Set in a sunny town in California known as Perdido Beach, the action begins when one school day turns weird. Every human at the age of 15 or older, has simply vanished. This leaves all the younger children and adolescents to deal with all the chaos. They soon find that a massive wall of energy has surrounded their area, centering on the nearby nuclear power plant. The tensions only continue to grow as several twists spin into the story, one after the other. 
 I have read the entire book, and I don't want to give any spoilers. But the book swells like a water balloon, growing ever larger before bursting in a massive finale. I certainly enjoyed this book. On a side note, if you are considering this book as a gift for children, you might want to realize that it may be inappropriate because of swear words and gore. Though I certainly like this book.