Adults Need Not Exist

Michael Grant's Gone

Overall score:

In the peaceful, irradiated town of Perdido Beach, California, adults are suddenly impossible to come by. In an instant, anyone over fourteen “poofs” and all the kids are left home alone—indefinitely. And for those approaching their fourteenth birthday, like the levelheaded yet reluctant leader, Sam Temple, time is running out. In Gone, a seductively paced, YA fantasy thriller, Michael Grant conjures the anarchic terror of Lord of the Flies melded with the frenetic action and perilous allure of pint-sized X-Men.

The entire town, its juvenile occupants, and its very own nuclear power plant are trapped in a spherical, signal-jamming force field. No one can escape this particular “FAYZ” (i.e., the Fallout Alley Youth Zone). Except by “poofing,” that is. Perhaps cruelest of all, the kids must live without that which they hold most dear: the web and their cell phones. (Oh, the horror!) At the mercy of each other, the kids soon form into distinct groups: the nursery bunch and its nurturers, the bullies and snobs, the cowering masses, and, thankfully, the much-needed heroes.

In another surreal yet savage twist, we learn that some youngsters, including Sam, developed supernatural powers even before the FAYZ. (Yep, you guessed it: there was an “incident” at the power plant several decades ago.) The complexity of Sam’s character deepens as we can’t help but wonder why he’s so fearful of his own fiery superpower.

With the help of Quinn, his surfer friend, and Astrid, the gorgeous girl genius, Sam sets out to solve the puzzle and locate Astrid’s autistic younger brother, Little Pete. To Sam, a kind-hearted boy raised by a single mom, these pursuits are far less scary than the alternative: stepping up as the fearless leader that his schoolmates expect. He does manage to locate Astrid’s brother in their father’s office—which just happens to be the power plant’s control room.

Now, if you think it odd for a father to baby-sit his young, autistic child inside a power plant’s nerve center, you aren’t the only one. (Plot hole, anyone?) Regardless, Little Pete, isolated in a world of his own, occupies a place in the fabric of the novel as naturally as a caterpillar inhabits a cocoon. The question is whether or not this innocent boy might one day emerge, even a little, from the safety of his cocoon if his protectors ever need protecting.

The real, heart-pounding drama of Gone surfaces, however, with the arrival of Sam’s soon-to-be nemesis, Caine Soren, a telekinetic wunderkind. Caine is the arrogant leader of a gang of Coates Academy’s infamous preppies, most of them with lesser superpowers of their own. Before Sam can come to terms with his inner qualms, Caine and his crew sweep in to seize the day—and the town—by promising security and order to the town’s underprivileged kids.

Meanwhile, miles away from the turmoil in Perdido Beach, a young girl, Lana Lazar, and her dog survive a car wreck out in the desert. Barely. Lana’s unique gift is revealed in her darkest hour and even then, darker challenges are yet to come. But will her existence tip the scales in favor of Sam and the other decent kids of Perdido Beach? And how can anyone, even Sam, truly know friend from foe in this warped, explosive civil war?

Charismatic and calculating, Caine is the guy we love to hate. Well, him along with his chief thug, Drake, the unfriendly neighborhood psychopath. Predictably, Caine enlists the brutish Orc and his gang of playground bullies as enforcers of a regime whose rise is both terrifying and riveting. Also intriguing, in a nail-biting way, is Caine’s mystifying hatred of Sam, whose mom actually worked as a nurse at Coates.

But wait, the two boys not only share a rivalry but also, oddly enough, the same birthday. And Sam is younger by just a few minutes. Thus, the gutsy battle Sam wages against Caine is even more exhilarating because we don’t know if our hero will survive past turning fourteen. If the devious Caine figures out how to beat the “poof” and Sam doesn’t, there’s no telling what would happen to everyone Sam cares about.

Speaking of who Sam cares about, Astrid, the brainy blond, tops the list. After all, this action-packed tale wouldn’t be complete without a little romance between the leading man—er, boy—and his lady. To the author’s credit, this adolescent romance is charming yet realistically awkward.

Lest you think the novel isn’t exciting enough, Lana unwittingly discovers an even more ominous and sentient threat lurking, out of sight, as the civil war rages. Pitiless and mysterious, this powerful creature orchestrates a plan that could prove more devastating than Caine’s misguided bid for power. All in all, despite the predictability of radiation-imbued super powers and the occasional plot hole, Gone delivers drama, laughter, horror, and romance with a cast of mesmerizing characters who must make unimaginable decisions. Luckily for readers, the novel’s ending packs a punch yet also gets us revved up for the next novel in this promising new series.

Note: Gone features some disturbing elements, including bulimia, violence, torture, and death. Some profanity is present as well. Ironically, then, the book may be a bit much for kids younger than thirteen. 

 

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Written by Shrain on August 13th, 2008