Gone by Michael Grant Review

Title: Gone (Gone #1)

Author: Michael Grant

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Sci-Fi, Fantasy

Page Count: 576 pages (575 KB)

Book Type: ebook (Kindle)

Publisher: HarperTeen

ISBN: 9780061448788

ASIN: B0029PBVKM

Picture from Amazon

From Goodreads: 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...

My Review: The cover for this one is fine. I like the blue color scheme, but it looks as if the people on the cover are older than the almost 14-year olds they are supposed to represent. Perhaps my age calculator is off. They are pretty similar to how I pictured them, though. The tagline, “This is the way the world ends” is pretty interesting and ominous!

This is a long book, but it didn’t feel quite as long as it actually was, which is a good thing. I can’t imagine what I would do if suddenly everyone over the age of 14 disappeared and then people started to develop all kinds of crazy powers. Probably about 75% of people under 14 are not mature enough to handle this. Some of the children find ways to handle this unimaginable scenario they are thrown into and I have a few favorites. Lana had to survive all by herself when everyone went “poof” and I thought that her segments were some of the more interesting ones. Edilio seemed like an all around good guy and I really started to care for him. Edilio is faithful and genuinely nice. Sam and Astrid are also among my favorites. There are a lot of characters, but as a reader, you really do get to know the majority of them. 

Just like with Lord of the Flies, there are power struggles and fights throughout the book. Some people are forced into a power position while, on the other hand, some people want to forcefully take the power positions away from others. This book has a little bit of everything: science fiction, fantasy, romance, action and so much more. I found it really nice that Gone switched points of view. A nearly 600 page book could get monotonous with a single narrator, but this one stayed fresh. I am very excited to read the rest of this series and the fourth one, Plague, was just released April 5. 

Have you read this series yet? Which is your favorite in the series?

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore Review

Title: I Am Number Four

Author: Pittacus Lore

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy

Page Count: 448 pages/467 KB

Book Type: Kindle ebook

Publisher: HarperCollins

ISBN: 9780061969559

ASIN: B003SE75ZS

Picture from Amazon

From Goodreads: In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now. 

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next. 

I AM NUMBER FOUR is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth. 

I AM NUMBER FOUR. 

I AM NEXT.

My Review: The cover for this one is pretty cool. The orange and yellow are really attention getting. I like how it has the tagline, “THREE ARE DEAD.” above the title. It was what really caught my attention first. Then I saw all of the movie trailers and knew I had to check this book out. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I am sure I will at some point.

Sometimes this book felt predictable and at other times I had no idea what was going on/what was going to happen. The not knowing what was going on part wasn’t necessarily a good thing because at times it left me confused and the plot seemed random. The dog was adorable, but I had him figured out from the start. There were some interesting things with bullies and them not being who you thought at first. It was nice how everyone had some redeeming qualities.

I am eager to see the movie because, honestly, it seems like a story that would work better on the screen than on the pages. Six was my favorite character, so perhaps I will like the next book more?

Now to go on a little rant. I am not too pleased with James Frey’s little fiction factory he has going on. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can freshen up here. I really just feel bad for the authors. I’m sure I would have been suckered into a less than satisfactory deal if I desperately wanted to get published and had student loans looming over my head. It seems so silly to me that the authors cannot get credit for their work. If Frey wants to be an agent, then that is fine. I just don’t understand why he would feel the need to take recognition away from these authors. It just kind of sucks for them and makes me feel a bit guilty that I read this book.  

Have any of you seen the movie? Do you prefer the movie or the book? What are your thoughts on James Frey? Let me know in the comments!

The Hunted of 2060 by Ami Blackwelder Review

Title: The Hunted of 2060

Author: Ami Rebecca Blackwelder

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy/Paranormal/Futuristic (potentially YA?)

Page Count: 290

Book Type: Owned Limited Edition Signed Paperback (won through Cleverly Inked)

Publisher: Creative Endeavors 

ISBN: 9781452805474

Photo by me, but here’s a link to Amazon (which is a different cover than I have). 

Summary from Goodreads: Set in Alaska in 2060, when April enters her Sophomore year at University, she thought Robert might be the love of her life, but as she discovers, she is hiding something inside her, something the rest of the world believes to have died out. She struggles with who she was and who she is becoming as she learns of a family she never knew existed and of enemies she will have to outrun, outfight or outwit to survive. As April embraces her new identity, will she have to leave the life she loves behind? 

With underlining themes of how prejudice breaks human connections and animal/wildlife conservation, this novel which has received rave reviews will leave the reader flipping through the pages of April’s story.

My Review: There are quite a few different covers for this one. I like the one that I received, but I think the one on Amazon may be more fitting to the story. The one on Goodreads, I’m not too wild about. I’ll just leave my cover analysis at that.

I really enjoyed the futuristic elements of this book. It was so entertaining to dive into the world Ami Blackwelder created. It’s fun to imagine if any of these things will actually be possible in 2060--which I could potentially see at 73 years old. I loved imagining all of the touch screens and holograms that popped out of watches, etc. My favorite aspect was the little robots that came to your table at a restaurant and you entered your order there. Very fun to picture. 

At the beginning of the novel, it was a little hard to differentiate between characters because there were so many and most of them had unusual names. The pictures in the back of the book did help with this though. After about a third of the way in, it was easier to follow. It did take me a bit longer than usual to get into the story, but I feel that Ami really picked it up in the last 2/3rd’s of the book. I really liked some of the secondary characters (especially Diamond and David). I can’t imagine thinking you’re one person until nineteen years old and then finding out you have a brand new identity. Blackwelder really allowed me to imagine I was April and think about how I might handle the situation. It’s brilliant how we discover April’s new world with her. 

The themes of betrayal and prejudice are key factors in this book. Humans betray each other, humans and hybrids betray each other and you can really argue that some of the hybrids betray each other as well. It’s interesting to see how prejudice occurs on both sides of the battle. Humans have their form of it and the hybrids have another form. 

Over all, there are a few grammatical and editing issues, but I was able to get by those and enjoy the story. Sometimes Ami can get a little bit over descriptive, but it is really an enjoyable read. I hear a prequel and a sequel are in the works which should be very entertaining. It will be interesting to see how exactly the world came to be the way it is in The Hunted of 2060 and what will happen to the world after. I think it will be really fun to see if one of these books is from the “hunters” point of view, especially the prequel. What were their reactions when these aliens came to Earth? How did they come to the conclusions that the aliens were evil? Very fascinating stuff. Be sure to also visit Ami's website! 

Have you read this one yet or are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments!