Title: Gone DarkAuthor: Amanda Panitch
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books on Apr. 12, 2022
Genres: Mystery/Thriller, Young Adult
Pages: 448
Format: ARC, Paperback
Source: Simon & Schuster
Book Rating: 7.5/10
Dry meets Hatchet in this thrilling tale of survival following a teen girl who must lead her friends across country to the safety of her estranged father’s survivalist compound after a mass power failure leaves the country in chaos.
When seventeen-year-old Zara escaped her father’s backwoods survivalist compound five years ago, she traded crossbows and skinning hides for electricity and video games…and tried to forget the tragedy that drove her away.
Until a malware attack on the United States electrical grids cuts off the entire country’s power.
In the wake of the disaster and the chaos that ensues, Zara is forced to call upon skills she thought she’d never use again—and her best bet to survive is to go back to the home she left behind. Drawing upon a resilience she didn’t know she had, Zara leads a growing group of friends on an epic journey across a crumbling country back to her father’s compound, where their only hope for salvation lies.
But with every step she takes, Zara wonders if she truly has what it takes to face her father and the secrets of her past, or if she’d be better off hiding in the dark.
Review:
Dark, eerie and compelling!
Gone Dark is a unique, intriguing tale that sweeps you away to California and into the life of Zara Ross, a teenage girl who, after being raised by her father to shoot, hunt, and survive any disaster, heads across the country encountering obstacles, danger, injuries, and limited resources in the hope of seeking refuge on her father’s wooded compound, for herself and a small group of friends, when a malware attack on some of the largest power grids leaves the country reeling and in complete and utter chaos.
The prose is tight and intense. The characters are complex, tormented, and resourceful. And the plot is a riveting tale full of suspicious personalities, unreliable characters, unexpected twists, nefarious motivations, terrorism, upheaval, angst, survival, violence, and murder.
Overall, Gone Dark is a gritty, engrossing, creative novel by Panitch that is entertaining, a wee bit disturbing, and the perfect choice for anyone who enjoys a good YA survivalist tale.
This book is available now.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from the following links.
Thank you to Simon Teen for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About Amanda Panitch
Amanda Panitch spent most of her childhood telling stories to her four younger siblings, trying both to make them laugh and scare them too much to sleep. Now she lives in New York City, where she writes dark, funny stories for teens, kids, and the pigeons that nest on her apartment balcony.
Photo by Cassie Gonzales.
