Light

March 15, 2013
With the world outside the FAYZ in sight and stakes rising, characters take drastic actions for survival and redemption. As the barrier has become clear, the FAYZ kids gain an audience, creating anxiety about performance as they worry about how they will be perceived by the adults in the normal world. Kids now communicating with their parents and the media have renewed hope that the end of the FAYZ is near, and they act accordingly. Others deduce that Gaia is up to something big, the endgame, now that the gaiaphage has taken a human form. They restructure leadership so Sam and Caine can team up to try to stop Gaia before it's too late. Sure enough, Gaia can feel little Pete weakening without his physical form and plans to doom the human race once Pete fades enough for the barrier to fall. But first Gaia must prevent Pete from taking a physical form again by trying to slaughter his potential hosts--the FAYZ kids. However, Gaia must kill judiciously, as the powered kids' link to the gaiaphage is revealed and explained. The answers to the FAYZ mysteries sometimes come in less-than-graceful exposition, but dedicated series readers will be more concerned with satisfying their curiosity. Multiple chapters of aftermath wrap up the series better than an epilogue could. A bloody, action-packed reward for the series' loyal fans. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

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March 15, 2013
Grades 7-10 We've come a long way from Gone (2008). The emaciated children still plod through their days locked beneath the dome. All the food is nearly gone, and they have little energy to repel the unknown Darkness that besets them. The gaiaphage inhabiting Diana's unborn baby growing at an alarming rate is always hungry, and it is determined to destroy everyone in the FAYZ, especially those who have tried to resist. Making matters worse, the veil that shrouded the dome has liftedparents and gawking TV reporters can now watch the carnage as it transpires over the last 88 hours and 39 minutes of life (and death). Will someone or something be strong enough to obliterate the gaiaphage? And, if anyone lives, what will happen to them on the outside? In four separate Aftermath chapters, Grant sorts out who's left and what kind of future awaits them. Readers dying for this series ender will be rewarded by Grant's characteristic nonstop action. He keeps readers where he's always had themon the edge of their seatsuntil the very end. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The Gone books have been one of the most dependable YA series in recent history. Advertising and attention will spikeprobably significantlyfor this final battle.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2013
In this gory conclusion to the Gone series, it's unclear whether any of the kids will be left alive once the dome that has enclosed them through the previous five volumes is finally gone; certainly none will survive unscathed. While this novel will be irresistible for series fans, newcomers will need to catch up before diving in; characters remain two-dimensional.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)