The Gone Series by Michael Grant is one of the coolest series ever written. It’s just a normal day in Perdido Beach when all the adults (anyone over the age of 14) suddenly disappears and the town is surrounded by an impenetrable wall. You would think that life would be great without adults; you can do whatever you want, when you want to, and eat whatever you like. But when you’ve cut off from the rest of civilization, with a small supply of food and water, life starts to get worse. If that isn’t bad enough, some of the kids in Perdido Beach start developing super powers, including levitation, invisibility, healing, and super-speed. Two groups of kids form; Sam leading the kids from Perdido Beach and Caine leading the kids of Coates Academy. Their new home comes to be called The FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone) and as time passes they have to deal with kids who suddenly disappear on their 15th birthday (Gone), a shrinking food supply (Hunger), the manipulation of The Darkness (Lies), and in the latest book, a terrible Plague.
In Plague the darkness has been foiled once again and the resurrected Drake has been contained. But the streets of Perdido Beach are far from safe, with a growing army of mutants fighting against the humans for power in the town. In a small room of a house near the edge of town, Little Pete lies ill on a bed. In his fevered dreams, he continues his battle with the hidden evil that seeks to use his power to bring about anarchy and destruction. The situation in the FAYZ is the worst it’s been but can Sam actually save them all this time?
Plague is a really intense book with some parts that will leave you cringing. I still can’t believe that the characters survived through their challenges. One thing that stands out about this book in the series is that there is some sense of hope, which made me want to read the next book right away (I can’t say any more otherwise I’ll ruin the surprise). I’m amazed at how Michael Grant keeps track of all his characters and how he comes up with new ways to test them in each book. I’ll eagerly await the next in the series, Fear, to see what he has in store for Sam and the kids of the FAYZ. The series is in the Young Adult section so they’re recommended for good readers aged 12 and up. 9 out of 10
Jelly has just moved into a new house, in a new neighborhood that’s far away from all her friends. If that wasn’t bad enough, she’s having to spend Christmas eve looking after her cousins. There are only two things she likes about her new home: the old apricot tree and the creek at the back of the house. Jelly dares her cousins to go down to the creek and it’s in the creek’s dark waters that they discover a baby angel with a broken wing. They decide to keep it in a shed at the school and nurse it back to health.
In the land of Fontania magic has been outlawed. Ever since The Great Accident, even uttering the word ‘with five letters that began with ‘m’, had a ‘g’ in the middle and ended with ‘c’ was completely and utterly forbidden.’ The land is ruled by the Provisional Monarch, Lady Gall who keeps herself beautiful by injecting a special fluid called Beauteen into her wrinkles. Jasper’s father, Dr Ludlow, is the inventor of Beauteen and works for Lady Gall, but when Jasper discovers that his sister, Sibilla was poisoned by Lady Gall, the family must escape. When Jasper falls asleep on the docks, his family leave him behind. While he’s looking for their ship he finds the Travelling Restaurant, a colourful ship run by Polly and Dr Rocket. On the Travelling Restaurant, Jasper embarks on a wild adventure across lakes and oceans. He faces raging rapids, troublesome monkeys and hungry pirates in the search for his baby sister, who might just be the key to saving Fontania.
