We're proud to present the winner of our Book Review Competition:
Rosie Mullins, from year 7 at Woodgreen School!
Rosie delivered a detailed and coherent review which had the right amount of plot information to whet the reader's appetite, but without giving the story away, she talked about special features she enjoyed, and she gave it a well-reasoned age rating, which, interestingly, is lower than what most of us adults would have it estimated at, suggesting a whole new debate as to whether we're underestimating/ overprotecting our children? (Mind, this here bookseller had read James Herbert and Stephen King by age 12 and is perfectly fine.*) Well done, Rosie, and keep that passion for books burning!
"Gone
by Michael Grant is a book that follows the lives of Sam, his
friends and his enemies; they are stuck in a dome that has fallen
over their home town of Perdido Beach and everyone over the age of 15
has POOFED (disappeared). However, people begin to take sides, food
runs out, and eventually water too runs out, but also, lots of people
begin to develop strange, but interesting powers… The
stranded children find themselves exposed to the threat of conflict,
danger and death, as the idea of living in a world without adults
quickly becomes a sudden reality. With no phones or televisions
working either, the town soon becomes a prison for these 'survivors',
and with no way to get help, time is running out for each remaining
individual: the day you turn fifteen is the day you disappear, just
like everyone else. The
children of the dome fight for survival until not very many people
are left in the scary Fays (the name of the dome). But, there is a
way out and Sam and the others try to find out!
This
thrilling book series has something for everyone: it’s a book of
mystery, comedy, romance, horror, suspense, sadness and it makes you
feel so many other feelings. In my opinion, Gone and the other books,
all the way to the final book, Light, are highly dark even for the
young adult audience which they are aimed at. Grant is successful in
writing scenes of death, mutilation, and moral dilemmas form the
basis of the plot in each book in very graphic detail. There are so
many reasons why I love this book, and you would too if you read it.
Firstly,
unlike many other books, each chapter begins with an amount of
hours/mins that are counting down to a big moment at the end of the
book (but you don’t know what that is, unless you carry on reading,
and you can guess). Furthermore, a second reason why I love this
series is that each chapter ends with a cliff hanger, hooking you on
making you want to read the next chapter.
How
does series make me feel? The way the book is written makes you feel
like you are in the dome with them. For example one of my favourite
characters, Astrid, makes you feel happy, annoyed, sad and worried
for her all at the same time. Each one of these characters in this
fantastic book has a unique personality, which is studied in has
layers of meaning and understanding. Astrid is known as ‘Astrid the
genius’, she is Sam’s girlfriend, and most respect her, but, she
is strong minded and can fight if she needs to. Another favourite of
mine is Sam, he is looked up to and everyone expects him to lead the
fays. He is one of the ones who has a special power – he can shoot
killer beams of light from his hands, which can burn through metal
and strong walls.
Was
it easy to read? This book is quite easy to read once you have begun,
you just need to remember the names of people and that’s easy to
do. Grant tells everyone’s side of the story, so you may have more
than one point of view, which makes the book more interesting. Once
you begin, and get into it, you don’t want to put it down.
Who
would I recommend this book to? Well, as this book is very violent
and contains many other inappropriate things to younger children;
furthermore it is quite gory, gruesome and graphic, I would say at
least 11+. Additionally, as this book has equal boy characters to
girls, it doesn’t matter what gender you are – it would be
enjoyed by both. However I think that the people who enjoy this book
most are readers who like sci-fi books (such as:
The Hunger Games, ranging to Stephen King admirers).
Frighteningly
gripping Gone, and the successive novels in the series, will not fail
to delight most readers.
Once
I had read Gone, I felt as if I had lived through the Fays with the
surviving characters. I was pleased with the way it ended, it made
you feel satisfied with the book. This book will be enjoyed by all
who read it, and all of the 6 books were great, each ending on a
cliff hanger – which leads onto the next thrilling book. I found
that this book was so well woven together all the way though. Gone by
Michael Grant is a book for all!"
(*friends/family/shrink might disagree)
