while it turns on, does not have anything showing. There are no shows on, the news is not broadcasting, nothing. Silence.

Astrid is called "Astrid the Genius" by the kids in school because she is super smart, and she came to the conclusion, after observing everything that is going on, that anyone who is age 15 or older have disappeared. All of the adults. She is on a mission to find her 4 year old autistic brother, Pete before he gets hurt, but she doesn't know where he was during the time of the disappearance.

On the other side of town, a girl named Lana was in the truck with her grandfather when he "poofed" and she got in a horrific car accident that broke multiple bones. With her dog, Patrick, she was stranded in the middle of the forest, where vultures were just waiting for her to die. When Patrick got hurt by a wolf, Lana discovered that she has the power to heal. So she heals herself and finds herself in town with all of the other kids.

Most of the kids are pretty young and Sam, Astrid and Quinn are all 14. So all of the 14 year olds are now figuring out how to take care of the littles. And the troubled teens are starting to realize that they can be bullies without getting into trouble by the adults, since there are no more around. By the time Sam realizes that everyone is looking toward him to guide them into this new world, kids from Coates Academy - a boarding school for troubled kids - come down to their town and decide they are going to take over.

Because Sam is hiding a secret: he has a power. Has had it for some time now, but he can conjure up a green/white light that can burn things. He hurt his stepfather with this power and now it comes more often when he's scared and panics during dangerous times.

And the leader of Coates Academy? He has a power too - a very powerful ability of levitation. But Caine has been using and practicing his power so he knows how to use it within a second.

Now Sam only has a few days before he "poofs" on his 15th birthday, and he needs to make sure that the kids from his town won't be hurt from the democracy that came from Coates Academy. But a war is starting to brew, and Caine is in the front and center of it. Sam must find a way to stop him before it is too late.

This is a good book about how kids are having to grow up way too fast. There are suspenseful moments in this book that might not be suitable for young teens, but overall I think a lot of readers would enjoy this book.

I liked Lana the best. She was in a terrible place but she was able to fight through it and be stronger from her experience.

I'm glad I got to re-read this and maybe one day I will finish the series to see what is really happening with these characters!

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