In Gone, one day everyone over 14 years old suddenly vanishes. The teens, children, toddlers and babies that are left must quickly figure out how they are to survive. Of course, two camps are formed, the nasty, mean bullies, and the good guys. How these groups deal with each other and their environment form the bulk of the story. Throw in some disturbing changes to wildlife and an odd master evil thing, stir vigorously, and you've got 550 pages of story. 
 I read this book to my 12 and 14 year old sons. The older son liked it, though wouldn't give it a rating. He did want the next book we read to be Hunger, the next in the series, so I figure he liked it. The younger would give it 3 stars. His dislikes: the romantic stuff between two of the characters, the violence and cruelty exhibited by several of the bullying characters, and likely that (view spoiler)[ those same people didn't really get their come-uppance. (hide spoiler)] The 12 year old was okay with reading Hunger, though he wanted a book in between. So he could take a brief break for that world, I suspect. 
 That said, I thought it was pretty decent. The writing is mediocre, yet the entire premise and what happens make up for it. I was also bugged by the lack of creativity used when denoting a character is speaking. Most of the time, characters simply "said" something. And there's a LOT of talking in this book--not so much internal thoughts going on. Mind, this probably only irritated me because I read it aloud, and after a long conversation, it seems weird to keep saying "said" over, and over, and over. 
 Yet something happened with Gone that rarely happens with the other books I've read aloud to my boys. I need to read to myself a little bit ahead so that I know which voice to use, what sort of inflection, etc. Several times throughout the book I saw something so very whacked and surprising in the next sentence or two, that I would stop reading aloud and keep reading to myself. This broke the flow for my sons, but those "whoah, I sure didn't think THAT would happen" moments are what kept me reading what at times felt like a way too long book. 
 I'm hoping that Hunger is not as long, or if it is, that maybe it just doesn't seem so long. At times it felt like Lord of the Flies. It's the kind of story one expects to see made into a movie. Those that liked The Hunger Games series should really enjoy this.