Review: Hunger

Book: Hunger (Michael Grant)
Stand-Alone or Series:  Series, Gone #2
Pages: 590 
Genre: Young Adult
Preview on Amazon
Description (From Goodreads):

 It's been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ. Things have only gotten worse. Food is running out, and each day more kids are developing supernatural abilities. Soon tension rises between those with powers and those without, and when an unspeakable tragedy occurs, chaos erupts. It's the normals against the mutants, and the battle promises to turn bloody.

But something more dangerous lurks. A sinister creature known as the Darkness has begun to call to the survivors in the FAYZ. It needs their powers to sustain its own. When the Darkness calls, someone will answer -- with deadly results.

 I recently read the first book in this series, Gone, and was instantly propelled into the story. The same thing happened to me once I started Hunger. All of your favorite characters from book one are back, including - Sam, Astrid, Edilio, Quinn, Lana, Albert, Cookie, Brianna, Dekka, Jack, Little Pete and Orc. Also back for round two are those characters you love to hate, Caine, Drake and Diana. This time around Sam and his gang are dealing with a constant wave of problems - they are still dealing with Caine, but they now have to face off against the ever creepy "darkness". The town, in which Sam acts as mayor/father, is also dividing and everyone is taking sides - the Freaks vs. the normals. In short there is a lot going on in this book.

Now, normally, this isn't an issue for a book containing nearly 600 pages, but this did pose a problem for Hunger. It is the exact same problem I had with book one, there are just to many to many different point-of-views. The book is constantly switching narratives, and the reader has to follow about twenty different stories. Granted, all the stories tie together, but I feel like it takes away from the book. Not only do you follow all of the characters I mentioned above (a total of 15), but there are also new characters added into the mix. You spend time, Hunter, Duck, Zil, Orsay and Brittany, who are all new to the book. There are also more minor characters that made appearances in book one, like Mary, Howar and John who also do some narrating.With all of these different narrators, I found myself drifting from the plot. I just simply stopped caring about things that didn't directly concern my favorites, Astrid, Sam and Edilio.   

 However, all the narration problems aside, I really enjoyed this book. Once again, there is plenty of excitement packed into the pages and tons of terrifying drama. Kids are pushed to their limits by their hunger and you see a lot of people snapping. There is also plenty of interaction between Astrid and Sam, who are quickly becoming one of my favorite lit couples. They play off each other brilliantly, and Grant does an amazing job keeping their relationship realistic. 

All in all, like Gone, when Hunger is good, its great. Due to an overwhelming amount of narrators, the pacing is sometimes slow, but if you stick it out, you will not be disappointed. Its an action packed book with plenty of excitement and plot twists to keep you turning the pages. I did not enjoy it quite as much as Gone, but it was still a great read!

  It's been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ. Things have only gotten worse. Food is ...mor

Review: Gone

Book: Gone by Michael Grant
Series or Stand-Alone: Gone Series, Book #1
Pages: 558
Preview on Amazon
Description:  
In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.

Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.
It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else...

I have heard a lot about this series from other bloggers, and I was eager to get my hands on a copy of Gone.  Overall, I enjoyed the book. The plot was extremely exciting and the storyline was well developed.  The book begins with and is centered around (for the most part) Sam Temple. Once the blink happens, it is Sam who kind of gets everyone calmed down and safe. Sam’s sort of a local hero and everyone looks to him, which he is completely uncomfortable with. I love the character of Sam; he’s humble and unsure of himself, which makes him a great hero. From here, the story progresses quickly; which is great, especially with a 500+ page book.

While Sam is obliviously the main character, there are a lot of secondary characters. This posed a problem, at least for me, because at some point in the time, the novel changes to each of their perspectives. There is Sam, who you read most of the novel through, but then there is also Astrid, Sam’s friends Quinn and Edilio, Lana, Albert, Mary, Cookie and Dahra. Then, there are the bad guys - Caine, Diana, Howard, Orc, Computer Jack and Drake.  I am sure there are more peppered throughout the book, but I can’t remember them all. That’s a lot of different perspectives to read through. I understand that the author wants the reader to see the whole picture, but we are constantly changing perspectives and when the story is intense it can get annoying.  I found myself just wanting to stay with Sam and Astrid, but the story kept taking me elsewhere.

Also, this book dealt with some pretty gruesome mental images. I did not really bother me, but it is a book about children under 14. So I am going to assume a lot of readers will be under 14 and without spoiling too much, there are lots of dead bodies (including a baby in a garbage bag) and lots of icky bone breaks and just overall nasty injuries.  Just wanted to  warn everyone!

But, honestly, the perspective thing is the only gripe I have with this book. I thought all the characters were well written, and I quickly rallied around Sam, Astrid, Edilio and Little Petey. I was, and still am rather skeptical about Quinn, but I think that is to be expected. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout the book and it certainly keeps you on your toes. I would highly recommend this book!