“Gone” by Michael Grant is a low-fantasy (real-world setting with fantasy elements) book. The plot of the book follows a rather normal story arc. A brief synopsis: Everybody over the age of fifteen suddenly vanishes one day, leaving over three hundred kids alone. With animals rapidly mutating, and (seemingly) random kids gaining powers, Sam Turner must defy a natural bully and an unnatural bully to protect “his” kids.

“Gone” is a good book. It has nice world building, thought-out plot points, and I noticed no typos in the print. There are various viewpoints throughout the book, switching from chapter to chapter.

Grant decides to put you directly into the action, with minimal exposition (about three pages). From there, the book maintains a steadily increasing pace, until the “final battle” at the climax. Again, resolution is kept short and to a point. The book in the McNary library also has a brief excerpt from the second book in the series, “Hunger”.

However, “Gone” is a rather long book. If you decide to read it, make sure you settle in with a nice blanket or two. This book may take you a while to read.

Overall, I would recommend “Gone” to somebody who enjoys light fantasies, long reads, and good world building. I rate this book 3.5/5 stars.