Review by Alex- Hunger

Hunger by Michael Grant
It's been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ.

Three months since all the adults disappeared.

Gone.

Food ran out weeks ago. Everyone is starving, but no one wants to figure out a solution. And each day, more and more kids are evolving, developing supernatural abilities that set them apart from the kids without powers.

Tension rises and chaos is descending upon the town. It's the normal kids against the mutants. Each kid is out for himself, and even the good ones turn murderous.

But a larger problem looms. The Darkness, a sinister creature that has lived buried deep in the hills, begins calling to some of the teens in the FAYZ. Calling to them, guiding them, manipulating them.

The Darkness has awakened. And it is hungry.

Hunger was actually very depressing and horrifying. Gone is like that to a modest degree, but Hunger really goes much beyond. While Gone is more setting things up, Hunger ramps up the action and intrigue.

By no means does the book start slow. Hunger starts 3 months into the FAYZ, when all the adults disappeared and the wall surround them went up. That means 3 months of hundreds of kids trying to survive. Food running out, tensions rising, it gets messy. Very messy. Kids will eat pets for meat, will kill each other for mood. It's gruesome.

The Darkness, the big bad monster, is downright creepy. But in a good way. It needs to be creepy to work. It's this somewhat veiled monster, no one really understanding what it is, only that it has this huge power. Some adore it, some are afraid of it, some don't know it exists, some despise it and want to destroy it.

The narration is always in third person, the point of view switching rapidly from one character to another. There's a lot of different characters. I mean, a lot. So even though the book is roughly 600 pages, there isn't a lot of description on the characters. They all have features, they all have their wants and desires, what they strive for, their vague personality. But there isn't much detail on the characters, I don't feel that the focus is on the characters. Which is fine. Because it's really the plot that's driving the book.

The writing's good. Not bad. But not amazing. There's some bits that I found to be a bit clunky, but for the most part, it's fine. It's not memorable, the writing, nor does it stand out, but it's not meant to be the defining feature of the novel.

Some parts, I was so horrified that I couldn't even read. I'd have to put the book down. There's such a variety of different characters, which is something I really enjoy. One boy thinks very business-like, he's all about the long plan, making himself rich and prominent in the process. One girl is just trying to survive the best way she can, manipulating and being manipulated. Because of the FAYZ, everything is very desperate. It brings out a really bad side of some of the characters. For instance, one boy who was definitely troubled before hand, becomes a monster. A complete and utter monster who revels in creating pain and suffering in others. I'm not too sure I could even think of him as a person. On the other hand, there are others, young boys, who are so mislead. They almost kill a boy. Kill! Gah. Terrifying.

The sad thing is, I can imagine the world like that. It's true. I bet kids would kill each other if they become mad enough and desperate enough. It saddens me. I'm not too sure how Michael Grant writes a book like this. It's genius, of course. But to write this, for 600 pages worth of energy, all this time spent with these kids. I think I'd get sick. I mean, I love Hunger, but it can get a bit much. The things that happen are just so terrible.

Hunger is a book to really devour. Even though it's 600 pages, it goes by really quickly. I read most of it in a 4 hour long car trip. And couldn't put it down. Well, no I could put it down, but I'd always have to pick it up again to read about what would happen. I couldn't predict anything. There's so many twists and turns, so many questions, so many unknown variables, that I really could never guess what was going to happen.

Overall, I really recommend Hunger. Obviously, read Gone first. But don't be expecting a nice fuzzy read. There is nothing happy about this book. It can be depressing, but I think it's ultimately worth the experience of reading. Plus, the ending! It begs for the next installment of the series.