Light - Michael Grant

It's been over a year since all the adults disappeared. Gone.

In the time since every person over the age of fourteen disappeared from the town of Perdido Beach, California, countless battles have been fought: battles against hunger and lies and plague, and epic battles of good against evil. And now, the gaiaphage has been reborn as Diana's malicious mutant daughter, Gaia. Gaia is endlessly hungry for destruction. She yearns to conquer her Nemesis, Little Pete, and then bend the entire world to her warped will. As long-standing enemies become allies, secrets are revealed and unexpected sacrifices are made. Will their attempts to save themselves and one another matter in the end, or will the kids of Perdido Beach perish in this final power struggle?

Light, the sixth and final book in the New York Times bestselling Gone series by Michael Grant, creates a masterful, arresting conclusion to life in the FAYZ.

Probably a little under a year ago, I wrote a review called Why You Should Be Reading the Gone Series. When I wrote that, the penultimate book had just been released and I wanted everyone to jump onboard. Well, last week, the final book in the saga came out and the other day, I locked myself in my room, away from distractions, to finally see what was going to happen to the poor, poor children of Perdido Beach.

I'm going to be very careful not to leave any spoilers because it is my genuine hope that anyone reading this that likes YA dystopia will run out and marathon all six books because they are that good. I marathoned the first four when I got into them. Seriously, go. It's worth it.

The last book had a lot to live up to. There were quite a few questions that needed answers, a seemingly impossible villain to overcome and the need for an end for this really epic saga. I can happily say that I was not disappointed. Light answers a good 99% of the questions everyone was wondering about (there was one I wasn't satisfied with but what can you do?) and also answers a lot of things you wouldn't have thought about asking. 

This book has the typical countdown clock at the beginning of each chapter, escalating the action to the final climax. However, what I really appreciated was that it continued a good thirty or so pages past the climax, showing us what happens after. I really enjoyed that aspect, something that I wasn't sure we were going to get and although it didn't feel perfect, it felt satisfactory. 

Not all our favorite characters survive but we've come to expect that. Some villains get rewarded. Some heroes don't get their fair share. There are some genuinely sad scenes. But that's why I love the Gone series. It's much more intelligent than a lot of fare out there. It pushes the boundaries for what is acceptable in a YA series. It's definitely gritty, completely gory and has really atrocious details but that all adds to the world building and the completely absorbing atmosphere. I couldn't put a single one of these books down and neither will you.

Anyone who loves YA dystopia and hasn't read these books, you need to get on this right now. You'll plow through them. They're great.