Six book ‘Gone’ series worth exploring every twist

By Ethan Gunnuscio

Imagine this: you’re a 13-year-old kid, sitting in class, bored out of your mind. Not too hard to think up, right?

But, halfway through your lesson, your teacher suddenly disappears. In fact, a couple older kids do, too. You laugh, wondering how they pulled off the magic trick, but then you hear screams from the other classrooms. It wasn’t just your class. Every single adult has completely disappeared from the little town of Perdido Beach, and there’s a giant bubble surrounding the whole town, eerily centered around a nuclear facility …

That is the beginning of “Gone,” the first part in a six-book series. Michael Grant, the author, released the book in 2008, and it was swamped with teenagers writing extremely positive reviews about it.

The next five books were released on a year-by-year basis, until 2013, with the series’ inevitable end, “Light.”

Overall, the book series is very well put together, from the bottled dystopian landscape the characters reside in, to the mysterious “powers” some kids start to show.

“Gone,” the first book in the series, is used to establish what each character’s role is in the town of Perdido, though there is a decent amount of action beyond the initial laying of the lines.

A year later, “Hunger” was released. This book focuses on the stranger side of the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone), such as kids with powers (telekinesis, controlling gravity) and mutated creatures (talking coyotes, flying snakes).

“Lies” was released in 2010, and this seems to be the tipping point for the “normal” kids, who wage war with the “freaks.” As the battles rage, an old enemy makes himself known once more.

“Plague” contains its own namesake and so much more. Sinister insects now prey on the innocent, and the main characters doubt they’ll survive this new phase of the mysterious world of the FAYZ.

“Fear” takes the series down a terrifying turn; the Darkness has made the FAYZ bubble completely black, starving the whole town of light. Now, the residents of Perdido Beach must fight to survive the one thing you must fear: fear itself.

“Light” brings the reader to the stunning conclusion of this five book series. Gaia, the evil child of Diane, is fully intent to destroy Little Pete, and with him, the rest of the survivors in the FAYZ. This final power struggle will grip you until the final pages.

If you enjoy dystopian thrillers filled with chaos, I fully recommend reading the “Gone” series.