Plague by Michael Grant

Pages: 497

Publisher: Harper Teen

Age Group: Young Adult

Challenges: 350 Page Challenge

Release Date: April 5, 2011

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. Yet despite the simmering unrest left behind by so many battles, power struggles, and angry divides, there is a momentary calm in Perdido Beach. 

But enemies in the FAYZ don't just fade away, and in the quiet, deadly things are stirring, mutating, and finding their way free. The Darkness has found its way into the mind of its Nemesis at last and is controlling it through a haze of delirium and confusion. A highly contagious, fatal illness spreads at an alarming rate. Sinister, predatory insects terrorize Perdido Beach. And 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? 

Plague, Michale Grant's fourth book in the bestselling Gone series, will satisfy dystopian fans of all ages.

Stars: 5/5

Cover: A

Plot:

Michael Grant blew me away with the fourth installment of the Gone series. Gone, the first book in the series, is my favorite, but Plague is right up there with it.

There was so much going on in this book. There was a deadly sickness going around, killing off a lot of characters. They were runnin out of water. And to make matters worse, there are giant killer bugs walking around.

Plague was definitely the most gory book in the series. I couldn't read it while weating, because I would get sick to my stomach. 

This book was very fast-moving and action-packed. There were never any dull moments, and man, oh, man, I was sitting on the edge of my seat practically the entire time I was reading this book.

Characters:

I've loved the characters in this series. And at one point or another, I've hated them. Not because they were badly written or annoying, but because Michael Grant wanted readers to hate them. He is a master at making it so we started to really feel a connection to characters (they all feel like real people) and then either killing them off or making it so we're turned against them. 

There were a lot of internal conflicts for the main characters. Thy had to make decisions that would effect not only themselves, but the FAYZ at large. It really made me wonder if I were in the situations the characters were in, if I would be able to make the correct decisions, or crumble under the pressure.

The dynamic and realistic characters are definitely one of the strongest points in this series.

Writing:

The entire Gone series is addicting, but Plague may be the most addicting one. I was always wanting to read on and find out what the characters were going to do, or what was going to go wrong in the FAYZ next.

Ending:

This is one of those books where you're ripping out your hair because you can't wait to see what happens next. The ending of Plague is an intense cliffhanger, and it's going to be a long wait until I read the next, and second to last, book in this series.

Cover:

I love how all of the covers are corresponding, and how they actually have models that look like the characters.

Lovely Line:

"You know, Sam, you're nice. And so very, very hot," Taylor said. "But you're not really much fun."

"Let's get out of here while we can," Dekka said. "I brought a gun, by the way."

"Are we going to be in danger?" Taylor cried.

"The gun's in case you get on my nerves, Taylor," Dekka warned.

"Oh, so funny," Taylor said.

Sam grinned. For the first time in a while her was actually looking forward to something. A mission. And at least a temporary escape from Perdido Beach.

(Page 95)

The Final Verdict:

If you haven't read this series, I definitely recommend you do so. It's one of my all-time favorites. I love this series because it's not like a lot of other series, where it starts out strong, and then dwindles off. In the Gone series, the books get better as they go on. Plague really sets the bar high for the next book in the series.

Other Books In This Series:

Gone by Michael Grant

Hunger by Michael Grant

Lies by Michael Grant

FTC: Zoe