Plague (Gone Series #4)

by Michael Grant

Overview

It's been eight months since all the adults disappeared. Gone. They've survived hunger. They've survived lies. But the stakes keep rising, and the dystopian horror keeps building in Plague, Michael Grant's fourth book in the New York Times bestselling Gone series.

A highly contagious fatal illness is spreading at an alarming rate, while sinister, predatory insects terrorize Perdido Beach. Sam, Astrid, Diana, and Caine are plagued by a growing doubt that they'll escape—or even survive—life in the FAYZ. With so much turmoil surrounding them, what desperate choices will they make when it comes to saving themselves and those they love?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061449147
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/08/2014
Series:	Gone Series , #4
Pages:	528
Sales rank:	12,061
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.50(d)
Lexile:	HL570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Michael Grant, author of the Gone series and the Magnificent Twelve series, has spent much of his life on the move. Raised in a military family, he attended ten schools in five states, as well as three schools in France. Even as an adult he kept moving, and in fact he became a writer in part because it was one of the few jobs that wouldn't tie him down. His fondest dream is to spend a year circumnavigating the globe and visiting every continent. Yes, even Antarctica. He lives in California with his wife, Katherine Applegate, and their two children.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for PLAGUE“The very definition of a page-turner.”—ALA Booklist“The characters’ interior struggles are almost as vivid as the action. Fans will be satisfied—for now.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) (Starred Review)

The flu has already hit Perdido Beach once, so when kids start complaining of severe, flu-like symptoms, it is thoughtlessly dismissed. The dwindling supply of drinkable water is a bigger concern, but Albert has a plan. Albert wants Sam to take a few other mutant kids to scout a fresh water lake for possible relocation: a good plan, but bad timing. The flu has evolved into something even the Healer cannot fix, with a lung-expelling cough preceding death, and the Gaipahage is creating an army of nearly indestructible bugs that hatch from the body of a living host. If a kid can survive the plague, he might just live long enough to run from the bugs. Multiple, intricate storylines are progressing from previous installments and lingering questions have been answered, making room for new troubles. The author continues to successfully juggle a large cast of characters with complex thoughts and feelings, while providing plenty of intense action sequences, kicking the reading of this book from fast-paced into hyperdrive. The characters' interior struggles are almost as vivid as the action, with worry over the person they are becoming and how they will be viewed if they ever get out. The level of gross-out violence has grown along with the series and may be uncomfortable for readers with a weak stomach. One established couple begins an adult physical relationship and ends with a possible pregnancy, but details are not included. Readers new to the series should start at the beginning and current fans will be satisfied—for now. Reviewer: Stacey Hayman

VOYA - Stacey Hayman

Readers who have stuck with the Gone novels up to now will perhaps find enough in this fourth installment to satisfy them on the road to the conclusion that's likely another 1,000 pages away. Others, not so much. With very little recap of life in the FAYZ, it's easy to become mired in the tedious goings-on of the endless cast of nearly indistinguishable, unlikable, power-hungry characters who are beset by dual plagues—flu and an infestation of parasitic insects that become giant, metallic killer bugs on a rampage. Clunky writing is at times reminiscent of a B movie, at others of a romance novel: "Yes, yes, she wanted him. She wanted to be in his arms. She wanted to kiss him. And maybe more. Maybe a lot more." The distinction in the FAYZ between Freaks and Normals is not made clear, at least not before this dialogue: " 'You and me, we're normal people. We're not black or queer or Mexican And we're the ones digging toilets'...'Astrid's a normal white person'... 'Sam's a freak, and I think he might even be a Jew.' "Pete, an autistic boy at the heart of the battle with the Darkness, is referred to as a "mutant retard," "freaktard," or just plain " 'tard." Utterly missable.(Science fiction. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews