Reading Update: Gone by Michael Grant

So the reading updates I'm posting today are going to be quick and dirty. On the bright side, I've been able to enjoy six books in the last two weeks. On the down side, I haven't posted about a single one of them and want to move on to other reading but feel a pang of guilt gnawing at the back of mind each time I even think about picking up a new book... so here it goes. A frenzy of reading updates.

Gone is a new go-to sci-fi thriller I'm going to put in the hands of my middle school boys. It has just the right amount of viciousness, violence, action, and male ego to keep a boy flipping through 550+ pages.
    This book reminded me a lot of The Lord of the Flies. Anyone under the age of 15 - so we're talking infants to 14-year-olds - are  suddenly stranded inside a strange dome. The barrier of the dome glows faintly and burns upon touch. As the kids focus on survival in this strange new world without adults - and without adult reasoning, power battles begin to break out. To compound the confusion and danger, some kids start to realize that they are developing special powers such as throwing fireballs from their fingers and moving at the speed of light. Animals also begin to morph, and animals that once posed no threat to human life are now animals to be feared.
    The ending of this book satisfies the reader but it's clear that there will be a sequel.

Practical Considerations: I would have no qualms about including this book in my middle school classroom library. Sexual content nor language posed any problems for me.