Hunger: A Gone Novel Author: Visit Amazon's Michael Grant Page | Language: English | ISBN:
0061449067 | Format: PDF
Hunger: A Gone Novel Description
From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up–In the second in a planned six-book series, the children of Perdito Beach, CA, have survived without adults for three months following the FAYZ, a nuclear event that caused everyone over the age of 14 to vanish and an impenetrable barrier to rise for 20 miles around the town. Now their food is almost gone, and in their desperation and fear, the young people are beginning to sort themselves into factions; those without special powers opposing those who have them. To add to the suspense, a terrifying presence that calls itself the Gaiaphage, a being of overwhelming hunger, is insinuating itself into the minds of the susceptible. Like
Gone (HarperTeen, 2008), this novel is not for the faint of heart or weak of stomach. Nonstop action and recurring scenes of graphic violence, death, and torture will keep readers on the edge of their seats as they race toward the climactic cliff-hanger ending. Give this to teens who liked Stephen King's
The Stand (Doubleday, 1990) or William Golding's
Lord of the Flies (Penguin, 1959).
–Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AKCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"* '... exciting, high-tension story told in a driving, torrential narrative that never lets up. This is great fiction. I love this book.' Stephen King, bestselling author. 'A tour-de-force that will leave readers dazed, disturbed, and utterly breathless' Booklist; 'If Stephen King had written Lord of the Flies, it might have been a little like this' Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (Starred Review) 'I Love this book' - Stephen King, bestselling author"
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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- Series: Gone (Book 2)
- Hardcover: 608 pages
- Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; 1 edition (May 26, 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0061449067
- ISBN-13: 978-0061449062
- Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
In a blink of an eye all the adults and the youths over 15 vanished from the tiny Californian town of Perdido Beach, leaving behind a desolate post-apocalyptic setting rife with very strange mutations... and stranded children forced to fend for themselves and cope with terrifying challenges. And that is Gone, recapped.
SPOILERS from now on, scattered pretty much all over the place, like landmines.
As HUNGER opens, three months have elapsed since the monumental Thanksgiving showdown with the sinister Coates Academy. But, for the 332 kids of Perdido Beach, things have only gotten worse. In the struggle for day-to-day survival, starvation is tapping on the door. Perdido Beach's inexperienced (and teenaged) administrative heads are at wit's end, and the stress is even getting to School Bus Sam, the town's looked upon hero and savior. It's not only that the children now lack the motivation to work, but potential foods waiting to be harvested, like the horrifying cabbage field, turn out to be very capable of biting back. Then there are these: Wolves who speak. Bats who swim. Worms with teeth and territorial aspirations. Freaky mutations abound.
After months of silence, there's a stirring in the Coates Academy. Caine, the Academy's power-bent telekinetic leader (and Sam's fraternal twin brother), has finally recovered enough to begin scheming again. But Caine's dreams are now haunted by the gaiaphage, that dark presence lurking in the mine shaft. Equally alarming, something new and scary is up with Little Pete, Astrid's severely autistic 5-year-old brother.
*This review may contain spoilers for Gone—book one in this series!*
Hunger picks up about three months after the events of Gone. The kids of Perdido Beach haven't had trouble from the Coates kids, but that doesn't mean life is grand, because bigger problems are beginning to develop. Problem number one is food. There isn't enough left for them to survive on. Sam attempts to put together a group to harvest crops that are lying untouched, ready to eat - but unfortunately, only a handful of people want to help. After one hurdle is passed, yet another arises. Mutated worms dubbed “zekes” have infested the crop fields and make it next to impossible to pick any of the food without deadly consequences. All roads now point to starvation, and hope is dwindling fast.
Meanwhile, at Coates, Caine is hatching a plan; a plan to get back at Sam and his crew. Not only that, but Caine has been overtaken by mind-control and thoughts directly from the Darkness; the Gaiaphage. It's hungry, and if it get's what it needs, things will go from bad to worse. Caine is slowly losing his sanity...
“‘I'm the brains!’ Caine shrieked. ‘I'm the brains! I'm the brains and the power, the true power, the four bar, the one. I am the one. Me! Why do you think the Darkness kept me for three days? Why do you think... Why do you think it's still in my... in my...’
There was an abrupt change in Caine's voice. For a second it was as if he was sobbing, not raging.”
... and the only remedy is to give the Gaiaphage what it wants.
- - -
When it comes to reviewing a book like this one, I am always at a loss. I have so much to say, yet I never know where to begin. There's too much in my brain. I sat on this review for over a month, and I am still lost.
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