book review: The Gone Series

so ya, this was me this morning. six books later and i still am obsessing over The Gone Series by Michael Grant. i read most of them before my lds mission but the sixth and final book had not come out yet. 

when i saw that these titles were "always available" on OverDrive, i snatched them up. 

enter the FAYZ (fall-out alley youth zone) where everyone over the age of 15 has disappeared. parents, older siblings, adults, teachers, cops, firemen...and now Sam Temple and Astrid Ellis along with other loveable characters must fight to stay alive. 

for a complete synopsis of each book, visit http://www.michaelgrantbooks.co.uk/the-gone-series/

(also, fun side note, i just found out that there are THREE MORE BOOKS after the conclusion of the FAYZ...guess how i'll be spending my christmas vacation) 

anywho, let me tell you a little bit about why i love this book: 

1. the characters. man oh man are the characters believable. they have flaws, they make mistakes. the bad guys aren't always evil and the good guys sometimes have corrupt thoughts. it's not black and white. Grant does an excellent job at making you fall in love with every character for every reason (yes even drake...) 

2. the plot. each book is it's own mini novel but there is an overarching plot line that ties it all together. these kids go through so much over the course of the 6 books that Grant could have made the series 100 books longer. but the plot keeps you sucked in and interested to read. heck i have purposely driven an extra 10 minutes to finish a section of the book before. #noshame

3. the location. a dome where there are no adults. Grant really thinks up everything that these kids could realistically face + their added powers. i think that it's a good balance between fantasy/sci-fi and realistic fiction. of course the food would go bad. of course disease would spread. Grant answers all the hard questions about little kids, teenagers, coyotes, all living in a self-contained universe. it's believable, even my gun-loving, fantasy-disliking husband loved the books. 

ok so really there could be a lot more reasons. but what i loved the most was that this book made me laugh, cry, swear, and cheer. a good makes me feel part of this world and The Gone Series definitely made me do that. 

*warning* it can get violent but i wouldn't say it's worse than Harry Potter, Divergent, or Hunger Games. hello! these kids are just trying to survive. so no the violence wasn't unnecessary.

all in all, if you are looking for a hook-you-from-the-start collection to add to your christmas break binge list, consider adding Sam, Astrid, Edilio, Cain, Diana, Drake, Decca, and Brianna to your potential BFFs. (book friends forever).