Plague

Plague
Gone Series #4

Michael Grant

Synopsis:
With Nerezza destroyed, Drake incarcerated, Caine gone, and people hard at work doing their jobs, things seem like they might be peaceful in the FAYZ. However, Albert fears that the water supply is going to run out very soon, so he sends Sam, Dekka, Jack, and Taylor to look for a new lake a few miles away. As they leave, a strange flu seems to be spreading throughout Perdido Beach. Kids are developing severe fevers and begin coughing so hard they literally cough up their lungs and die. Dahra is trying to deal with it the best she can, but without proper training or supplies, she feels helpless. Soon, Drake breaks out of his basement prison and is on the loose, looking for the gaiaphage. Perdido Beach is in chaos, but Sam, many miles away, is oblivious to their troubles. After happening upon a train full of sweet Nutella and sodas, Sam and his crew are in high spirits. Even better, a new site to relocate by a huge new lake is found, but while exploring, Sam and his friends are ambushed by Drake and his new insect army! With little help to fight Drake, and a whole army of car-sized beetles storming Perdido Beach, the only hope may lie in Sam's dire enemy, Caine!

My Thoughts:
Plague may have been the best book in the series to date. Though it was super sad to see Sam and Astrid's relationship crumble, there seemed to be just as much hope in this book as despair. After the weird run-in with Hunter, Sam's excursion makes the reader happy due to all of the exciting new discoveries, mainly the train. I was really hoping the whole time that Diana would be successful in transforming Caine, even if I disapprove of her methods, and I'm glad she left him when he changed. I hope she continues to stay a good person up at the lake. ***SPOILER ALERT*** The whole meeting that split the kids between Sam and Caine was satisfying because they were able to meet peacefully, but I am super disappointed that more didn't go with Sam. I mean, come ON people, can you really forget that Caine was the reason your town was burned down, that your power is off, and you have a bunch of dead friends??? ***SPOILER OVER*** I continue to really like Quinn now that he has accepted his role as fisherman. I am still confused as to what Pete really is, and what his relationship with the gaiaphage, but I think we will get some answers in the next book. The only problem is, I have caught up to the author and have no more books waiting! :( Really, the book was very good, and the mixture of happiness and sorrow/anxiety seemed a little more balanced this time. Great series!

Questions for Thought:
1. What do you think Caine's child will be like?

2. Caine has now helped Sam fight Drake/gaiaphage twice. Can he be trusted?

3. Do you think that Drake can be destroyed?

4. What do YOU think happened to Little Pete?

5. If you were just an average kid, would you go with Sam or stay with Caine at the end of the book? What if you were Quinn? Or Albert?

6. As always, would you leave the FAYZ or stay? Does this differ from your previous answers? Why?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Lies

Lies
Gone Series #3

Michael Grant

Synopsis:
Life in the FAYZ is worse than ever. The power is now off forever with the power plant destroyed and Zil's Human Crew is growing more openly antagonistic toward the "freaks" in Perdido beach. Sam is growing frustrated with the slow pace that the council is addressing the problem, and friction is growing between Sam and Astrid in particular. Sam learns that Orsay, a girl who can enter the dreams of others, claims to be able to see people outside of the FAYZ. She and her new assistant, Nerezza, are spreading the news that it is safe to "poof" at fifteen, that it brings you back into the real world. Eventually, a vision shows her that death is another way out. When the council hears of this, they try to hush it up, scared that kids are really committing suicide. However, the real trouble, as usual, comes from Caine. Caine and the Coates kids are starving, but Bug knows of an island that should be stocked with enough food for months. Caine manipulates Zil to begin a fire through the town as a diversion to escape, and for Sam, Edilio, and the rest of Perdido Beach, the trouble is only beginning...

My Thoughts:
Sorry for the rather poor synopsis, I read this book and the next, Plague, back to back, so the details run together and I kept thinking of the plot of Plague, not Lies. I would have blogged before starting, but I was on a weekend trip without a computer. Anyway, I was happy to see that the gaiaphage really is alive still, because it really seemed way too simple in the previous book. The way Sam kind of looses control in this book kind of freaked me out; I didn't think he was capable of such hostility. As we learn more about Little Pete, it seems to pose more questions than answers. It is hard to tell sometimes if he is even against or for the Darkness. I also wonder if it is really true that the people who die or poof just appear outside, or if it was a vision that the Darkness wanted Orsay to see in order to manipulate others. My guess is that it was to manipulate, especially the way that Brittany described its relationship with the wall, but the fact that there really were parents and TV crews outside when Pete made the wall go away temporarily does make you wonder if it were true or not. I'd say that this book may have been better than Hunger, but it was a lot more depressing.

Questions for Thought:
1. Were you on the council, would you try to keep Orsay quiet, or let her speak, not knowing if she is telling the truth or not?

2. How should Zil be taken care of? He is an obvious problem, but how could it be done fairly and without making him a martyr?

3. What really happens when you poof?

4. Do you think that the darkness can be destroyed? How?

5. What do you think would happen to the FAYZ if Little Pete died?

6. With new hardships to face, would you leave the FAYZ or stay? Does this differ from your previous answers? Why?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Hunger

Hunger
Gone Series #2

Michael Grant

Synopsis:
Everyone over the age of 15 has disappeared from the town of Perdido Beach. One moment they were there, and the next, nothing remained but empty space. That was months ago. Since then, Sam has taken control of Perdido Beach and driven out Caine and his band of power-hungry Coates kids. Even though this victory seemed to lighten everyone's mood, when the food supply dwindles, kids start to get desperate. Ridiculous fights about who can watch what movie or when people should go to bed plague Sam and push him to the breaking point. Unfortunately for Sam, now is not a good time to rest. Caine is on the move again. This time, he hopes to control the power plant, regulating who gets electricity and who doesn't. Sam knows a fight is coming, but with little morale, Lana the healer missing, and the "normal" kids beginning to rial against the "freaks", the fight will be harder than ever.

My Thoughts:
Once again, a great book in the Gone series, but not quite as good as the first. This may be because the first has a slightly more positive outlook, but I felt that the ending of this one seemed to easy, and the sacrifice too meaningless. Had it ended in a greater climax, I think it would have been better. Still, the book was great. New characters were introduced, and old characters developed even more under new amounts of pressure. Sam is starting to crumble both physically and emotionally, which saddens me because he was such a strong figure in the first book, even with his reluctance to take power. Really, this extra weakness makes things more suspenseful than the first, and this book continued the demand for the next in the series. It drove me crazy having to wait to start Lies until after I finished 1984 for an English assignment.

Questions for Thought:
1. How would you try to combat the zekes and get the food from the fields?

2. What is the best way to deal with Zil and the HC?

3. Is the idea of money a good one, or should everything be kept free? Or is a bartering system better? How would your system be set up compared to Albert's?

4. Knowing you were the only person who could heal people, would you risk your life to combat the Darkness?

5. Now that Caine has shown cooperation with Sam, how should Sam proceed with their relationship?

6. With new hardships to face, would you leave the FAYZ or stay? Does this differ from your previous answer? Why?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Gone

Gone
Gone Series #1

Michael Grant

Synopsis:
Everyone over the age of 15 has disappeared from the town of Perdido Beach. One moment they were there, and the next, nothing remained but empty space. At first, everything seems like a big party. Kids run around the town, eating as much ice cream and candy as they want with nobody to stop them, but Sam knows this won't last. After an incident where Sam runs into a burning building to try and save a stranded girl, he becomes a hero figure, looked up to by all of the kids in the town. Soon, Sam and his friends Quinn and Astrid go and explore the area, looking around for any adults. They find a strange, glassy wall that surrounds the town that shocks you at the touch and is unbreakable. Also, animals are beginning to develop strange mutations, and a few kids are developing unnatural powers. When a group of kids from a private school march into town and take control, Sam and his friends know something isn't right. After harsh discipline is enforced, resulting in the death of an innocent girl, Sam knows that he has to fight back and be the hero everyone wants him to be...

My Thoughts:
I'm sorry that that synopsis doesn't really give the book the exciting advertisement that it deserves, because this is one of the best books I have read in a long time. It combines many elements of some of my recent favorite books: the special abilities of certain characters like in I Am Number Four, the society of only younger kids like the Skinjacker Trillogy or The Enemy, the strange barrier/alternate universe like Pathfinder, panicked hoarding of supplies like in Empty, as well as many other similarities. The similarities were definitely different enough from those other books that it didn't feel like a repeat of something I had already read, but it was fun to make some of those connections. The characters in the book were very realistic, having enough flaws for their strengths. Nobody is too good to be true. The rapid mutations of both people and animals keep changing the boundaries of the normal world, leading to a twisty plot line. Many questions posed in the book are not answered, hopefully to be answered in the later books of the series. The book was very suspenseful, and even though it was pretty long, I finished it in a day and a half, and then immediately purchased the sequel and began reading it. If that doesn't show you that it is a great book, I don't know what does.

Questions for Thought:
1. Hearing someone in the burning building, how would you approach the situation? Would you barge in like Sam, or would you get a hose and ladder like Edillio?

2. Would you try to help organize the kids in the FAYZ, or would you let someone else take the responsibility?

3. If you had the power, would you share it with anyone?

4. How would you set up rules in the town? What would you do for punishment?

5. Were you Sam, would you ever be able to really trust Quinn again?

6. Knowing that there is a choice, would you leave the FAYZ or stay?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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