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Gone by Michael Grant

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Brief synopsis (no spoilers)
Suddenly, all the adults in town disappear, and the kids are left behind to take care of themselves. Chaos is the norm at first, but order must be established. Heroes and bullies grapple for power. And then there's the element of mutation. Some kids develop special powers. Some animals gain deadly abilities. And the chaos doesn't end: as kids turn 15, they disappear too.

 Category
YA Fiction

Why I chose this book
I saw the series on a shelf in my son's school classroom, and I'm a sucker for series

 My personal opinion (the review)
I loved most of it. Special abilities, romantic interest, coming of age, gripping story line, sub plots, hard to put down. I love the hero-villain matches. Every "good" character has an equally matched "bad" character.
But the violence was done on little kids. Starvation, murder, accidents- they all happened to kids under the age of 15. That sort of thing is hard to stomach.

 Warnings:
Language - none
Violence - fairly common, some fairly graphic; bullies abound
"Adult" situations - innuendo only
Death - fairly common, but no major characters

 Movie rating equivalent
PG-13

 Protagonist description
Sam is a reluctant hero, and it's his sense of moral obligation that causes him to step up and take that role.

 Point of view of story
Always third person omniscient, but jumped perspectives within each chapter

 Book length
Long, in a good way

 Story flow
Excellent, gripping

 Grammar and spelling issues
None

 Character connection (no spoilers)
I wish more had been done for Mary. She's amazing, yet she has a dark vice (bulimia). It's not damaging to anyone but her, yet. But she's so much better than her problem. I wish she would overcome it.

 For series:
Independent or integral (stand-alone or back story dependent)
I have a feeling it'll be integral, but I've only read this one

 Series review as a whole
I have high expectations

 If you only have time for one, read: (which one)
Gone (this one)

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