Stef said I should read it to follow up "The Hunger Games." But it's sooooo long! (whiny voice of someone with too many books checked out ;) 
 Wow, I finally finished it! Four and a half stars. Contrary to how long it took me to finish, this was a gripping and plot-driven book, great for those who ask for "a long book" or "a book where something happens." Boy, does something ever happen: on the first page, everyone over the age of 14 poofs into nonexistence, leaving the kids of Perdido Beach to fend for themselves, with no doctors, police, phones, or internet. To add a twist to this "Lord of the Flies" scenario, a mysterious wall has appeared, some animals have mutated, and some of the kids have strange new powers. As one of the kids says, "It's like someone hacked the universe." The old rules don't apply. Quite a bit of gore and violence; without giving any spoilers, I'll say that even though some of the injuries in this book are not permanent, they could still disturb some readers (and entice others!). Now I'm gonna have to read the long sequel, too, huh? "Hunger" just came out. 
 Readers should also like the snappy dialogue and wry tone (interesting use of the word "brah" -- though it is true to life, reading it was just about as annoying as hearing it ;) 
 Favorite quotes: 
 "[In the library:] He found a set of encyclopedias -- like Wikipedia, but paper and very bulky...He jumped from volume to volume...it was exactly like following hyperlinks, only slower, and with more lifting." 
 "'So, your father disappears and you don't even want to know why?' Caine asked. 'Interesting. Me, I've always wanted to know who my real parents were.'" 
 'Let me guess: you're secretly a wizard who was raised by Muggles.'" 
 "The fact that he had kissed her meant that now every thought of her came with a flood of overwhelming memories, scents, sensations, tastes."