“Hunger: a Gone novel” by Michael Grant is about a boy, Sam, and his friends trying to make the best out of their dystopian society in the “Fallout Alley Youth Zone” (a.k.a. the FAYZ). Not only does Sam have to deal with everyone’s problems, he must also defeat the evil Caine, Diana, and a very sadistic Drake. In the end, the unthinkable happens where Sam and Caine must pair up to conquer the gaiaphage – an unseen force that lives in an abandoned mine shaft.
At first glance, “Hunger” didn’t quite appeal to me as much as the original “Gone” did. “Hunger” didn’t even get my interest 100 pages in. The book took nearly 200 pages to get me to care about anything that was going on. I wasn’t too impressed. However, the middle and end of “Hunger” took me on a heart-stopping rollercoaster ride of emotion, ranging from anger, to sadness, to happiness. I couldn’t put down the book once it really got started! One of my favorite examples of suspense was on page 518. It reads: “Lana didn’t hear the shot. But she felt the gun buck in her hand. She saw the jet of flame…And she saw Edilio fall straight back…She saw him land on his back…His head bounced as he hit…Lana shifted her aim. Sights lined up on Dekka who seemed paralyzed in shock…Lana squeezed the trigger.”
Overall, I give “Hunger” four out of five stars! It did start off slow, but everything that was built up in the beginning had a specific purpose in the end. Also, you need to read the first book, “Gone”, to really understand what’s happening and why. “Hunger” was well written and had plenty of action to keep anyone satisfied. I, however, wouldn’t recommend this book to those who don’t handle a lot of violence/gore very well. This book has A LOT of it!