Review: Gone

I have an odd thing when it comes to reading; I avoid book editions with models on the front. I avoid them like the plague. I like my own imagination to create the images, and they just end up being a big roadblock in my way. Hello my name is Kaveeta, and I judge books by their covers; fortunately it isn't what I'm reviewing today.

The premise is really simple here, every person over the age of 15 seems to vanish into thin air with no possible explanation. Sam Temple is an extraordinarily ordinary boy, and with the help of his best friend Quinn, Sam tries to figure out what has happened to the world. As expected, there is some Lord of the Flies-y typed angst and violent behaviour, which occurs almost instantaneously. As does the budding romance between Sam and his lady love. It wouldn't be dystopian future if something sinister isn't lurking underneath the surface of it all, and it has chock loads of it. Sam makes a shocking self discovery, and the world as he knows it is turned spectacularly on its head.

This was an incredibly slow burner, for over half of the book we’re treated to a group of teenagers running around the small town, finding a seemingly endless barrage of open ended questions. Sam was very reluctant as far as protagonists go, he was so spineless he seemed to be putty in my hands, but still managed to keep a consistent tone of annoying self righteousness throughout the book. It was a treat to see the transition from that, into the hero the story so desperately needed- once he’d managed to choke down a whole bottle of Skele-Gro anyway. I did end up warming to him, which I openly admit. Aside from it's slow start, it grew on me once things actually started happening, the more shambolic the world became, the more I began to enjoy myself.

The story didn’t go the way I thought it would, I was surprised with some of the directions the plot took. It was enough to keep me interested though, as some of these YA books have a bad habit of following a system. Grant has an unusual way of writing, he split the book up into the point of view of several different characters. They weren't connected in anyway other than occupying the same world, but in different places. I'm unsure whether I liked the format, but if the series continues like this, I guess it's something I'll have to get used to.

I was fairly concerned that the voice of the youth would become irritating but the author managed to get away with the 'brahs' and the 'dudes.' The only thing I really had a problem with, was the religious subtext. The Cain and Abel story was practically screaming at me the whole time I was reading, and the constant praying by some of the characters became uncomfortable. I'm not really interested in having it shoved down my throat that way, but I was able to push it to the back of my mind.

Nothing was resolved in the end, as expected. I do hope that Grant has all the answers to the questions he's left me with, though. I'm fairly certain that list will only grow as the series progresses. As far as firsts go, this isn't a bad introduction. If you're a fan of the whole YA dystopian future thing, I'd definitely give this a read. 

Rating: ★★★☆☆