Gone

Gone by Michael Grant is a science fiction, dystopian YA coming-of-age novel published in 2008. Fourteen-year-old Sam Temple must contend with his new, strange world after everyone over 15 disappears from his coastal town. Along with select other kids, Sam has developed superpowers, and he and his friends try to rebuild their society, despite opposition from other “super” kids and a host of mysterious and dangerous happenings. Gone is the first book in a nine-book series taking place in the same science fiction/fantasy world.

This study guide refers to the 2008 physical edition published by Katherine Tegen Books.

Content Warning: The novel this guide references discusses violence, eating disorders, bullying/harassment, racism, ableism, underage drinking, and profanity.

Plot Summary

Sam Temple is a 14-year-old attending school when all people, age 15 and up, vanish from their small, coastal California town. Sam and his companions try to discover the cause of the bizarre disappearances—and the impenetrable, translucent barrier that rises like a dome around their town.

While Sam, Astrid, and Quinn search for clues, their society crumbles. Children are left unattended; electricity works but not cell phones; grocery stores are raided; no leader takes charge. Because Sam saved his classmates in 5th grade when their bus driver had a heart attack, everyone expects him to step up. Sam doesn’t want the pressure of leadership—especially since he has a secret, uncontrollable power: He can shoot laser light from his palms. A year ago, he accidentally burned his stepfather Tom’s hand off when he shot this burning light.

The three friends find Astrid’s four-year-old brother, Pete, who is on the autism spectrum, in the nuclear power plant where his father was an engineer. Sam discovers Pete can teleport people and objects.

On the nuclear controls, they see the red zone of high radiation is directly on the same line as the FAYZ’s dome. Their town was called Fallout Alley due to a nuclear reactor exploding years ago, leaving fallout radiation, but now it’s the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone). Sam unleashes his power accidentally in the nuclear plant and reveals his secret to his closest friends.

Astrid, the genius in the group, tries to figure out what would cause the missing adults, impenetrable wall, mutated animals like flying snakes, low tides, kids with superpowers, radiation zone, and other anomalies. She and the group theorize that they were sent to an alternate dimension.

When they return to town, Sam and his crew find that responsible, empathetic characters like Mary, Albert, and Dahra have taken control of society’s basic needs. Mary and her assistants care for all small children at the daycare, Dahra runs the hospital, and Albert handles the food supply.

Soon, Caine, a charismatic but controlling kid from the private school Coates Academy, comes to town with his posse. Caine gives a speech about the necessity of establishing leadership, laws, and new order in their adult-less world. He calms the crowd and establishes laws, such as helping Mary with the children’s needs. Caine rules with authority, with his aggressive sidekick Drake, coldhearted love interest Diana, and tech guru Computer Jack at his side.

Caine can telepathically use levitation forces, using these strong powers against anyone who defies him. To suppress competition, Caine adds a law that doesn’t allow “magic tricks.” A girl named Bette is beaten to death when she uses her sparkly hand power. Sam and his friends are furious that Caine and his security head Drake used unnecessary violence, but Caine doesn’t reprimand his staff.

Drake and others capture Sam, Astrid, and Pete and bring them to Coates Academy, where they are tortured. Diana can read others’ power levels, and she remarks Astrid is a “two bar,” and Sam is a “four” like Caine, using the worldbuilding analogy for levels. Drake forces Astrid to say her brother Pete has an intellectual disability, which she denies until he slaps her and drags her by the hair. Pete teleports himself and Astrid back home.

Caine explains that he and Sam are twin brothers separated at birth and will vanish in a few days, their 15th birthday. Sam, undeterred, escapes Caine’s clutches and finds his friends.

A girl named Lana, who was severely injured in a car accident when her grandfather disappeared, fights to survive in the nearby desert. With her dog, Patrick, Lana discovers she has healing powers. Lana walks to an abandoned cabin. She stays in the cabin until she follows tire tracks to a nearby mine.

A pack of brutal, talking coyotes ambush Lana in the mines and take her to an abstract, evil force called the Darkness. The force controls Lana’s mind, filling her with dread, and tells the coyotes to learn her human ways so they can destroy the human species. Lana survives the torture and travels as the coyotes’ hostage until she convinces the pack she needs human food at the cabin.

Sam and his friends abandon the town to look for clues, and they find Lana’s cabin. The new allies share information about the town and the mine. The coyotes attack, but Sam blasts them with light. Drake finds them and tries to put their hands in concrete to control their powers. Pete again teleports Astrid and himself away, as well as the concrete blocks. Sam burns off Drake’s arm.

Sam returns to town intent on defending them from Caine, Drake, and their army. He finds a tape from the nuclear plant that reveals Pete stopped the nuclear reactor from exploding, saving the staff members, but he also vanished all those aged 15 and older; Astrid had secretly suspected as much.

Caine and Sam prepare for battle, gathering weapons and training those with powers. Sam can’t believe they’re going to war, but he must defend those he loves. Though he still fears his power, Sam has learned to control it with anger rather than dread.

In the final battle with supernatural powers, twists, and horrors—such as Drake taking the daycare kids hostage—Sam and his allies overcome Caine. When he and Caine blink out to disappear, they resist the illusionary temptation of their mother. Hiding behind the illusion is a monster, which they assume took the adults. Sam returns to his body and puts his hands to Caine’s head, but he spares his newfound brother’s life. Caine and his crew leave, and Sam and the others celebrate.