Monster

Monster #1

by Michael Grant

Acclaimed author Michael Grant delivers a stunning follow-up to the globally bestselling Gone series—perfect for fans of Stephen King’s suspenseful writing.

It’s been four years since a meteor hit Perdido Beach and everyone disappeared. Everyone, except the kids trapped in the FAYZ—an invisible dome that was created by an alien virus. Inside the FAYZ, animals began to mutate and teens developed dangerous powers. The terrifying new world was plagued with hunger, lies, and fear of the unknown.

Now the dome is gone and meteors are hitting earth with an even deadlier virus. Humans will mutate into monsters and the whole world will be exposed. As some teens begin to morph into heroes, they will find that others have become dangerously out of control…and that the world is on the brink of a monstrous battle between good and evil.

Praise for the Gone series:

“Exciting, high-tension stories. I love these books.” —Stephen King

“Intense, marvelously plotted, paced, and characterized.” —ALA Booklist (starred review)

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopia, Horror, Fiction, Adventure

Audiobook

First published October 17, 2017

About the author

Co-author with Katherine Applegate of Ocean City, Making Out, Summer, Animorphs, Everworld, Remnants, Eve and Adam.

Pseudonymous coauthor with KA of Christy (the TV spin-off books), Sweet Valley Twins, Girl Talk and various Disney spin-offs.

Pseudonymous author of Barf-O-Rama.

Author of Gone, BZRK, The Magnificent 12, Messenger of Fear, Front Lines, Monster and A Sudden Death in Cyprus.

AKA Michael Robinson (restaurant reviews and newspaper features).

AKA Michael Reynolds (legal name) political media producer. (Team Blue).

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world was changing. The old order was dead or dying. The center, to quote the poem, was not holding, it was coming apart.

Woah. This is like the Gone series on steroids. I was hesitant about picking up Monster, thinking that it would be an unnecessary attempt to extend a series that had already been wrapped up well-- but it isn't at all. This is the seventh book I never knew I needed. I can't wait to see what happens next!

I think fans of the Gone series will eat this up and be longing for more. I know I did. Grant pulls out many of his trademark dramatic (and kinda gory) action scenes - perhaps even more tense and well-written at this point in the series - and I love how the overall sci-fi mystery just got so much bigger and deeper. After reading this book, I cannot see how the world isn't totally screwed, but I look forward to finding out.

If you don't know, Gone and its sequels introduced us to a world where a huge dome suddenly appears over the town of Perdido Beach and everyone over the age of fifteen disappears. What's more, some of the kids left behind develop strange supernatural powers. And, of course, not everyone uses them for good. It's a modern-day Lord of the Flies and still one of my favourite YA series.

Things got bigger and bigger until Light, where Grant sort of wrapped everything up. Turns out we were all wrong to think it was over. The cause of the Perdido Beach dome and the superpowers is back in Monster. Space rocks carrying a genetically-engineered virus come crashing down around the globe and it's a mad dash for governments to be the first to seize these rocks and prevent them getting into the wrong hands. Spoiler: they get into the wrong hands.

Those looking to get reacquainted with old characters will see Dekka taking the wheel now. Grant's books have always been fairly diverse, but it was especially great to see the group of five protagonists include the black and gay Dekka, Malik who is also black, trans latinx Cruz, and Armo who has ODD. I have always really liked how Grant captures the complex humanity of each of his characters, and that is no less true here with the new additions.

I was hooked from the prologue through to the end. Grant, for me, is just an excellent storyteller; expertly combining characterization, action and intrigue to create a story that keeps me invested. It would be possible to start Monster without reading the other books, as most major things are explained, but I don't recommend it. I think the story that develops over the course of the first six books helps us understand just how HUGE the events of this book are, and also the delight in seeing Dekka again would be lost on new readers.

It's not often these days that I find a YA series that is just plain, action-packed, end-of-the-world fun AND still well-written, but it seems I can always rely on Michael Grant.

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[✨ jami ✨]

I've not made it a secret in the history of my online book blogging presence that I was a big fan of the Gone series as a kid. I read the series toward the end of primary school, and I really loved it then. It was my favourite series and it got me into reading. Those memories are really fond for me still

but

I'm an adult now, and it's been brought to my attention recently that the series is problematic in many aspects of it's characterisation of minorities. I will be providing links to own voices reviews below.
I've also been really ..... put off ... the author because of his online presence on Twitter and Facebook. Recently, the author has been attacking other marginalised writers and reviewers, being very rude to and outright attacking people who pointed out some flaws in his books, and posting Facebook comments which are disturbing at best, and often outright racist/homophobic and generally nasty.

The Gone series will always have a special place in my heart, because I do have good memories of loving the characters, and the fact it got me into reading will always be with me. But I have no interest in supporting this author any further.

Books are not perfect, no one is consuming pure media. If authors make mistakes, thats human. But denying you made them, refusing and attacking those you hurt, and ignoring criticism is not good. I don't want to support authors who won't even try to do better. I don't want to support authors who attack teenagers, who attack minorities, who harass people on social media - including my personal teenage friends.

So I'm done. I'm not going to finish this. At the end of the day, I have my good memories, I know the situation now. And I'm choosing to just .. not continue on this path. I would rather support different authors with my time and money.

Thankyou to the publisher for sending me an arc. I appreciate that so much.

SOME LINKS:

A twitter thread that started lots of recent discussions

A Facebook post with a really messy take

this


a thread

SOME REVIEWS:

On autism
on native representation

---

Now, I think you can like books that have problematic rep. I do. As long as you criticise them
But I want authors to do better. I want authors to go "okay. I messed up and hurt the people I wanted to represent. What can I do to do better?"

And I'm not seeing that.


PSA: So far this book has trans rep, which I already have highlighted as being hmmm

eg. asking about deadnames, misgendering, asking about genitals/sex

AGAIN, Thankyou to the publisher. This is a personal decision I hope you can all respect.

I have good Gone memories, and I also have Gone criticism. And I think I'll just leave that in the past and not bring it into the future.

[Olivia-Savannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The original series was great. And I really shouldn't have touched the sequel series but the nostalgia was creeping up and I wanted to try.

But this was not it.

I really was not about the diversity rep in this one. I feel like there was representation thrown in just for the sake of having it. And sometimes that was the characters sole and only personality trait, and there is nothing I could tell you outside of the representation they provide. Dekka, who I remember being represented fairly well in the original series (I hope I am remembering correctly!) gets compared to Medusa for her dreadlocks. Snakes, seriously :') And there were other things too. I wasn't really happy with that.

This also did something I really dislike in sequel series. Where it changes the science and the world building from the original series because it doesn't suit the new story the author wants to tell. It quickly and quietly invalidated some of the science and accepted understandings about the FAYZ so that this story could work. And I hate that. I hate how it does the original series injustice and casually invalidates it.

I also feel like some of the characters it brought back weren't meant to be brought back? Or were brought back so different to how they used to be. Let dead characters stay dead PLEASE. It invalidates the original series (yeah, again) when you ex machina characters back to life. Dekka was a nice character here, but she felt different to the Dekka that I know and love.

I didn't like any of the new characters, except Armo. And some things felt far too easy? Too convenient. I felt like these creatures were a bit too invincible for my personal taste - I like it better when there is still some humanity, or flawed elements to people because it raises the stakes more. When everyone is this invincible staying invested becomes more difficult.

All the superhero references got annoying real quick. Especially because this book felt like it could be better suited as a kind of superhero comic, and the mentions felt wannabe-ish.

This book was more action heavy and focused. Which is fine. I am well aware this is a personal taste thing, but the action was too much and not fuelled with enough of a good overarching plot or character development for me to really care. It felt like battle - break - battle - break, rinse repeat.

Overall, I'm so underwhelmed because the original series was SO GOOD. And this was... not :/

[♫✯Em loves Hollenstein✯♫❤the summertime and butterflies all belong to your creation❤ · Rating 3 out of 5]

hm

[Larissa (Book Bosomed Blonde) · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Blog
Actual Rating 3.5 stars
Spoiler Free

Well, that was one hell of a freaking rollercoaster ride. Action-packed the entire way through, it definitely wasn’t a boring read! I have mixed emotions on my view but i will divulge into that in a second.

For everyone who has already read the gone series a long while ago, don’t worry! Michael grant starts this book with rewriting the last scene in the dome from a new character’s POV to help remind us how it ended. Throughout the book, it does mention quite a few big details from the previous 6 books which is a lot of help, since i read this series 5 years ago. HOWEVER if you have not read the gone series before and have been interested, i highly recommend you finish them before starting this book due to all the spoilers revealed. If you don’t care then go right ahead with Monster. It is a completely different story set 4 years after the other books events! Now to my actual review…

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters, the setting and the story. Everything flowed well together to create this crazy modern apocalyptic adventure! And once again Michael Grant has done a fantastic job. We come into the story right off the bat with a major problem! Mutagenic asteroids are raining down on earth from the same space body that originally created the FAYZ. Sounds bad? It gets even worse when the government fails to control the rocks falling into the wrong hands (obviously).

Grant has this very dramatic, brutal writing style. We have seen it in his previous books and let me tell you, he did not hold back in this one. There is so much death, gore and just utter creepiness encased in this book: i can’t believe he fit it all in. I feel like he may have improved in his “storytelling” and i really enjoyed the way he made all the perspectives work together in making a global catastrophe feel so close to home.

The characters are made up of a diverse group of adults, teenagers, races and sexuality. When i say diverse i mean VERY diverse. While i mostly liked all the characters i do feel like because there were so many perspectives that some people weren’t heard from enough and i hope in his next releases he lets them shine a bit more. Also, the characters didn’t get enough time to fully develop. While i liked them, i don’t feel like i really know them all that well, apart from maybe Shade Darby. I just wish that each perspective had more of a focus on who they are, why they are making these choices and doing the things they’re doing.

My main problem with the book is that it feels like Michael Grant tried too hard to make his characters. Every one of them has some sort of issue, whether it be mentally or physically. Personally, i like a book that has diversity in it and can help the readers to have one character they can relate to. Unfortunately, i just don’t think this worked in Grant’s favour. it would be fine if he made these characters and continued on in the story/character development with them reacting in certain ways due to their illnesses. However, it seems like every time we switch perspective we have to be reminded again that this person has ADD or is confused about their gender. Maybe its due to lack of character development, but it seemed like everyone is a walking issue instead of a person.

The powers and transformations are cool and i love the way Grant incorporates the when and where the change takes place to affect the morphs. Totally brilliant. He definitely knows how to write a Superpowers book! So glad i got to read this, it was really entertaining and it makes me want to reread the gone series all over again.

Thank you to Electric Monkey for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review. This in no way affects my opinions or review on the book.

[Casper]

WHY? HOW? WHAT? WHYYYYY?

This was legit the first series I've ever read so it kinda feels like a classic to me and it really doesnt need anything added to the story... Im excited that this is going to happen but it better be as good as the originals or else Ima shoot something, preferably with beating heart.

[Ricky · Rating 4 out of 5]

A follow-up to Gone at last?

YES. PLEASE.

Four years after Michael Grant seemingly ended the series with the sixth and final novel Light, here beginneth a new trilogy that takes the FAYZ and its alien virus and all its ramifications and brings them to a more global stage. Well, so far a lot of the action is confined to the US, and especially to California (there's a lot of Bay Area action scenes, including one of the most inventive spins yet on Golden Gate Bridge destruction), but there are sprinklings of worldwide action as more pieces of the space rocks that first brought us the gaiaphage are starting to show up around our planet. Though Grant's indicated a few times in recent months that he might be quitting the YA biz, the events of this book are only the first taste of things to come, so I'm still hoping that he brings us Villain and Hero to wrap up this new story arc.



I was a little surprised by how much the early information about this book kept changing. First there was the working title Shade Darby, then the assertion that Dekka would be the protagonist. Elements of both of these show up in the final product, with Shade being one of several new characters through whose POV we witness the apocalyptic horror (and body horror) with which Grant gifts us like back in the old days of Plague, especially, and Dekka being the sole original-series character whose POV we get here. Our other major POV characters are Justin, who's got a seriously monstrous streak that helps give this book its name; Tom Peaks, who to my mind feels like a mashup of Nicholas Lea's best-known characters, Alex Krycek from The X Files and Tom Foss from Kyle XY; Cruz, who is genderfluid (said to be "multiple choice in a true/false world") and becomes very good friends with Shade and her ex, Malik; and Armo, whose Oppositional Defiant Disorder is, if I'm not mistaken, something he shares with Grant himself. There are so many characters to follow here, and it's clear that Grant focuses more on some than others - Shade, Cruz, and Dekka get the most attention, I think. But even though not every POV character gets equal page time, that doesn't terribly undermine the book's central theme - the extremely blurred lines between monster, villain, and hero. No Golden or Silver Age comic book stuff here, kids.

The original Gone series, dark though it was, proved very foundational for me as a YA reader - and also as a YA writer. I'm sure there are many who would side-eye me for saying this, but a lot of Grant's old heroes and villains - especially Sam, Quinn, Edilio, Dekka, Sanjit, and even Caine and Diana - have been quite influential on me. Monster takes the darkness of the old series up a few more notches, really ratcheting up the psychological scare and body horror factors. And also the in-universe bigotry factor. It's nothing new for this series - racism, in particular, flew thick and fast coming from the original series' worst villains. A lot of our heroes in this book have to put up with aggressions both micro and macro - Dekka hearing people frequently talk about her "the black lesbian," reductive as that is, Cruz having to put up with a ton of transphobia (including repeated use of her deadname, which is still her legal one) and getting asked what she's got in her pants, etc. There's also inclusion of mental illness among the good guys and the bad both, though, like I said, the lines between good and evil are extremely blurred here. Think Netflix Marvel as opposed to ABC Marvel (not that Agents of SHIELD doesn't blur the lines a lot itself.)

Monster isn't quite the five-star read I was hoping for, but then again, I only gave Gone four stars too and came to super-appreciate the series as it went on. That said, though, it really harks back to the days when Gone and sequels were among the darkest books in YA, and this one's even more thought-provoking than ever. I bet there are many who'll give it a miss for precisely those reasons, but that's okay. Everyone has their own preferences.

Oh, and one more stray observation...that scene where Shade and Cruz sing along to some good old Tom Petty. "I Won't Back Down." Never let it be said that Grant's good guys and gals and enbies don't have great taste in music.

[Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so sad when I read book 6 of the Gone Series. It was the last one. That was it. Gone made it to my short list of favorite series. It was just so damn fun to read and so well written. I can't say enough great things about it. But then it was over. I never, or at least very rarely, re-read books but I have been thinking about doing just that with this series because I missed it. But then.....

OMG, look. A new Gone book *squeals like a schoolgirl but promptly gets ahold of herself*. This isn't just a re-hash of the old story. It's the same world but the Gaiaphage is gone, the dome is gone, the remaining children are safe...or are they??

If you are familiar with the series, then you probably love it as much as I do. If you aren't familiar, here's the super-quick version:
A dome appears surrounding Perdido Beach and all the adults disappear. The kids can't get in or out. All hell breaks loose over the following year. As it turns out, an alien creature who was in a meteorite crashed into the nuclear reactor. Over time, a lot of the kids developed super powers and eventually it ended up being like Lord of the Flies meets Heroes. SO. MUCH. FUN!!

Grant pick up where he left off. As it turns out, that was only meteorite #1 that hit the power station. A few more are touching down and things are getting bad very fast. Of the characters that were still alive at the end of the last book, the only ones we've gotten to see again is Dekka and Drake. A few new characters have been introduced but we will be hearing from Sam and Astrid again fairly soon.

Maybe this isn't quite a five-star but I'm a Gone addict who's been dry for quite a while and finally had a hit. I'm still basking in the glow of story awesomeness. Try it...you'll like it.

[Cassie James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review, This doesn't in away influence my opinion on it.


I am a really huge fan of the Gone series, I devoured all the book in 4 days with almost non stop reading. I was really excited to hear about Monster because I really missed the series. It was really great coming back into this disturbingly wonderful world. The writing is top notch as usual and easy to get absorbed with. This is what drew me to the series in the first place, the easy flow the book has that just keeps you coming back for more and more. Monster is a continuation of the series and it tells the story of Shade, Cruz, Dekka, Armo, Malik, Justin and Vincent, teenagers mutated by the meteorites (ASO's). This time, it's unlike what happened in the FAYZ because it's not just special powers they gain. They also gain the ability to morph into terrifyingly powerful monsters, kinda like shapeshifters but more dangerous. Shade is a brilliant girl whose mother died the day the FAYZ dome came down. With her father headlining the research of the ASO landsites, it was easy for her to know all the details surrounding it. When she realises the world as we know it is about to came to an end with a new age heralding the coming of super powered people who could either be good or evil, she vowed not to be helpless again. With the help of her new friend Cruz (a gender fluid fascinating character), they are able to acquire a piece of the rock. Subsequently leading to them ingesting it and mutating into super powered teens. The government when they learn of their existence unleash their wrath on them making them fugitives, they go on the run with the sexy Malik who is Shade's ex boyfriend and quite a resourceful guy. Dekka, who is also from the previous series Gone is also a main character here. It's been 4 years since the dome came down and things have changed for all of them and mostly not for the better. Things change for Dekka when she is recruited by the government and tested on thus emerging with new powers quite different from her previous one. She begins to realise things aren't exactly as they seem.
All this different characters with their various backgrounds come together to form a very engrossing story with a nice pace and flow that just keeps you going. The powers are expertly portrayed as usual, the writing is as good as ever. The fans of the Gone series are absolutely going to love Monster. There is still a lot of gory, disgusting parts (not in a bad way but a nightmare inducing terrifying one). My imagination got filled with so many scenarios that had me gulping in terror. The villain of the story is also a complicated part I wouldn't like to spoil so all I'll say about that is that it is handled very well and no one will be disappointed.
One strength of this series (plus the previous one) is the many characters, and Monster capitalises on that aspect to make a compelling story. Another thing I always love about Michael Grant's books is the diversity and he does not disappoint at all. The ending didn't resolve too much but this only leaves me even more excited for the next book in the series. I can't wait to see what's next for our heroes and villains.
Monster is a masterpiece of brilliantly crafted storytelling, compelling characters, adventure, SciFi goodness, danger, a little bit of romance, cool powers, awesome camaraderie, really terrifying monsters, diversity and a beautiful cover. It will be a shame for anyone to miss it, I recommend this book to anyone looking for their next great read.

P.S: I purposely left this part for last, YES some characters from Gone make an appearance in Monster. Both good and bad (I'm being vague on purpose), it was really great seeing them again. But I love the fact that the best was kept for last (You'll figure this out when you've read it).

[Patricia Crowther · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5* - Well that was one hell of a ride, I was literally exhausted after finishing!

eARC received via NetGalley in exchange for honest review!

So, going into this I'd only read the first in the Gone series so was aware of what the Fayze was but obviously had no idea about how it all ended. If you're at all inclined, even slightly, to read that series then definitely go do that before you get to this one. Monster goes straight in with what I assume is an account of the happenings at the end of the Gone series from the perspective of Shade, someone outside of the Fayze. It also recounts some of the Gone plot throughout the book, so major spoilers are involved!

Equally, this can also be read from this point without having read the Gone series as it provides everything you need to know.

Monster had all the feels of Steelheart (by Brandon Sanderson) at certain points and had me engrossed from the very start. The writing was great, it was humorous and it flowed really well even with its many POVs and little sub plots.

I love superhero stories and I especially love seeing how characters acquire and adapt to their new abilities. We certainly saw some of that but I think my only criticism is that I would have liked to have seen a bit more experimentation to see the characters master their abilities more rather than the crazy hot mess it accumulated into at the end.

I also found that some of the characters went along with certain things way to easily but I suppose when you read a story like this I recommend you forget the realms of realism and just enjoy the ride for what it is.

One of the things I really liked was the diversity of the characters. I read a fair bit of the YA genre but this is possibly the first book I've ever read with a gender fluid character, albeit not an MC but definitely a prominent sidekick. And the characters identity issues were not just mentioned once as a token gesture, it was integrated throughout, always present which I thought was great. As for the representation in this respect I wouldn't really want to comment and recommend you try to find an own voices review for that. There was also PoC and lesbian rep included too.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a fun and frantic ride into superheroes, villains and monsters. Forget about about how realistic some of it is and I'm sure you'll love it too.

[May R · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me ha dejado un poco fría y confusa aunque me ha gustado pero esperaba algo más

Monstruo es la primera parte de la trilogía secuela de la saga Olvidados . Una saga que, como sabréis, me ha fascinado y he leído recientemente. Olvidados me acompañó durante gran parte de la cuarentena y me enamoré tanto de su ambientación, de su trama como de sus personajes. En este caso, Monstruo crea un nuevo universo con elementos de la saga y aunque aparece Dekka como personaje principal, es la única que realmente es rescatada de las anteriores novelas.
Por empezar con los personajes de Monstruo , he de decir que en general me han gustado bastante. La reaparición de Dekka es maravillosa, siempre me pareció un personaje al que faltaba sacarle partido y, ahora, cuatro años después es una protagonista más que merecida. Pero más allá de Dekka, también hay nuevos personajes; la gran mayoría lo son. Quizá me sobraban tantos adultos y tan pocos jóvenes; acostumbrada a la saga donde los personajes mayores tenían dieciséis o diecisiete años; esta obra me ha chocado por la introducción de protagonistas adultos y jóvenes tan mayores. En general todos los personajes me han gustado, están bien construidos, muy al estilo del autor; aunque me sobraban tantos y a veces me perdía porque la narración cambiaba demasiado rápido.
La trama de la novela quizá no sea su punto fuerte y esto ha sido lo que me ha dejado más fría y con un sabor agridulce. Al final cuando decides leer una secuela siempre lo haces con ilusión y con ganas de volver a leer algo similar a sus novela predecesoras. En el caso de Monstruo comencé a leerlo muy ilusionada y la he terminado no tanto. Monstruo es una novela muy introductoria y una parte de mí siente esperanzas al pensar que quizá su continuación tenga más chicha y ritmo. Creo que sobran personajes y que tanta introducción para tantos personajes es innecesaria. También me resulta difícil visualizar el universo de Perdido Beach en el mundo real y quizá ahí esté otro de los elementos que no me han convencido. La fórmula de la saga Olvidados funcionaba muy bien en una ciudad encerrada bajo una cúpula; pero cuando la trasladas a la realidad y el planeta entero... no funciona. Espero que la segunda novela mejore pero, en este caso, demasiados personajes, demasiadas introducciones y poco desarrollo. No me ha cuajado del todo la historia de esta primera parte.
El ritmo como he comentado tampoco es tan bueno como en la saga anterior. No está mal, pero no termina de encajar y cuesta mucho conectar con la lectura. Quizá sea necesario y la segunda parte lo mejore, pero de momento es una primera novela un tanto floja y que se hace hasta pesada.
En resumen, Monstruo es una novela que en sí misma me ha gustado y que he leído con cierto interés; no sé si su público objetivo serían lectores que no hubieran leído la saga Olvidados ; de hecho lo dudo; más bien parece que su público somos los lectores fieles de la saga anterior. El ritmo podría mejorarse, me da la sensación de que sobraban personajes y que, en general, está siendo difícil entender la adaptación del universo de Perdido Beach al mundo real. Leeré la segunda parte esperando encontrar algo que me guste tanto como la saga anterior.

[Beagle Lover (Avid Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Grant

4 stars...on the line.

Mr. Grant has managed to take us back to the days of the FAYZ, only four years later. But this time without a dome. Monster contains old and new characters, some likable, so not so likeable. (Yes, Drake (Whip Hand) is back in a minor role). Mainly focusing on new characters, this action-packed whirlwind of a plot takes us all over the globe, but mainly focuses in California, U.S.A.

I do not want to give away too much of the plot - mainly because doing so would cause my fingers to either fall off or atrophy. There are so many plot twists and surprises that I could write my own book here just in describing all that occurs within this continuation of the Gone series. I will say that Mr. Grant has done himself and his avid readers NO disservice with this book...in fact, he has upped the ante on action, characters and incredible monsters.

Props to you, Mr. Grant. You've done it again. I cannot wait for the next book in this trilogy.

[Ember · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Gone series holds a special spot in my heart (and on my shelves) as one of the book series that has had the most impact on me. Which makes me so upset that I hated this book so much.

While Gone and it's subsequent books had interesting character development and relationships, compelling plot development, and an overall story that I was drawn to, Monster was the complete opposite. It almost felt like Grant exhausted all of his character development in his first six books in this universe and just did not hit the mark at all this time around. I felt like I knew nothing of the new characters besides their first names and their races. I felt no sympathy for them, their motives and beliefs were incredibly one-dimensional and flat, and because of this, I couldn't bring myself to care about them and their goals whatsoever.

I struggled through the second half of this book particularly because of how little I cared about the stakes due to the characters. Shade, Malik, and Cruz were all disappointingly one-track-minded, which is not what I've come to expect from Grant's writing. I loved the characters in Gone so much, which is why I was so shocked that the new protagonists' entire plots were driven by such simplistic, flat motivations. I understand that, this being the first book in the series, some simplicity is to be expected, but again, compared to Gone, this seemed like it was on a much lower level of complexity, which is not what I've come to expect from Michael Grant's writing. I will be honest and say that I skimmed that last few chapters because it just felt like an endless cycle of repetitive violence happening to characters who I did not care about at all.

This entire novel honestly felt like Grant having a competition with himself to see if he could make each chapter more gruesome and violent than the last. Again, just in comparison to the Gone series, even back then, the "senseless" violence felt necessary, to advance character or otherwise. Here, it just felt like blood and gore for the sake of blood and gore. In the case of some characters, it was taken to such extremes that it just seemed so incredibly unrealistic that I couldn't take it seriously.

I did enjoy some aspects of this book, mainly Dekka Talent near the beginning of the novel, and exploring her post-FAYZ life. I enjoyed the other Gone character cameos as well, but at the same time, they felt less like scenes to enhance the plot and more like devices to wrangle in old readers and keep them going. (And despite the intrigue that the last sentence of this book left me with, I will not be continuing this series. As badly as I want to know what happens next to my old beloved characters, it simply doesn't seem worth it.)

Overall, I guess I just had very high expectations for this novel, and almost none of them were met. I wish I could have liked this book.

[Paris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Grant's 'Gone' series is one of my all-time favourite series so when I found out that 'Monster' was a follow on I knew I HAD to get my hands on a copy.

I had extremely high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed. IT WAS AMAZING!

I loved how some of the main characters from the FAYZ were present and I found it really interesting to see how they were living their lives after their nightmare. The interweaving of the new characters with the older ones was very well done, and their voice was portrayed beautifully causing you to feel all their emotions and form your own judgements about the villains/heros.

I hope this is the start of a new series?! Because I literally cannot wait to find out how the story continues.

In summary, 'Monster' is a must read for anyone that has read the 'Gone' series....and if you haven't read the 'Gone' series then seriously WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?! GO!

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I heard that Michael Grant was writing a sequeling series to one of my favorite series of all time, I was skeptical. I've read some great sequel-series and some awful ones. I wondered what the story would even be since everything was resolved. I'm honestly still wondering that after reading it.

I decided to give it a shot because I had faith in one of my favorite authors. Now, I'm not sure if that faith was justified.

This book was basically an alternate version of the Gone series but with adults and teens getting powers and where there isn't a dome (and, therefore, isn't like Lord of the Flies). More meteors like the one at Perdido Beach are falling across the earth and more people are getting powers. Also, instead of getting fun superpowers like telekinesis, they get weird superpowers like being half-insect.

Honestly, my first impression of this book was wondering who would actually want the power. You can shapeshift into an ugly monster. Why do you want that? I read the book, and I have no clue. Yet, people knew what they were getting into and still snorted the alien, power-giving rock like it was cocaine.

The actual book was exciting. It was fast-paced and obviously setting up what will be an epic series. It was fast-paced, and I ended up reading it mainly in an afternoon (in an airport without WiFi but who's counting).

However, the characters and the writing were lacking the Michael Grant charm I've learned to expect.

The characters were too flat. They all had a defining characteristic that they stuck to the whole time. There was Shade: the mysterious girl; Malik: devoted ex-boyfriend; Dekka: honorable but depressed. Everyone stuck to their roles for the entirety of the book. Any character development that occurred was obvious from the beginning.

It feels as though someone told Grant to be more diverse/inclusive to sell more books, and he took their advice without it really being a part of the story. Character diversity can feel natural or artificial / just sleezy feeling (this book). In order for some of these themes to fit in, they have to be authentic. It's just a matter of execution. Some sentences were forced into Monster to prove a point of inclusivity, and these sentences felt so out of place that I'd often have to reread them to make sure I didn't miss a change of subject.

One big example was when Grant called one of the characters a "big white boy" many, many times (roughly 15 times in 30 pages). I understand that our current society has a problem with having a "default race" of being white. I agree that this isn't fair, that you should have to declare each characters race if you do one. Sure. I'm all for that. But, each time you mention him? It's excessive. It just ruined my immersion.

For fans of the Gone series, there are cameos from other characters. Dekka is a main character and Drake and Sam are mentioned a few times. I get the impression that the earlier characters will make more appearances as the series goes on, so there'll be plenty of chances to read of your favorite characters again!

Overall, the book was fine. On the surface level, it did everything the description promises. I just wasn't hooked by the characters and found the superpowers to just be gross and unappealing. (Everyone wants to manipulate gravity, but does anyone want a lobster-claw hand?) I don't think that I'm going to read the next one, but I did finish this one. It was a solid 3-star book, definitely not up to the 5-star rating I expect from Michael Grant, but it was still decent.

Full Review at https://thesecretbookshelf.blogspot.c...

*Note: Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review*

[Cisz Geverink - Strasters · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Hij was bang, verbijsterd, overweldigd, maar zelfs te midden van die vloed van emoties voelde hij iets... iets wat duister en ver weg was, dat niettemin duidelijk in zijn brein zat iets wat... hem gadesloeg." ~ p79.

Ik was een enorme fan van de Gone serie, maar had echt moeite met deze spin-off. Was het na 6 boeken dan toch echt eigenlijk genoeg?

"Doden of wegrennen? En een deel van haar brein dacht: hoe vaak heb ik al niet voor die keus gestaan?" ~ p216

Monster is het eerste deel van een trilogie, en een vervolg op de GONE-serie. Inmiddels is het 4 jaar geleden dat de koepel Perdido Beach gevangen hield, door de geheimzinnige meteoriet. Nu lijken er weer meteorieten op aarde in te slaan. Geobsedeerd door de stenen, zet Shade Derby alles op alles op een stuk te bemachtigen. Maar zij is niet de enige die interesse heeft...
Toen ik hoorde dat Micheal Grant de GONE-serie weer op ging pakken, was ik echt verrukt. Ik moest en zou verder lezen! Des te verdrietiger werd ik dat ik mij echt door het boek heen moest worstelen. Ik denk dat ik mezelf wel 100 keer heb afgevraagd of ik moest stoppen of door blijven lezen, en besloot uiteindelijk het boek even aan de kant te leggen om een ander boek tussendoor te lezen. Ik mijn tweede poging kwam ik gelukkig een stuk verder, hetzij nog steeds met lange tanden, maar 'hoera', eenmaal ruim over de helft wist het verhaal eindelijk vat om me te krijgen! De focus ligt geduren het verhaal op verschillende personages, en niet alle vond ik even interressant. Ook irriteerde ik mij mateloos aan bepaalde 'fouten' (denk aan een baby van 4 jaar die blijkbaar nog tandjes moest krijgen??), waardoor ik met tegenzin bleef lezen. En vond ik de zo genoemde monsters in dit verhaal compleet over de top. Waar we in de eerste serie nog bijzondere dingen ontdekte, moest het nu allemaal te groot en te gek. Maar, het omslagpunt in het verhaal zorgde er wel voor dat ik bleef lezen, en uiteindelijk vast ook de volgende delen ga lezen, want ik wil nu wel weten hoe het afloopt. Ik ga echter niet naar de winkel rennen zodra het volgende boek te koop is.

"Dat hebben ze me bij therapie wel geleerd: verspil geen tijd aan dingen waar je spijt van hebt, maar zoek gewoon een manier om het kwaad dat je hebt aangericht zo goed mogelijk ongedaan te maken." ~ p288.

Hoe beoordeel je een boek waarvan je merendeel met lange tanden hebt gelezen, en uiteindelijk toch nieuwsgierig bent geworden? Voor het eerste gedeelte zou ik absoluut niet verder dan 2 sterren zijn gekomen, maar het einde ging dan toch weer naar een 4 sterren niveau. Ik denk dat ik het op een neutrale "gewoon goed" 3 sterren hou, maar dan zeker wel met een kanttekening: het volgende deel moet het wel waar gaan maken!

www.facebook.com/thebookbabecisz

[Ryan Buckby · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's been four years since a meteorite hit perdido beach and everyone disappeared. gone.


It's been two years since i finished this series and i'm so glad that i get to step back into this series again with a new book and i absolutely loved every moment of this book. The gone series will forever be one of my favourite series that i have ever read i just love it so much.

Plot: This book picks up about 4 years after the events of the sixth book and we pick up following a new range of characters but also we follow Dekka who was a main character from the other books returns to be a main character in the continuation of this story. It felt like i was returning to old friends and a whole world that i left behind 2 years ago and i fell right back into this story with ease. I loved the setting of this story it felt darker and every single plot point was written so well that the story flowed with no hiccups. Michael is a great story teller i had little fault in this book and i honestly loved it and i cannot wait to see where he takes this series in book eight. One thing that i thought Michael did really well was give some of the old main characters some closure and we got an insight into what they were up to.



Characters:


Dekka Talent: One of the original characters from the first six books makes her return and is very different to the 15 year old girl we left at the end of the sixth book. Dekka now 20 living alone and working a part-time job trying to lead a very normal life but the events of her past are still troubling her every single day. Dekka was one of my favourite characters in the other books and i was so happy to see her return in this one, She has grown so much from what she went through has to me has managed not to go so deep into depression like most of the survivors of the FAYZ. I cannot wait to see Dekka kick more ass in the second book of this new trilogy!


Shade Darby: One of the new main characters and who is the Main protagonist of this new trilogy. Shade is the daughter of Heather Darby the scientist who was sent to Perdido and who unfortunately dies. Shade is soon put into the whole FAYZ situation when she develops powers from a piece of Meteorite she finds and she soon finds herself in a situation that she cannot get out of. I hope Shade gets some more answers on her mothers death or she goes looking for some answers because i honestly want to know what happened because i've forgotten.

Malik Tenerife: I enjoyed this character and i became very sad to see what happened to him during the final moments of the book and i honestly hope he doesn't die because i want to see more of this character. Malik could be such an important character and i see so much potential i don't want to see a good character so early on.

Hugo Cruz Martinez Rojas I found this character very interesting to read from because of how Michael describes this character. Hugo is a straight girl in a guys body and i love how diverse Michael's characters are because i don't think Michael has forgotten about anyone and if you want a series with a huge range of diverse characters then you'll love a lot of his characters. Hugo has only one friend who is Shade but is very trusting and i really like the power Hugo has.


there are so many other new characters that i have got to know while reading this book which i all loved and cannot wait to see in the second book. Gaia, Brianna, Heather, Caine, Orc, Pete and Alex all appear in flashbacks during the book. Mary, Hunter, Astrid, Lana and Duck are all mentioned in this book but are not seen.

Sam Temple, Diana Ladris, Drake Merwin, Taylor. all from the original series make appearances in this book and i hope to see more of the original characters make a return in the second book of this trilogy.


This story was action packed and a real big roller coaster and i can't wait to see were the story goes in book two. I'm glad that i'm back in this world and this storyline has gone deeper and deeper and things are starting to come back to the surface and explode before they calm down again.


Props to Michael for continuing this series and coming back on such a high note that i was invested in this story once again!

[Alayne Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so pleased when Michael Grant wrote more of the wonderful series Gone as it is one of my favourites to read and go to now and again. This follow on from book six is just as good. Some of the same characters as well as some new ones and the story continues. Brillant!!!!
!

[gem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this is a truly outstanding book. It's exciting, pacey and mixes the real world with the absolutely incredible and fantastical. It would be perfect for fans of DC/Marvel, or Brandon Sanderson and Stephen King.

Although it's set after the events of the Gone series, it can be read as a newcomer to MG as the story largely focuses on the current events, however it does explain the goings on of the last chapters of Light. In my opinion, so much happens in the whole of the Gone series, that even if I'd read Monster first and then backtracked, I don't think those few revelations would have ruined everything as I'd have had no idea *how* it all came to pass and that's the most exciting thing about reading the whole series.

There was one sentence towards the very end of Light that made me hopefully that this wasn't really the end, (I will have to find the exact line... will come back to this!)
I started reading this on the train back from London, and my first note says "Holy fuck, what an opening chapter!"
As soon as I started reading this I was once again drawn straight back in to a reality where the impossible had happened, and we were introduced to Shade Darby... she was at the scene of the Dome coming down, and would become an instrumental part in the upcoming events.
Shade is a fascinating character; she is incredibly intelligent and is single minded in her need to make amends for certain events that have happened in her life. Her intellect, although massive, causes huge repercussions that she did not envisage, and her friends get caught up too.
It was exciting, visceral, and fast pace and described in such detail it made me glad I was not a meat eater. The very last sentence made me gasp out loud!

The descriptions of the newcomers, their characteristics and personalities, helped shape my mental image of them so I could clearly see the action in my head.
Shades book collection sounds like mine and I was so excited with the sneaky reference to unstoppable corn later on...

At this point I got so distracted by the plot to write any more notes, I literally could not stop reading.

It is a full on, no holds barred action-packed book that will seriously get your pulse racing as you try and establish who is a Monster, who is Villain, and who will ultimately become the Hero...

The re-introduction of past characters blends the past and present stories together in a way that all fans will be cheering for. I loved how the book was split up into parts - it was full of MG's trademark cliff-hangers, each of which spurred me on to read the next chapter, then the next and the next!

I don't want to spoil the storyline for anyone so the only other thing I am going to say is HOLY HELL, WHAT A BOOK!!!!!!!! This would make an incredible graphic novel, and I'd love to see the characters drawn or on screen!

My favourite quotes:
"You're e) all of the above. You're multiple choice, but on a True/False test."
"Hope is the best form of torture"
"But normal has left the building, and crazy was in charge now."

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book and it did not disappoint!

GONE is one of my favourite series ever and I've been desperate for a follow up for so long!

It follows the stories of several new characters as well as a couple of characters from the original series, the main one being Dekka, who is still just as badass as she always was. Shade Darby is a new character who has a burning desire to erase what happened when the Perdido Beach dome came down, and she brings along her trans friend (Cruz) to help her.

The plot line neatly ties up some loose ends from GONE but at the same time kind of blows the story wide open to such an extent that the Perdido Beach anomaly is now a worldwide threat.

And then there's monsters. And then there's bigger monsters .... and then even bigger ones.

I don't want to give too much away but I reeeeeally loved it and I cannot wait to read the next one.

[CrazyCat (Alex) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I devoured all the books in the "Gone" series and one of my favorite characters was Dekka. So it was amazing to find her as one of the main characters in this book. I loved the world building and the characters. The story isn't for the faint hearted, there's a lot of graphic description and a lot of wounded and/or dead. And it's a long story. But with everything happening it didn't feel like 500+ pages. I highly recommend this book and all the other books in this series. I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and Egmont UK!

[Lid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nota: 3.5

Monstruos es un libro que cuenta con una historia not bad y unos personajes que destacan por ellos mismos. La historia me ha parecido buena pero a falta de mayor explicaciones y en general el que hubiera algo diferente al repetir el mismo proceso con todos los personajes. Es un libro de acción que repercute mucho en los personajes y tiene un aire a los superhéroes de los comics pero algo más oscuro.

Reseña: http://librosdelcielo.blogspot.com/20...

[Becs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Grant, you once again stole copious hours of my day I will never get back. What an excellent, brilliantly gripping story! I’ll always love Rio and the girls a little bit more, because Front Lines was unbeatable in my eyes, but superheroes (and SuperMONSTERS!) came pretty close.

This story is very obviously a new spin on the World Grant created with the Gone series. Whilst it definitely helps, and probably adds to the reading experience, to have some memory of the Gone characters, as some characters feature fairly prominently, it really wouldn’t matter if this was the first book you’d read in the series – you get a run-down of what’s been going off in the Gone World very early on in the book to give you enough perspective and background.

Monster is very different to Gone; it introduces new characters who have been mutated by meteorites hitting Earth whilst still keeping some old favourites around for more developments. But don’t be fooled into thinking “this sounds a bit like what happened in the FAYZ”. Oh no. These characters don’t just have an extra ability to show off with. These mutations are allowing kids to morph into some pretty horrific monsters – because why should superpowers always be for superheroes? Why should superpowers be a single unchangeable power? Why not have a book about the monsters for once?

You very quickly become acquainted with the various characters and their monster potential which is probably the most fun to read about; there’s endless potential for the monsters to be a creative explosion of just about anything you can imagine which makes for a really exciting read. For some people this happened by accident, but for Shade and her friend Cruz they have a little more inside knowledge about what’s going on in the World right now because of Shade’s family history and so they of course decide to steal some meteorite, as you do, and ingest it. Because who wouldn’t want to develop superpowers if it was that easy?

This book has so much action packed into it and remains true to the standard brilliant writing style I’ve come to expect from Grant’s books. It is utterly addictive and complex - Shade and Cruz are on the run, Dekka (who you might remember from the Gone series) is having some nasty experiments done to her to see if her powers will morph into something else, and a bunch of diverse characters are morphing into monsters - and all of these storylines come crashing together to make one bad ass, super addictive, plot. How could you possibly resist?

I wasn’t sure at first if jumping back into a story which came to a good conclusion was really going to be as enjoyable. Would it be history repeating itself? Would it be similar ideas just with a fresh coat of paint and a new face to the characters? But it was absolutely worth revisiting; I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

ARC provided free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book early because my friend lent me her ARC and I will forever be grateful.

I'm gonna be as spoiler-free as I can because I know this book isn't technically out yet, but I'm gonna mention some spoilers towards the end, so just a heads up.

A lot of spin-offs usually feel unnecessary. Most of the time, you can tell that a spin-off is something the creator just half-assedly threw together so they could make more money, and was totally irrelevant to the original story. But I didn't feel that way about Monster at all.

Monster takes place about four years after the dome surrounding Perdido Beach has fallen down. The main protagonist, Shade Darby, lost her mother in the aftermath of the dome falling down. Her father is an important scientist who is investigating dangerous meteorites that are supposed to crash to Earth. These meteorites are connected to the radiation that originated the FAYZ, and consuming part of these meteorites can physically alter one's body and turn them into a dangerous weapon. Shade knows that dangerous people will try to get a hold of these meteorites and turn themselves into monsters. Feeling responsible for her mother's death four years prior, and wanting to seek revenge, Shade gets a hold of part of the meteorite, which turns her into a creature with the ability to run faster than light speed. With the help of her friend Cruz and her ex-boyfriend Malik, Shade begins to travel across the country in an attempt to stop the other monsters that have been unleashed on the world, and tries to become a hero. The book also features Dekka, one of the characters from the original Gone series, who has been recruited by the government to help stop the monsters that these meteorites have created.

Michael Grant did a great job of writing a brand new story focused on new characters, whilst still intertwining elements from the original series. This story clearly had a new plot and new characters, yet there were still references to other characters fro the original series throughout the book. The plot was also very interesting and clever. Basically, the entire book was about discovering that the crazy things that happened in the FAYZ didn't just happen because of the dome; crazy things were now happening all throughout the world. The government also played a significant role in this book, too, which was interesting because it wasn't something we saw in the original series.

The Gone series had a lot of great characters, and so did Monster. Obviously, it was great to see Dekka again, this time serving a lead role in the book. Dekka was the only character that would have fit in a main role in this spin-off, anyway -- everyone else's stories have already been told completely, but I felt like there was more potential for Dekka in the original series, and she definitely fulfilled that in Monster.

I also liked a lot of the other characters, too. My favorite was probably Malik; I really enjoyed his relationship with both Shade and Cruz. I also really loved, Armo, too...I thought he was kind of funny, and I really loved his dynamic with Dekka. Cruz was also a favorite of mine, and she was probably one of the more interesting characters of the book. The only character that I wasn't totally sold on was Shade. I want to like her, but I'm not sure if I do, yet. She was kind of cool, but she also got her friends into trouble a lot, and never really thought much about the consequences of her actions.

The amount of diversity we had in this book was awesome, also. Obviously, we already had Dekka, who's a black lesbian (and who I really hope finds a nice girl by the end of the series because I want her to be happy.) Malik, another main character in the book, was black. And Cruz was Latino, and was also trans/non-binary, which was really cool, because I've never read a book that featured a non-binary person, or even a trans person, come to think of it. Also, most, if not all, of the villains in this story were entitled white men, which is how it works in real life, anyway.

Honestly, though, the most exciting parts of this book were the references to the original Gone series. Any time they mentioned a plot point I got really excited and any time a character was even mentioned, I screamed out loud. There are a few characters (other than Dekka) who even make appearances in the story. There was one scene in particular that I really, really, REALLY loved, but I don't want to reveal anything about it. Just know it was good. Another great scene was the very last scene in the book, which I saw coming, but STILL had me screaming and has me INFINITELY excited for the next book.

[SPOILERS]

However, there were a few things about this book that disappointed me, and all of those things are pretty spoiler-y, so maybe avoid this section of the review.

Something that personally disappointed me is that my favorite character from the original series, Quinn, wasn't mentioned at all throughout the book, even though almost every other character was mentioned at least in passing. There were also a couple of unanswered questions I had at the end of Light (what happened to Toto the Truth Teller, did Lana and Sanjit stay together) that I was hoping would be answered in this book, but no such luck. There were also a few characters that were mentioned in passing, but it wasn't revealed what they were up to four years after the FAYZ, which I kind of wanted a few hints about. But I know there will be more books (I think two more?) so hopefully the characters that were left unmentioned will appear later, and we'll get answers to some of the questions left unanswered.

Probably the thing I liked the least about this book, though, and this is a BIG SPOILER, is that Drake makes a return. He doesn't have a huge role or anything, but come on. I spent SIX WHOLE BOOKS hating Drake Merwin with every fiber of my being, and the countdown in Light was even counting down to his death, yet it turns out he's not even actually dead? Honestly, it felt like a huge cop out and I was kind of pissed. I would've preferred that Grant use new villains, or if he was going to bring a villain back, maybe the Gaiaphage or something, but not DRAKE.

[END SPOILERS]

But honestly, that was the only major issue I had with the book. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who loved the Gone series, and to those who have never read the Gone series, what the hell are you doing with your life. This book was great, and I'm so excited for more books. When I first read the Gone series, I was reading it when all of the books were already out, which meant I never had to wait between one book and the next. So waiting for the next book after Monster feels kind of weird, but I really feel like it'll be worth the wait.

[Lisa Mandina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Gone series has always been one of my favorites, so when I saw there was another one coming out, I was excited, yet a little leery. I was worried it would mess up where the story had left off. Fortunately, I was wrong. I loved how at the beginning the author gave a shout out to some other awesome YA authors. The book was very action packed and while mostly we had all new characters, there were a few from before, and that made the story even better. I look forward to where this story will go in the next book, and will be eagerly awaiting the next installment.

[Erikka · Rating 5 out of 5]

The amount of joy at finding out a favorite but completed series has more books coming cannot be expressed in human terms. It sounds kind of like a squeal and is paired with flapping hands and an ear-to-ear grin. I was enthralled by the Gone series--it is a go-to recommendation for my teens and is still one of my favorite series of all time. This book starts a few years after the last book and creates a whole new series of problems, crises, and incredibly bad-ass battles, featuring some amazing cameos from the world of the FAYZ. While Perdido Beach is in our past, a world of morphed people and towering supervillains is only beginning. Who will be a hero, who will be a villain, and who will be a monster?

[Kelly Furniss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will admit I took a punt on this one as I fancied something completely different to read alongside my normal books and had seen this authors Gone series mentioned many times before and was intrigued with the fandom surrounding it. After checking it would be ok to read as a newcomer to the series I delved in and wow!, prepare for your imagination to be blown with teenagers who have contracted a virus and now have unique superpowers but it's how they all respond differently to these powers that shows the diversity of the characters portrayed. How the story is segmented & the roller coaster writing urges you to read on as you are left with cliff hangers.
I am glad I read it and can see why it's a very popular series with younger readers.
My thanks go to the publishers, author and Netgalley in providing me with this arc in return for a honest review.

[kerrycat · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Normal had left the building, and crazy was in charge now."

Crazy is always in charge when Grant is writing.

All the intensity of the FAYZ without the dome - yes, it's bad. Very bad, and only the kids who survived the PBA understand how bad it can be - and then it gets worse. Grant delivers his standard bloodbath of fear, sarcasm, and oh yes, literal bloodbath after bloodbath. His mind is a dark place where beautiful stories come to life, and call me crazy but I can't get enough. When I put my laundry in the dryer every Sunday evening, I am back on BZRK's Doll Ship, and now, I don't think I'll be able to read a certain children's book ever again. The horror . . .

I would, however, like to respectfully request that Grant be a little more careful with his fictional cats.

Cliffhanger - oh wow, it's just gonna get better . . .

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now, that was a pretty good follow up to an intense series. I'm a huge fan of the Gone books and I was worried about this one, however, it did not disappoint! I don't want to give anything anyway so I'll just say it's definitely worth the read and you should check it out if you're a fan of the series. Highly looking forward to the next installment (fingers crossed)!

[Lynn Dubinsky]

I'm loving this series sso far, but I'm not sure I'll be reading this. Dekka isn't a favorite of mine. I actually can't stand her right now to be honest. So unless my feelings for her change, I will not be reading this. Especially if it's just her book.