About the Book

Title: Lies (Gone #3)
Published: 2010
Series: Gone
Swoonworthy Scale: 3

BFF Charm: Yay
Talky Talk: Lord of the Flies Meets Heroes (At the End of the World) Part Trois
Bonus Factors: Celebrity Adoptions, Freaks vs. Normals
Relationship Status: We’ve Been Married for a While Now…

The Deal

Most of the kids in the FAYZ have barely survived the latest catastrophe, and then this book starts.

Seriously, can it just keep getting worse? The answer is yes. Yes it can. And it does. Sam has physically healed from the end of the last book, but he’s not sure he’ll ever heal emotionally. And now that they’ve set up the council, Astrid isn’t letting him just handle things anymore. Which should be a relief, and it is, but it’s also frustrating. The council can’t seem to come to any real decisions, and now there’s this new girl who’s suddenly appeared by Orsay’s side, referring to Orsay as ‘The Prophetess’, spreading some very dangerous ideas.

Sam can’t handle losing another kid in the never ending danger that surrounds the FAYZ. But what do you do when the dead don’t stay that way?

BFF Charm: Yay!

Yay BFF Charm

Poor, poor Sam. I gotta say, I’m kind of sick of everybody else. Well, besides Quinn and Edilio, and then the new kids, Sanjit and Virtue, so I guess that’s not really everybody else, I guess. But Astrid, even though I still love you, you need to take it down a few notches. And Albert, you society building genius you, you are totally limited to your area of expertise, which, I guess I understand, but dude, you don’t even see outside it. So I guess that’s it.

Swoonworthy Scale: 3

The swoon has kind of fallen off, to be honest. Mostly Sam and Astrid’s relationship is a little bit frustrating– for them. Well, for Sam. But honestly, there is SO much shizz going on in this book, I didn’t even feel all that bad for Sam that Astrid wasn’t ready for the big smooshing.

Talky Talk: Lord of the Flies Meets Heroes (At the End of the World) Part Trois

Either the ‘brahs’ have made an exit or I’m totally immune to them, so the writing style flowed pretty effortlessly for me this time. If your definition of ‘flowed effortlessly’ includes a kick to the stomach with every page and rounds and rounds of Michael Grant doing exactly what you hope he doesn’t do to his characters, and then, when you think it can’t get any worse, HE DOES IT AGAIN!

Bonus Factors: Celebrity Adoption

Paper doll family (mom, dad, and two children) with a red heart above them and a paper cut out house next to them

With the introduction of some new kids, (how can they keep finding new kids? you may ask. Ah, patience, grasshopper.) you get the idea that Mr. Grant doesn’t have that high of an opinion of certain celebrities adopting children from foreign lands, but the kids themselves? Are. Awesome.

Bonus Factor: Freaks vs. Normals

Well, it’s really some of the normals vs. the freaks. This book continues the rumblings the second one began with some of the trouble making ‘normals’ who really have nothing better to do than start a war. Seriously, Zil? There’s crops to pick. Fish to catch. Littles to care for. But you have to go spouting your fear mongering just like a stupid little Hitler.

Relationship Status: We’ve Been Married for a While Now…

So yeah, this book and I got married a while back. We really, truly deeply love each other. But life in the FAYZ is tough, y’all. So although I wouldn’t say the bloom is off the rose, we’re both working all the time, and I’m tired. So sometimes my relationship with this book consists of things like, “Did you walk the dog? Did you walk the perimeter? Did you see Whip Hand? Oh, okay, goodnight, then.”

FTC Full Disclosure: I received neither money nor cocktails for writing this review (dammit!). Lies is available now.

Jenny grew up on a steady diet of Piers Anthony, Isaac Asimov and Star Wars novels. She has now expanded her tastes to include television, movies, and YA fiction.