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This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but I avoided this series for a while because I thought it was an offshoot of those Left Behind books. I know, I know. I should probably read them before I make any snap judgments, but I have absolutely no desire to read a series about The Rapture.
At all.
Ever.
Anyhoo. Thankfully, this series has nothing to do with that.

*Ok. Stop laughing at me! I only glanced at the blurb a few years ago! You gotta admit that "Blah, blah, blah, a bunch of people disappear..." sounds a lot like those other books!*

Alright, the story begins with a bunch of kids sitting in class when all of a sudden the teacher just goes...Poof. It soon becomes apparent that every adult, and all the kids over 15 are Gone. Hence, ahem, the name of the book.

It took a few chapters for me to get interested, because I wasn't really in the mood to read about a bunch of middle schoolers. However, eventually the story won me over. I'd like to say it was because some of the events were more realistic than I'd anticipated for a book geared toward tweens. Especially the part where they find a dead toddler in one of the houses.
Unfortunately, it's more likely that I became fully engaged in the story once I found out that some of these kids were developing powers.
Mutants! Cool!

The characters were pretty developed for a middle grade reader, as well. Quinn was one of the better examples. He's not evil, but he is a coward. I enjoyed watching him struggle, making both good and bad choices along the way. His fear, complacence, guilt, and redemption power the background of the plot. And he's not even the main character.

So, definitely not part of the Left Behind series. More like Lord of the Flies meets X-Men meets...some other book with a big scary (as of yet) unseen monster. Sorry. Brain fart. Couldn't think of a book to describe the last thing, although it's on the tip of my tongue.

Read it. See what you think. Personally, I really liked it.