Hunger

Hunger is the second book in the Gone Series.In Hunger by Michael Grant the kids are trapped in the dome and they’re hungry. But they’re not the only ones, the darkness is also hungry. While the kids want food, the darkness wants uranium pellets from the Nuclear Power Plant. It plans to use Caine, Diana, Drake & Co. to get the pellets and healer Lana’s abilities to create a body for its self, so that it can leave the Mineshaft.More kids are developing powers including Duck who can sink into the ground or float into the sky and Hunter who has microwave hands. There’s a growing divide and resentment among those with powers and those without.Like Gone, there’s some really good ideas. I particularly liked the worms with sharp teeth intentionally designed to bury through skin. The worms are territorial and that their territory happens to be the agricultural fields, full of much needed food for the kids.In Hunger I kept an eye out for the kid from Coats who came to Perdido Beach in the beginning of Gone. No mention was made, meaning it must have been a rather annoying loose end or plot hole in Gone.Hunger is not as fast-paced as Gone and no were near as captivating. Despite Hunger being much bigger (more pages) than Gone, the characters and storyline development disappointed me. None of the characters really showed any development in this book and it added very little to the overarching plot.

In the second week of my holiday, I read Hunger, the thrilling sequal to Gone. Now all the setting up is out of the way, we can get into the story's juicy bones. In the tradition started by Malazan Book of the Fallen and continiued with The Sopranos, the second is much better than the first.There is so many great plot lines here. Caine is a shadow of his former self, reduced to a shrieking wreck after his ecounter with the darkness at the end of the last book. Even when he comes out of his dream state, the darkness is still there. The unholy trinity (Caine, Drake and Diana) are back, as feirce and evil as ever. While the previous book felt like a teenage coming-of-age story, this is much more adult, with talking animals featuring less and stressful struggles to keep order more.As hunger turns people to savages, an X-Men like barrier appears between the mutant "freaks" and the "normals" (i notice the absence of the term X-Men or Mutants, although I suspect this is due to copyright only, as they are prettey much the X-Men). Although not as interesting as the main plot, this brings a sense of bloody desperation which is not supernatural but scarily human.This may be a tiny bit spoler-y, but I must mention it: Caine's attack on the power plant. It is the most epic event in the series so far, especially the scene with Caine and Brianna. It just makes the story feel so much more urgent that two thirds of it take place over 48 hours, when Gone took place over over a week.The only bad things i can say, really, is that Lana is not featured quite as much as before, and Duck Zhang's existance.The menace is upped, and the slightly uninteresting Darkness prepares it silly-sounding plan. Not scary, really.But what really sends shivers down your spine is Little Pete repeating the phrase Hungry in the Dark.+ Politics, not just fighting.+ Emotional, scary sense of hungry desperation+ Development of Little Pete's powers.+ The power plant raid.- Not enough Lana- Duck Zhang

Oh My God. Those were the words I uttered out loud when I put this book down. The second book in the Gone series is simply put 'terrifyingly amazing'.It had everything the first one had... but intensified tenfold. Aside from the kids of Perdido beach having to deal with new mutations, terrifying creatures and old enemies they are now faced with a new enemy... hunger. As such they are forced to go to some unbelievable extremes. Ones that I found quite disturbing and horrifying.I simply could not get enough of horror of this story. It is written so compellingly and realistically. And I think that's what makes Michael Grant a terrific author. Its the way he is able to so accurately depict how children would act in this type of situation. How they would cope and what lengths they would go to when forced by starvation.Hunger is one long thrill ride. Again we are told the story from multiple POV's, which again, I really loved. It is the only way of showing the magnitude of the events of these books. And also helps a great deal to get to know the different characters and what they are going through individually. And in the case of Hunger made for a very epically told ending.If I could have one complaint about Hunger (and this is the reason why I knocked off half a star) it would be the length. At nearly 600 pages it is quite a 'beast' of a book, particularly for the YA genre. But this is a very small complaint and did not stop me from enjoying every minute of the story.The Gone series is quickly shaping up to be one of my favourite YA series' and I would certainly recommend to any YA book lover as it has a bit of everything. Great characters, a show stopping story line of YA sci fi adventure and dysopian mixed together and is not afraid to step over the line with its shocking themes. If you've read Gone then Hunger is a MUST read.

This is the 2nd book in what i would call an absolutely amazing series of books, i only discovered this series when my girlfriend bought me the first book because she thought it looked good and after reading the first book i was just completely hooked and had to go and buy the whole series!.The book picks up straight where the first left off and the kids of perdido beach now have to contend with life after nearly all the food has been squandered, you have to read through wondering how they are going to get their next meals... will they eat their pets?? will they eat insects?? or.... will they even eat each other?!?! all of these are possible unless the kids manage to find a new food source and fast.The books concept is amazing, take away all the adults, take away the law, and throw in the fact that some kids arent exactly...... normal amongst other things and what you have is an amazing series which is just un-put-downable.Overall my favourite book series so far and a 110% recommendation that people try it.

Having read book 1 in the series, I was keen to read this and find out more about the FAYZ. I was pleased to see so many positive reviews, but felt somewhat disappointed as I ploughed my way through this book. And I really did have to plough my way through it; it was definitely a struggle to persevere with it.What did I like? Getting to know more about certain characters. Grant's thoughtful and carefully chosen language choices.What did I dislike? The slow pace and having to almost force myself to continue in the hope that it would improve. Not having enough questions answered. The (lack of a) plot.In book 1, my only downside was the heavy supernatural element, and I suppose that's what I really disliked again. This just wasn't my type of book, and I hope (if you buy it) you get more pleasure out of it than I did.