Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

In this fourth Gone book, a plague of deadly flu invades the FAYZ. Sam, Astrid, Caine, et al., are forced to make desperate choices in their attempts to survive. With its large cast of generally flat characters, this new installment continues the series' trend of being overly long and fairly uninspired, except for a potentially interesting twist at the novel's end.

Kirkus Reviews

Readers who have stuck with the Gone novels up to now will perhaps find enough in this fourth installment to satisfy them on the road to the conclusion that's likely another 1,000 pages away. Others, not so much. With very little recap of life in the FAYZ, it's easy to become mired in the tedious goings-on of the endless cast of nearly indistinguishable, unlikable, power-hungry characters who are beset by dual plagues—flu and an infestation of parasitic insects that become giant, metallic killer bugs on a rampage. Clunky writing is at times reminiscent of a B movie, at others of a romance novel: "Yes, yes, she wanted him. She wanted to be in his arms. She wanted to kiss him. And maybe more. Maybe a lot more." The distinction in the FAYZ between Freaks and Normals is not made clear, at least not before this dialogue: " 'You and me, we're normal people. We're not black or queer or Mexican And we're the ones digging toilets'...'Astrid's a normal white person'... 'Sam's a freak, and I think he might even be a Jew.' " Pete, an autistic boy at the heart of the battle with the Darkness, is referred to as a "mutant retard," "freaktard," or just plain " 'tard." Utterly missable. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

School Library Journal (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 9 Up- BRICELAND, V. The Nascenza Conspiracy . Bk. 3. 344p. (The Cassaforte Chronicles) Flux . Jan. 2011. pap. $9.95. ISBN 978-0-7387-1894-1 . LC number unavailable. Gr 8 Up CAST, P. C. &; Kim Doner . The Fledging Handbook 101 . 157p. (The House of Night Series). St. Martin's / Griffin . Oct. 2010. pap. $12.99. ISBN 978-0-312-59512-8 . LC number unavailable. Gr 9 Up CONRAD, Lauren . Sugar and Spice . 288p. (An L.A. Candy Novel). HarperCollins . Oct. 2010. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-176762-3 . LC number unavailable. Gr 9 Up GRANT, Michael . Plague . Bk. 4. 492p. (A Gone Novel). HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen Bks. Apr. 2011. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-144912-3 ; PLB $18.89. ISBN 978-0-06-144913-0 . LC number unavailable. Gr 7 Up HOLT, Kimberly Willis . Piper Reed, Campfire Girl . Bk. 4. illus. by Christine Davenier. 160p. Henry Holt . Sept. 2010. Tr $15.99. ISBN 978-0-8050-9006-2 . LC 2009050765. Gr 35 HOLT, Simon . Fearscape . Bk. 3. 314p. (The Devouring Series). Little, Brown . Oct. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-316-03570-5 . LC 2010006364. Gr 8 Up JENNEWEIN, James &; Tom S. Parker . Ship of the Dead . Bk. 3. 304p. (RuneWarriors Series). HarperCollins . Dec. 2010. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-06-144942-0 ; LC number unavailable. Gr 710 KAYE, Marilyn . Now You See Me . Bk. 5. 214p. (Gifted Series). Kingfisher . Oct. 2010. pap. $7.99. ISBN 978-0-7534-3046-0 . LC number unavailable. Gr 69 KROSOCZKA, Jarrett J. Lunch Lady and the Bake Sale Bandit . illus. by author. unpaged. Knopf . Dec. 2010. PLB $12.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96729-0 ; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86729-3 . LC 2010012781. Gr 35 MCDONALD, Megan . Stink and the Ultimate Thumb-Wrestling Smackdown . illus. by Peter H. Reynolds. 131p. Candlewick . Mar. 2011. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-4346-1 ; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-5457-3 . LC number unavailable. Gr 24 MALLEY, Gemma . The Legacy . Bk. 3. 266p. Bloomsbury . Jan. 2011. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-1-59990-567-9 . LC number unavailable. Gr 7 Up MATSUMOTO, Natsumi. St. Dragon Girl . Vol. 8. illus. by author. unpaged. (Shojo Beat Series). Viz Media . Sept. 2010. pap. $9.99. ISBN 978-1-4215-2017-9 . LC number unavailable. Gr 68 MOULD, Chris . The Treasure Keepers . Bk. 6. 192p. (Something Wickedly Weird Series). Roaring Brook . Oct. 2010. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-1-59643-389-2 . LC number unavailable. Gr 46 NEFF, Henry H. The Fiend and the Forge . Bk. 3. 560p. (The Tapestry Series). Random . Nov. 2010. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-375-83898-9 ; PLB $20.99. ISBN 978-0-375-93898-6 ; ebook $17.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89295-0 . LC number unavailable. Gr 58 NO&3;L, Alyson . Night Star . Bk. 5. 302p. (The Immortals Series). St. Martin's / Griffin . Nov. 2010. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-312-59098-7 . LC number unavailable. Gr 9 Up PATTERSON, James . Angel . 291p. (Maximum Ride Series). Little, Brown . Feb. 2011. Tr $17.99. ISBN 978-0-316-03620-7 . LC number unavailable. Gr 7 Up PETERSON, Will . The Gathering . Bk. 3. 368p. (Triskellion Series). Candlewick . 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-7636-4847-3 . LC 2009047753. Gr 69 REGER, Rob &; Jessica Gruner . Dark Times . Bk. 3. illus. by Rob Reger. 248p. (Emily the Strange Series). Harper . Dec. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-145235-2 . LC 2009032256. Gr 710 STAUFFACHER, Sue . Show Time . 160p. (Animal Rescue Series). Knopf / Borzoi . Feb. 2011. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85850-5 ; PLB $15.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95850-2 ; spiral $0. ISBN 978-0-375-89794-8 . LC number unavailable. Gr 4–6 TANIGAWA, Nagaru . The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya . tr. by Chris Pai. illus. by author. Bk. 4. 192p. Little, Brown . Nov. 2010. Tr $14.99. ISBN 978-0-316-03890-4 ; pap. $8.99. ISBN 978-0-316-03889-8 . LC 2010009352. Gr 8 Up VAN DRAANEN, Wendelin . Sammy Keyes and the Wedding Crasher . 296p. Knopf / Borzoi . Oct. 2010. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-86107-9 ; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-96107-6 ; ebook $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89734-4 . LC 2010006916. Gr 5–8 WALLACE, Rich . Benched . Bk. 3. illus. by Jimmy Holder. 122p. (Kickers Series). Knopf / Borzoi . Oct. 2010. Tr $12.99. ISBN 978-0-375-85756-0 ; PLB $15.99. ISBN 978-0-375-95756-7 ; ebook $12.99. ISBN 978-0-375-89709-2 . LC 2009034695. Gr 2–4

ALA Booklist (Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)

Though the desperate, dirty, starving teens of the Gone series look decreasingly like the clean-cut hotties on the book jackets, Grant's sf-fantasy thrillers continue to be the very definition of page-turner. Nearly out of water and beset with two types of plagues (one like a flu, the other a horde of flesh-eating bugs), the FAYZ community of superfriends and superenemies must once again band together and fight. Being dumped into this populous soap opera, with all its powers and vendettas, will doom newcomers. But who'd be crazy enough to start here? Great fun for fans.