Book Review: Gone by Michael Grant (2008)

Review #99

Sam watches as his science teacher suddenly blinks out of existence in the middle of a lecture. He soon finds out that all of the teachers and upperclassman have also vanished, leaving everyone under the age of fifteen alone in their small California community. At the same time, an impassable barrier appears in a ten mile radius around the town. Within days the bullies are running the show, threatening anyone who opposes them with violence.

It was finally my turn to pick a book for book club! The theme was “superpowers” and I dug around on Goodreads and Pinterest for a few hours trying to find the perfect book. I finally chose Michael Grant’s Gone based on the fact that it had a 3.8 rating on Goodreads and I had heard about it before on a list of best YA science fiction. When I finally settled in with my Kobo and began to read…

Dud. I had picked a big fat dud.

Here are just a few of the notes I jotted down while reading this book:

• “Twenty pages. The word “brah” used at least once per page.”
• “Was written specifically in the hopes of becoming a show on the CW.”
• “Why is Quinn so racist towards Mexicans? Why is everyone okay with it?”
• “Trying for LOTF. Failing miserably.”
• “Please stop saying “brah””
• “Grant writes teenager characters as if he read about them once in National Geographic.”
• “They’re not very nice to the autistic kid, either.”
• “STOP SAYING “BRAH””

 

My rating: 1/5. Points for feminist characters and very diverse cast in general. And the kid who went to work at McDonalds was kind of adorable.

You can find Gone here on Amazon or here on Book Depository.

Happy reading everyone!

P.S. Next review will be #100 be sure to check it out!!