I’m stuck into the Gone series by Michael Grant. I sucked down the first two, Gone and Hunger, and am now into Lies — all in a couple weeks, which is quite unlike me. I usually plod through a book at night before going to sleep. The stories are useful to learn how this author does a few things:

– writing horror for a young audience; these are listed as YA because the characters are all 15 and younger, but if I were a 12-14 y.o., I’d be having nightmares. I think I’d prefer more explicit sex to the blood and gore and emotional cruelty that happens in this story. Then again, maybe that is the catharsis that is needed — since much of it is about cruel bullying, and I mean cruel to the extent of outright murder.

– transition a series from book to book; I’ve been thinking about this since I’m writing a series — how do you do this so the reader who doesn’t start at the beginning isn’t at a disadvantage to understand the characters and the dependence on events from earlier books

– a cast of characters — introducing without overwhelming, letting them develop over time, introducing new ones along the way in a closed environment

Anyway, if you are into Stephen King (Under The Dome), Marvel’s Avengers, Animal Farm or Lord Of the Flies, this series is worth a look.