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Taken

(Taken #1)

Erin Bowman (Goodreads Author)

3.76 · Rating details · 11,584 ratings · 1,426 reviews

There are no men in Claysoot. There are boys—but every one of them vanishes at midnight on his eighteenth birthday. The ground shakes, the wind howls, a blinding light descends…and he’s gone.

They call it the Heist.

Gray Weathersby’s eighteenth birthday is mere months away, and he’s prepared to meet his fate–until he finds a strange note from his mother and starts to questio ...more

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Hardcover, 360 pages

Published April 16th 2013 by HarperTeen

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Nov 12, 2012 Giselle rated it did not like it

Shelves: arc, ebook

Such a shame especially that up until almost halfway I would have given this book a good 3 stars. It has such a unique premise with a super intriguing world that could have been awesome had it been executed much better. Unfortunately with an insufferable protagonist, the world building and plot were all that this book had left, and after seeing the halfway mark come and go, I realized that in both of these aspects it was beginning to fail miserably--and it didn't stop.

Gray Weathersby is not a l Such a shame especially that up until almost halfway I would have given this book a good 3 stars. It has such a unique premise with a super intriguing world that could have been awesome had it been executed much better. Unfortunately with an insufferable protagonist, the world building and plot were all that this book had left, and after seeing the halfway mark come and go, I realized that in both of these aspects it was beginning to fail miserably--and it didn't stop.

Gray Weathersby is not a likeable MC. I was forewarned from other readers, though, so I knew to expect a douche who hits girls (he punches ones several times in the opening chapter), and is overall an arse. Thus it did not come as a shock when I didn't find myself in love with him. Still, I expected to come to understand him by the end. This did not happen. If only his behaviour would at least improve, but as the story progresses he only gets more annoying: thinking he's much better than he is (he's pretty full of himself); making demands when he's trapped in a risky situation with people who would--and want to--kill him (toopid); or saying things like:

"All those times that I felt things for Bree, anytime there was even the slightest feeling of affection growing, I'd brushed it aside for Emma" As if this made him such a gentleman, someone who dances in fidelity's good graces. *snorts*

Now for the world building, or the whole plot, really. Well, to be honest, it literally made me nauseous I wanted it to end so badly--so I think it's safe to say it's full of barf? It starts off with such a great premise too. It arouses many questions from the mysteries surrounding their lives--this heist thing truly had me fascinated for a bit--but then it all goes downhill when we start getting some less than interesting answers. Plus, it gets increasingly predictable the further you read, making it all the less exciting. It's like the plot simply becomes too crowded. Everything is a twist, no character is who you think they are; it's a little overwhelming, and not in a good way. Then there are a lot of little quirks along the way that only ground my dissatisfaction further: How, for example, they arrive in a withering post apocalyptic town where we're told they have to ration water and supplies, but the first thing the people in charge do is give Emma a makeover: face make-up to the max, eyebrow tweeze, high heels etc. What is up with that? I can see dystopians where this might work--Like Fever by Lauren Destefano--but it did not fit in the world we see beyond these wall. It only felt illogical. Then, how about when towards the end we have this deus ex machina who conveniently helps them along in an impossibly tight situation. This person was a nobody, came from nowhere, and was dismissed and forgotten after saving their asses... Sure these might seem minimal when taken individually, but these were just a few examples and everything together makes a mess of this plot. It was a good premise... until it wasn't.

I'm not even going to go into the horrid love triangle. I still have not recovered.

I've read a lot of dystopians, and maybe it's part of why this one annoyed me so much, but in the end I found it was nothing more than that: a regurgitated dystopian novel. But it tries so hard. So so hard. Let's all give it a moment of silence.

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

...more

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Jun 27, 2012 B rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: hurry-up, i-need-this-book, i-want-it-right-now, judge-a-book-by-the-cover, highly-anticipating-2013, i-will-have-children-with-this-book, netgalley-edelweiss-arc, loved-it, 2013-favorites, 2012-favorites

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Writing this review is extremely difficult for me, not only because I absolutely loved Taken, and writing reviews for books I love is usually a difficult process for me (if you haven't noticed, I'm not the most eloquent reviewer. I use gifs and tend to swear. Often.), because I always feel like I am not doing the book I'm reviewing justice with my words, and other times, I'm just at a loss for said words.

Though with Taken, that is not entirely why writing this review is ...more

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Sep 22, 2015 Will M. rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya-sci-fi-dystopia, 2015

Based on the premise, I thought this could be the novel that would change my perception of the YA genre. Unfortunately, it only further degraded the genre for me.

Predictable, underdeveloped characters, and weak plot. After the first 50 pages or so, the novel started going downhill. It's a surprise that I managed to reach page 266, but by then it was unbearable. I had to put the novel down before I end up rating it 1 star.

The biggest question is for you YA lovers is, "Was the novel really that b ...more

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Oct 27, 2011 Susan rated it it was amazing

I had a very vague idea (er...mostly no idea, actually) what TAKEN was about when I began reading. Dystopian and some action? Cool, I thought. I'll read this on my transatlantic plane trip, and...

::times passes::

I glanced up at the big TV-clock-thingy. WHAT?! We're already landing?! I forced myself to ignore the turbulent ride down to the tarmac--I WAS SO CLOSE TO THE END, and I just HAD to know what would happen!

Fortunately, in case you were worried, I managed to finish just as the plane touche ...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Mitch rated it it was ok

Recommended to Mitch by: Katy

Taken is one of those books that relies on secrets and lies to build suspense leading up to the big payoff, which means two things. One, unfortunately it's a tough book to review because spoilers are a definite no-no, can't ruin it for those of you yet to read it, can I? But more importantly two, what's behind the curtain has to be good, or at least worth the price of admission of pulling it back.

And in Taken's case, it wasn't. I want to say I felt like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz who's just pee Taken is one of those books that relies on secrets and lies to build suspense leading up to the big payoff, which means two things. One, unfortunately it's a tough book to review because spoilers are a definite no-no, can't ruin it for those of you yet to read it, can I? But more importantly two, what's behind the curtain has to be good, or at least worth the price of admission of pulling it back.

And in Taken's case, it wasn't. I want to say I felt like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz who's just peeked behind the curtain and found a mere man instead of the all powerful wizard she was expecting, but that's not even the case; the mystery behind the Heist is so painfully obvious once Gray really starts digging into the disappearances the curtain was really a transparent shower curtain and I could see the fuzzy outlines of my disappointment a mile away. I guess a good comparison would be with M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, another story about an isolated village of people living in medieval accommodations with a similarly themed dark secret about the town - checking the rotten reviews on Rotten Tomatoes gives me dozens of choice yet apt critiques that completely apply to this book:

'I'm not sure exactly why I'm protecting the Shocking Twist, because it certainly doesn't deserve to be protected.'

Or:

'It's hard to care about situations that have been designed only to obscure the ultimate twist.'

And my favorite because it's absolutely on target here:

'Picturesque, slightly haunting but silly in a frustrating way.'

And that's about it. You have a book divided into four parts, Part One being Gray's life in 'The Village' of Claysoot where he's glumly accepting of his ultimate fate until his brother gets Heisted and he stumbles onto a clue that points him toward the ultimate secret behind the Heists. It's not bad, Erin Bowman goes all out creating a society where the guys disappear at eighteen (requiring a lot of teen fathers!!), but beyond the one or two mysterious clues Gray digs up, there's really no movement towards any answers. Why? Bowman also goes all out protecting the reason why the guys are disappearing - absolutely nothing is explained at all, the only development is certain people behaving suspiciously because of course there's a conspiracy. That or Gray and/or his (girl)friend Emma pointing out various inconsistencies in the setup I could've and did notice myself. Very useful you two.

After all the intentional confusion in Part One, I was hoping for some answers in Part Two, when Gray finally builds up the courage to leave town, confront the dangers beyond, and get to the truth. And Gray gets to the truth, I got answers, that's not my problem. No, my problem's that it's obvious Bowman's thinking ahead to Parts Three and Four, so she's giving away a twisted version of the truth, sort of making Claysoot a dystopian society within a dystopian society, with more secrets and conspiracies in the bigger dystopian society outside Claysoot, like peeling back the layers of an onion. In a way, it works, explaining why we'd have this messed up town - except, Bowman doesn't really do a good job with this bigger dystopian society. Claysoot was fine, but the stuff outside with the government conspiracy, secret police, malevolent dictatorship, all of it is just generic and doesn't stand out from every other dystopian premise. Even worse, once the secrets come spilling out, the version of the truth Gray's presented in Part Two is so painfully transparent I called the entire setup - including the purpose of Claysoot and the Heists - immediately upon the return of a certain character. After that, Taken just failed to surprise me - ever.

I wish I had positive things to say about Parts Three and Four, but they were just your average take down the evil, corrupt establishment plot I've read so many times now I'd pay a lot of good money to an author who can actually surprise me with something unique and different. Ok, maybe Bowman did surprise me a little bit, but she did it by introducing a superfluous love triangle late in the game to, I don't know, annoy people who hate love triangles? Because it certainly wasn't well done or anything, you can't just write a triangle from a male point of view by recycling the same two guy characters from every other book and making them girls instead. And there was something about cloning too (none of it I actually saw), called Forgeries here, except it didn't do much of anything for the plot expect provide another reason to hate the dystopian government who can now add human experimentation to the long list of its crimes. Yawn.

So Taken starts from a good premise, and kept my interest at first by not showing its hand and revealing the true extent of what's going on. But once that first card was revealed, the rest of the hand becomes so transparent the story did nothing for me after that. Disappointing. ...more

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May 10, 2012 Kat Kennedy rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: oppressive-dystopian-regime, sci-fi-alicious, to-ya-or-not-to-ya, kat-s-book-reviews

So I really wanted to like this one, but I just didn’t and the more I think about it, the less I like it. For me, the biggest problem was Gray, whose head we experience the world in. If you don’t like a protagonist in a novel that is narrated in the first person then that’s an immediate problem – one that is probably highly dependent on the individual reading. Gray just didn’t feel like a real character to me. It was hard to explain exactly what it was I didn’t like about his personality, but wh So I really wanted to like this one, but I just didn’t and the more I think about it, the less I like it. For me, the biggest problem was Gray, whose head we experience the world in. If you don’t like a protagonist in a novel that is narrated in the first person then that’s an immediate problem – one that is probably highly dependent on the individual reading. Gray just didn’t feel like a real character to me. It was hard to explain exactly what it was I didn’t like about his personality, but when I made a list of Gray’s characteristics: Angry, impulsive, curious – and realized that was all I could say about him, I figured that was a pretty good indication.

Actually, the focus on the novel really is largely on the characters, which was unfortunate for me because I simply couldn’t connect to them. I couldn’t really name my favourite other than a slightly more preferential nod toward Bree. But the others tended to fall under a giant banner of Meh from which none of the actions of plot developments could rescue them.

The world building was interesting, and is at least certainly different, though a little M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village for my taste. FULL OF TWISTS MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

twist

But, having said that, at least the world building was interesting. What I did find intriguing is the number of typos. And, yes, it is an ARC so I expect they’ll all be fixed up by the time Taken goes to print. I’m just still not used to seeing that many typos in an ARC. My only real issue with the writing was how often it turned from an engaged narration to a reflective one.

And not that that’s bad because different tones represent different kinds of story telling, but it would spend a lot of time in reflective mode which involved a lot of summarizing and musing which kind of stalled it up a bit. When I would have liked to have seen these things, even briefly rather than just hear about them. Particularly at the end where it felt like the reflective tone started just a little too early and spent an inordinately long time wrapping up events that would probably have been better off not being consigned to a summary of their happenings.

Also, and this is really weird to complain about but… but… GRAY HITS A GIRL! Like just punches her in the face. Now can I mention that she was being a horrible, nasty person. And my feminist instincts would say that if you’re an equal opportunity douche, then you maybe can get an equal opportunity punch in the face. But… But… DUDE!

wasn't cool

She does slog him a good one back, but the thing is, most women can’t hit anywhere near as hard as a man can. So hitting kind of takes it into unfair territory. I know Gray is impulsive and angry and that takes up 2 out of 3 of his personality traits – but wasn’t there a better way to show this than beating up on some girl and putting her in the medical bay? ...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Wendy Darling rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2013-publication, april, annoying-main-characters, read-2013, young-adult, dystopian-post-apocalyptic-utopian, sci-fi-or-futuristic, harpercollins, male-pov

If you guess the big twist in the very first chapter, it definitely affects the way you view the rest of the book. But then again, there are books/films I can experience over and over again knowing full well what happens, and I still love them. Unfortunately, this one doesn't fall into that category, even on first reading--what a disappointment!

Review to come.

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Dec 01, 2012 Maja (The Nocturnal Library) rated it liked it

Shelves: creepy-love-triangle, male-pov, young-adult, annoying-love-triangle, arc-2013, dystopia, failed-to-impress, harper-teen, edelweiss, no-passion-whatsoever

It took me over a month to read Taken, which must be some kind of a record for me. I don’t usually do that – I either finish the book right away, or I just give up. Taken didn’t grab me as it should have, but at the same time, I felt that abandoning it would be unjustified since there was nothing technically wrong with it. In the end, I managed to talk myself into finishing it, but aside from a few gripping moments, my effort brought me no reward. I should have saved myself the trouble.

On the su It took me over a month to read Taken, which must be some kind of a record for me. I don’t usually do that – I either finish the book right away, or I just give up. Taken didn’t grab me as it should have, but at the same time, I felt that abandoning it would be unjustified since there was nothing technically wrong with it. In the end, I managed to talk myself into finishing it, but aside from a few gripping moments, my effort brought me no reward. I should have saved myself the trouble.

On the surface, nothing seems to be wrong with Taken. It’s a tightly-paced dystopian story full of surprises and excitement. Gray escapes one walled society, only to find himself in the second and then the third, each with its own set of rules. That, in itself, was part of the problem. Bowman tried to do too much, changed the course far too often, and ended up with a crammed plot and incomplete worldbuilding. In her desire to be original, she took on too much. A messy and unsatisfying story was the result.

Her protagonist(s) didn’t help matters much. I disliked Gray from the very first page, and not a single one of his emotions felt genuine at first. With the progression of the story, he became slightly more acceptable, but I never warmed up to him as much as I should have. For years Gray has been in love with Emma, but their circumstances, the rules of their society made him think that a future together would be impossible. And then suddenly, they got paired up to procreate (which was very creepy in itself) and even though Emma practically despised him until that point, he changed her mind with no more than two sentences. Instalove (and it was instalove on her part) makes me so very uncomfortable, and it didn’t help that Emma herself was very plain and weak.

To make matters much worse, this instalove was followed by another trope I utterly despise. Love triangles seem to be out of fashion, and while this would normally make me ecstatic, the fact that they were replaced by love rectangles drives me to despair instead. I am tired of unnecessary romantic complications and I want to read a story in which a couple faces troubles coming from the outside. I think that would be far more interesting. With the exception of Bree, all the participants in this love mess (Gray, Emma and that guy whose name I don’t remember) deserve to be alone for all eternity. The words obnoxious, selfish and clueless accurately describe them all.

If there is one thing going for Taken, it’s that it doesn’t end with a cliffhanger. Although many things were left unresolved, the last chapter still gave me a satisfactory conclusion. Gray’s complicated and tentative relationship with his father is another thing I wanted to highlight. It gave his character some much needed vulnerability and it made at least some of his actions seem more understandable, if not entirely acceptable.

All in all, there’s no denying that Erin Bowman’s debut is a thrill ride and should be taken as such. Characters are everything to me and if I can’t sympathize with them, I’m not likely to enjoy any book, but if you’re looking for an exciting read with a whole lot of twists and turns, then this is a very good choice for you.

...more

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Apr 05, 2012 Jaime Arkin rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebook-format, true-5-starers, favorites, recommend-forever, swoony-boys, series, read-in-2013, 2013, harper-teen, don-t-even-ask-just-read-it

First of all... Dystopian told in a male point of view...

And let me tell you, Erin Bowman does not disappoint.

In Claysoot, men are in the minority, in fact, there aren't any past the age of eighteen. At midnight on a boys eighteenth birthday, the Heist happens. "The ground shakes, the wind howls and a blinding light descends... and he's gone." The older residents don't remember much about how Claysoot came about only that they woke up and found themselves in the walled in city and shortly a ...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Jasprit rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-galley, out-2013, dystopian, read-in-2013, love-the-cover, ya

Taken was another book which I was extremely looking forward to reading. It had a unique premise; at 18 years old, boys in Claysoot are Heisted, why did this happen no one knew, but it was a ritual established in Claysoot for many years. These boys were also meant to be slated before their Heist, these slatings were organised eventually to result in an offspring, so that they would continue their family line, before they were Heisted. With everyone just accepting this extraordinary phenomena I w Taken was another book which I was extremely looking forward to reading. It had a unique premise; at 18 years old, boys in Claysoot are Heisted, why did this happen no one knew, but it was a ritual established in Claysoot for many years. These boys were also meant to be slated before their Heist, these slatings were organised eventually to result in an offspring, so that they would continue their family line, before they were Heisted. With everyone just accepting this extraordinary phenomena I was surprised that in the many years, no one had ever decided to dig around and find out why this heist actually occurred, why at that age and where the heck did these boys disappear to? There were some boys who refused to accept it and tried to escape over the wall, with who knows what was lurking behind there? But they never survived. So I was glad after losing his brother Gray decided to take it upon himself to get to the bottom of the truth.

These beliefs that there were nothing beyond the wall and that being Heisted was a necessary part of Claysoot had been instilled into this society for a long time. So after discovering some shocking things Gray decided to risk his life in finding out the truth. Gray was a character who at first I found easy to connect to, he constantly found himself in his older brother Blaine’s limelight, his impulsive behaviour everyone picked on and the several comparisons of why couldn’t he be more like Blaine would bug anyone. So despite having to lose Blaine in the Heist, I think it was completely necessary to Gray’s character building as it motivated him into action.

What was on the other side of the wall I was extremely eager to find out about, but this is where the story fell flat for me. Some of the discoveries they made along the way did come as quite a surprise to me but there were parts that I found to be lacklustre in places. I think it may be that I was imagining that out of this world extraordinary things could be lurking behind the wall but instead we got a case of lots of finger pointing and no clue about who to believe. The later development of the love triangle kind of buggered things over for me to, I think it was sort of unnecessary and wished that certain characters hadn’t made impulsive decisions that led to it in the first place.

Taken was the first book in the series with a lot of potential to deliver, I think with this book it was a case of it not being my cup of tea. As a lot of the early reviews from several blogging friends show that they really enjoyed it. I guess I’m more miffed with myself for not enjoying it as much as I did, as I had high hopes that I would find this to be a thrilling new series I could dive into. But unfortunately I don’t think this will be the case.
...more

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Nov 23, 2012 Jenni Arndt rated it did not like it

Shelves: arc-ebook

After seeing some not so favorable reviews of Taken roll in, I was pretty wary going into the novel. I was told by multiple sources to lower my expectations in hopes that if I did it would seem better. So lower my expectations I did, and it did not work. This novel was full of unrealistic conveniences, a terrible love triangle and a male MC who made me want to pull my hair out. I don’t really have anything positive to say about the novel so we will see how this goes.

I’ll start with Gray. What a After seeing some not so favorable reviews of Taken roll in, I was pretty wary going into the novel. I was told by multiple sources to lower my expectations in hopes that if I did it would seem better. So lower my expectations I did, and it did not work. This novel was full of unrealistic conveniences, a terrible love triangle and a male MC who made me want to pull my hair out. I don’t really have anything positive to say about the novel so we will see how this goes.

I’ll start with Gray. What a terrible person this guy was. He was so impulsive & full of rage and I hated him from chapter one (in which he punches a girl in the face and stomach.) His brother is getting heisted and even at the goodbye ceremony he has all of these jealous thoughts that made me so angry. You are about to lose your brother forever, let your shit go and give him a proper farewell you ass! I can see where his rage was supposed to have come from, he was living in his perfect brother’s shadow his whole life and found out he was lied to by both his brother and his mother but it was much too over the top for me. I also didn’t see much growth in his character, even at the end of the novel he is super jealous and does stupid things to get revenge on people he is supposed to love.

Speaking of love, there is a love triangle here you guys, and it’s a doozy. Here is my favorite quote: “The best I do is nod in and out of consciousness, my arms always hugging Bree, but my eyes always lingering on Emma..” Oh please, first of all this guy was such an ass I can’t fathom why either of these girls wanted him. I guess when there is a shortage of men you will go for anything. Also, I never bought the supposed “love” between Emma and Gray. In the first chapter so much is done to enforce her distaste with his character and the fact that she has always had a thing for his older brother, Blaine. But once Blaine is heisted Emma and Gray immediately get up to all sorts of tomfoolery and are claiming love in a matter of days. I knew that he always had a thing for her, but her mood switch was far too abrupt to be believable.

Speaking of believable (ha notice a trend here? Worst transitions ever, that is the trend.) The conveniences that popped up here and there to advance the plot were just way too perfect. Breaking into a final room and all of a sudden someone pops up that you had no idea existed prior to that scene who is on the right side in the right place at the right time, it was just far too easy. The novel comes with it’s fair share of twists but none of them felt that way because it was so easy to see what was coming a mile away. There is so much of the story that is just way too typical for the genre that it didn’t stand out at all.

This is definitely not a novel that I can recommend. With a flood of dystopians hitting the shelves there has to be something special for one to stand out and this one just doesn’t pack the punch that it needs to. It’s terribly cliche, and is full of dialogue that feels uncomfortable and forced. If I can give you one tip for your Spring reading list it would be to avoid Taken as best as you can.

An Advanced Reader's Copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

--

You can read all of my reviews at Alluring Reads. ...more

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Jun 21, 2013 Neil (or bleed) rated it really liked it

"Second chance is not the same as forgiveness."

Oftentimes, I don't read the blurb. I usually add books to my list because of the cover and the genre. By genre, I mean dystopia or sci-fi most of the time. And Taken is one of those books. I really love the cover of this book like seriously.

When I started reading the book, I have no idea what it was all about but after a few chapters, I understand what the book wants to deliver to me. Though I sense a well-used plot of something about "walls", ...more

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Jun 15, 2013 Z (Through The Inked Pages) rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: pansies

Shelves: 2-stars, sci-fi-dystopian-fantasy, love-triangle, ya, read-2013, 2013-publication, pansy-ass-mcs, covergasm

Actual rating: 2.5 stars

Spoilers ahead

This is the most confusing book to review. I probably won't even make sense, but I just have to try.

There were so many things wrong with Taken, and I blame Gray's character development for the most part. The plot is nothing new (but it's still okay) and the overall concept didn't feel dystopian whatsoever.

dystopia - An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.

Taken ...more

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May 09, 2012 Jessie (Ageless Pages Reviews) rated it did not like it

Shelves: ya-fiction, sci-fi, arc, 2013-reads, edelweiss-arc, your-premise-is-showing, reviews-2013, all-surface-no-substance, overhyped, you-call-it-love-i-call-it-hormones

Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!

I am so disappointed. I had such a good streak going. Three, nearly four, months and eighty books into 2013, I'd only had one 1-star read before this. I started Taken with high hopes - that cover! that synopsis! - that quickly, and I mean QUICKLY, plummeted from "this is going to be good!" to "Oh, no..." to "To DNF or to not DNF?" to "I just want this to be over." Thankfully, my pain was rather short lived this time. Taken is three hundred odd pages, bu Read This Review & More Like It On My Blog!

I am so disappointed. I had such a good streak going. Three, nearly four, months and eighty books into 2013, I'd only had one 1-star read before this. I started Taken with high hopes - that cover! that synopsis! - that quickly, and I mean QUICKLY, plummeted from "this is going to be good!" to "Oh, no..." to "To DNF or to not DNF?" to "I just want this to be over." Thankfully, my pain was rather short lived this time. Taken is three hundred odd pages, but there's so little depth to the world or the characters that it's a thankfully fast-moving read. In the end, I have to recognize that this was just a book that was not meant for me and abandon the series.

I knew thirteen pages into Taken that this was going to be a rocky road. My main and first issue was with the main character and narrator, Gray Weathersby. Erin Bowman can write an authentic male voice, but she utterly failed to create a likeable, or even interesting, one. Gray is a jerk, and Gray is rather short-sighted. He was awful, and he was where the cracks started to show. If you can get around Gray's 'tude, you will find Taken a more fun read than I did. I can see my way to loving some awful characters, anti-heroes (Jaime Lannister, anyone? I adore him. Don't judge me.) and even villains (Sepp dan Teufel is my favorite character from The Blade Itself trilogy, and he is a horrid, broken man). But they, unlike Gray, manage to be interesting, complex in their moral failings and errors. They are more than the worse of them. Alternatively, Gray is just a brat. With lifelong insecurity issues.

The other characters don't do much to take the heat and focus off of Gray's long list of shortcomings. Everyone in the book is so one-dimensional and flat. Emma, the *first* love interest, flipflops from one side of an idea to the other in pages. Her affection does the same, and her characterization is pretty much null. Blaine, the brother, is a Larry Stu, and thus practically perfect. There's no complexity or intricacy to the characters or their relationships with one another. It's alllll surface. I need more, and the book needs more - I need depth and real characterization to care about what's going on to the characters. Otherwise, I get bored and start counting down the pages til: a. everyone dies or b. the book ends.

I kept running into issues with the plot and the progression of the story as it went along. There are too many tropes (instalove! Love triangles!), cliches, and conveniences to be found in Taken. It's just too much to be believable. I have a great suspension of disbelief, but after a point, I just... can't. Gray's entire motivation and actions are too easy, and almost of the twists and conflicts he runs into end quickly, usually in a deux-ex-machina kind of way. The plotholes in the story also started to add up as more and more is revealed about the world Gray exists within. All of that adds up to more than I can buy into. And if I can't identify or relate or even care about the characters, if the plot falls apart with closer examination, and if it's a passionless, easy affair, I'm out.

Taken is a great idea that falters out of the gate with its muddled execution. The long and short of it is that a good, original and mysterious concept is not enough to carry a novel, especially one that's hundreds of pages. The novelty and curiously wear thin, and then out completely. The series will continue with books two and three, but I will not be reading to see how it all plays out. ...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Katy rated it liked it

I liked that Bowman tried to make this book different with the strange, and slightly disturbing concept. But by the end, I felt that she pulled out all the stops, and it ended up being your typical dystopian.

THE HEISTS - I'm a huge dystopian fan, but these days, there is such an influx of them, and they really do all start sounding the same. So I'm all for a different concept - even if it's a bit riske. I think Bowman was very bold to create a society where boys disappear on the 18th ...more

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May 13, 2011 Alexa rated it it was ok

Shelves: debut, arc, young-adult, ebook, despise-love-triangles, edelweiss, 2013-reads

My review can also be found on my blog Collections.

May contain minor spoilers.

Taken started off good for me. Even though I had an idea where the story was headed, I was still immediately intrigued with what the main character Gray was going through, and I really liked that the book was from the male perspective. I couldn't wait to know more about him and Emma, the girl he liked, and watch their relationship develop while they tried to solve the mystery revolving around the Heist.

Unfortunately my
My review can also be found on my blog Collections.

May contain minor spoilers.

Taken started off good for me. Even though I had an idea where the story was headed, I was still immediately intrigued with what the main character Gray was going through, and I really liked that the book was from the male perspective. I couldn't wait to know more about him and Emma, the girl he liked, and watch their relationship develop while they tried to solve the mystery revolving around the Heist.

Unfortunately my feelings for Taken changed drastically as the story went on. I almost wish Gray and Emma had stayed in their village Claysoot. Because once they left that's when things began to go downhill and into strange, make-no-sense territory. Their reaction to their new surrounding did not feel realistic. They seemed to accept things easily, and at the same time, they quickly figured out when someone wasn't trustworthy or when something wasn't quite right. The pacing of parts of the story did not help at all. Certain situations were rushed and resolved with what I thought was not much time or effort. There were many holes and flaws in the story that just made everything even more unbelievable for me.

Although that all bothered me a bit, it was nothing compared to how I started to feel about Gray's character and the weird direction of the romance. I liked Gray in the beginning. He seemed like a pretty good guy who only wanted to make things better for those he cared about. But as the story progressed, I found him to be such a selfish and hypocritical person. His character shift began once another love interest for him was introduced, which I felt came out of nowhere. The new love interest, Bree, was not a character I ever connected to or liked. Her relationship with Gray was a whole lot more telling than showing compared to his development with Emma in the beginning. And Gray can whine all he wants about what Emma did. At least she had a good reason. What was his excuse for being cruel to her, especially considering the slatings they went through in Claysoot? Gray's treatment of Emma was unforgivable in my eyes. I have to say this was one of the worst love-triangles I've read in a while. I almost couldn't believe what I was reading.

Taken truly had a promising beginning. In the end, that beginning couldn't make up for what happened next: a story full of holes, a rushed pace, unlikeable characters (actually, I liked Blaine and Emma but sadly they weren't important enough for Gray's story), and a random love-triangle that destroyed whatever hope I had left of liking this book. ...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Christina (A Reader of Fictions) marked it as dnf

Shelves: arc

I started this book on January 11, and I didn't pick it up at all in February. Finally, sick of having it on my currently reading shelf, I picked it up again on March 18, and determined to power through. Well, obviously I wasn't that into it to begin with if I left it alone for a month and a half. It shouldn't take me two months to read a book.

Picking it back up, I was even more bored than before, with no patience for the unnecessary descriptions (two boys are carrying water and either have blis ...more

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Apr 30, 2015 Andis / Slytherin 🐍 rated it really liked it

4.5 stars

I loved this book! It had me at the edge of my seat from the first page to the last.
This was one of those books that you just want to hug because it was just THAT good.

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Nov 13, 2012 Sarah Elizabeth rated it it was amazing

Shelves: r2r-complete, as, favourite-books, read-2013

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperTeen and Edelweiss.)
Gray’s brother Blaine is about to turn 18, which means that he will soon be lost to the ‘heist’. Every male in Claysoot is taken at the strike of midnight on their 18th birthday, the ground shakes and a bright light envelops them, and then they are gone.

With Blaine gone, Gray is alone, apart from Emma, a girl who was Blaine’s best friend, who Gray has always had feelings for. W (Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperTeen and Edelweiss.)
Gray’s brother Blaine is about to turn 18, which means that he will soon be lost to the ‘heist’. Every male in Claysoot is taken at the strike of midnight on their 18th birthday, the ground shakes and a bright light envelops them, and then they are gone.

With Blaine gone, Gray is alone, apart from Emma, a girl who was Blaine’s best friend, who Gray has always had feelings for. With Blaine no longer in the picture, a romantic relationship forms between Gray and Emma, but when Gray discovers a secret that was hidden from him by his mother and brother, he begins to believe that maybe he is special, maybe he can beat the heist.

Taking very little, and saying goodbye to only Emma, Gray heads for the boundry wall, the wall that surrounds Claysoot. No-one who has tried to leave over the boundry wall has survived, but Gray goes over it anyway, he’s in for a shock when he realises that Emma has followed him though.
What lies on the other side of the wall? Can anyone beat the Heist? And why is Gray special?

This was a great dystopian adventure, with plenty of twists and turns and a dash of romance.

This book grabbed me from about the 10% mark, and was a really compelling read! Gray discovered a letter from his mother to his brother than stopped at a crucial point, and I was just as desperate to find out what the rest of the letter said as Gray was!

Gray was quite a tough, headstrong character, and although he tried to keep others safe, he thought little of his own safety, and often just did what he wanted to do, and never mind if it might kill him. He was quite a blunt character too, and not afraid to let people know that he didn’t like them, even when that involved punching a girl in the face!
I liked the romance between Gray and Emma, and their relationship was really sweet. I was also really impressed when Emma followed Gray over the wall – it was unexpected, and a real girl-power move!

There were plenty of twists in this story, and plenty of things that I didn’t see coming! I was shocked in several places, and there was a real feeling of trepidation and intrigue woven into the story.

Overall; a fast-paced dystopian adventure, with plenty of twists and surprises.
9 out of 10.
...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Shanyn (Chick Loves Lit) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: dac13

It takes a little extra oomph for me to pick up a dystopian or paranormal novel over a contemporary, and for TAKEN it was the cover and mention of excitement on countless blogs for a Top Ten Tuesday feature. I had heard about it here and there but hadn't really committed myself to reading it until so many blogs exclaimed excitement and I decided to look into it for myself.

Full Review: http://chickloveslit.com/2013/01/revi... ...more

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Jun 21, 2012 Jen (The Starry-Eyed Revue) rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2013, aliens-sci-fi, dystopian-post-apocalyptic, arcs, edelweiss, dnf

**Fair warning: this review will contain spoilers, ranting, and likely some swear words.**

I was excited to get my hands on an ARC of this book. It had some serious potential, and I couldn't wait to find out what that whole Heist situation was about. But I quit reading at page 132, so I guess someone's just going to have to tell me. Nothing major happened on that particular page, and I hadn't yet thrown the book across the room, but I'd had enough. The throwing fit was coming, and I could've ...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Kevin rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, first-reads-arc

3.5 Stars

I feel like there was one reason in particular most readers would want to read this, to find out what all this "Heist" business is about.

I've read several books just due to my interest level concerning the twist or the big reveal, but Taken has got to be one of the more disappointing books in terms of its big "twist." The rest of it was mighty fine, and I would even stretch to say I was into most of it...but this twist..

I'm obviously not going to reveal what happens, but it is discov ...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Isamlq rated it it was ok

Shelves: arc-galley

2.5/5

TAKEN… so many things going on and I don’t know if I liked that part of it or not.

Start with a boy, almost a man really, who’s resigned to what’s coming and more than just lost over what his brother and others like him have had to suffer. Shift to that boy making some unexpected discoveries and then shift again to him being told how things are yet surprisingly enough accepting things as is. Surprising given the fact that he’s so loud, almost proud, about being reactive and gut-feel about ...more

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Mar 30, 2013 Kathy Martin rated it it was amazing

TAKEN was a very promising debut novel. The characters were well-written and well-rounded and the writing didn't get in the way of the story. There was enough description and world-building and the author didn't inundate us with large info-dumps.

TAKEN stands out among the large current crop of dystopias because of its well thought out plot and intriguing characters. Grey Weatherby is the younger more impulsive brother. When his older brother Blaine reaches eighteen and is removed from their town ...more

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Jun 11, 2016 Clyde rated it it was ok · review of another edition

It seemed so interesting in the beginning.

My Synopsis:
Gray had lived in Claysoot for about 17 years. Every boy got Heisted at the age of 18 here. There were no men. The town was surrounded by the Wall. People were told that no one could survive once they went over the Wall.
Gray's brother, Blaine, was 18 and he got Heisted. Gray was trying to find a way to get his brother back. However, he discovered something more.

Bookpick:
The reason why I picked up this book is because this book had bee ...more

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Feb 21, 2016 Empress Reece (Hooked on Books) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: action, dystopian-post-apocalyptic, ya, zzexp_2016-read, first-in-series, sci-fi, favorites, adventure, own-it, zzexp_2016-dystopia-challenge

In Claysoot, all boys vanish on their eighteenth birthday. The residents call it the heist. They have no idea why it happens or where all of the boys go. No one has ever even questioned it, until now, that is...

I really like this book. I knew when I read the preview that I had to read it & it was going to be good. Luckily, I was not disappointed. : ) From the very beginning, I grew attached to the characters and the alternate world the story is in. The world is really unique and different from a ...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Ain020596 marked it as to-read

This book sounds cool, but I think it may face a problem a lot of people face with Dystopians; What led to this dystopia in the first place? That led to something so drastic, like removing all men at the age of 18? Is it logical, or would the reason be a shoddy excuse for the foundation of the entire dystopia?

Looking forward to the book, but I hope the question gets answered!:)

PS.

description

HOLY PIXIE FAIRYDUST! What a gorgeous cover! GAH. Want. Now. ...more

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Feb 03, 2016 ♡Julalicious Book Paradise♡ rated it really liked it

Shelves: signed-books, owned

review to come.

I'll concentrate more on my reading than my review at least until March. Sorry :\

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Sep 16, 2012 Jon rated it liked it

Shelves: dystopia-post-apocalyptic

Seen at Scott Reads It!
3.5 Stars
Taken had so much potential and I thought that I would without a doubt love it. Based on the fantastic blurb and that eye catching cover, I expected that Taken would be truly extraordinary. In my opinion Taken falls too short, there is so much that Erin Bowman could have done but neglected to do.

Taken starts off extremely interesting with a very original concept. We have a society called Claysoot where men disappear on their 18th birthday and are never seen ag Seen at Scott Reads It!
3.5 Stars
Taken had so much potential and I thought that I would without a doubt love it. Based on the fantastic blurb and that eye catching cover, I expected that Taken would be truly extraordinary. In my opinion Taken falls too short, there is so much that Erin Bowman could have done but neglected to do.

Taken starts off extremely interesting with a very original concept. We have a society called Claysoot where men disappear on their 18th birthday and are never seen again. This called The Heist and is a fraction of the strange happenings in Claysoot. Claysoot is surrounded by a wall and whoever climbs over the wall is found dead right next to the wall. Clay decides to climb the wall instead of waiting for his 18th birthday, will Clay survive the impossible?

The problem with Taken is the way the secrets are truly presented. The Maze Runner is a book where the plot is based on secrets and an enigma. Taken takes way too long to reveal the society's secrets and when they are revealed they turn out to be extremely lame. I feel like Bowman forced all of the plot twists on the reader too late for the reader to even care. I wished Bowman slowly sprinkled in hints as to what was going on instead of performing info-dumping. By the time I got the "real truth" I felt rather apathetic because any emotion I had faded with time. Even if I did care for the plot twists, I felt like there was no spacing between them. Plot twists came way too frequently and Bowman didn't give the reader time to process what just happened.

Taken is not as plot-oriented as I would have liked. I expected tons of awesome action scenes that kept me on the edge of my seat craving more. Instead of getting the heart pumping actions I crave, I read about mediocre dystopian plot elements and a love triangle I didn't care for. Once Gray left Claysoot I felt like the plot went downhill and I just didn't have an urge to continue reading. The chapters that follow Gray's disappearance from Claysoot lacked world building, originality, and just excitement. I really enjoyed reading about Claysoot because it was just so different from everything else I have read to date. I feel like Bowman tried to squeeze so many things in so few pages, almost every single dystopian element you can think of makes an appearance in Taken. Taken may start off with a bang but it quickly loses momentum with all of it's dystopian elements.

The characters in Taken are nothing special or even remotely memorable. Gray needs some serious anger management sessions and needs to think things through before acting. Hitting a woman is never okay even if she acts like a witch (drop the w and insert a b)! Besides his anger issues, I really didn't find Gray special in any way. Blaine seemed interesting enough but he was not in a majority of Taken. I guess if I had to pick a favorite character I would definitely pick Bree. Bree was the most kick-ass character in Taken and I liked her attitude on things. I didn't like Emma in any shape or form because she was just so ordinary. Emma did so many things that I don't approve of but I don't want to spoil anything. Gray's relationship with Emma felt so unnecessary because I feel like Emma did nothing at all. Emma was just a distraction from Bree and a way for Bowman to include a love triangle. The love triangle didn't work in Taken at all and was extremely irritating.

Taken starts off so interesting and original but it didn't live up to it's potential. At a certain point Bowman just tried to include as many basic dystopian elements as possible and it just didn't work at all. Because of all the info dumping and basic dystopian elements, the plot began to feel long winded. I will probably read the sequels to Taken with hopes that I will enjoy them more. ...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Aimee ♥ | Aimee, Always rated it it was ok

Shelves: love-triangles, covergasm, let-me-gouge-your-eyeballs-out, insta-love-lust-attraction, predictable

Upon first coming across the gorgeous cover of Taken and reading its interesting synopsis, I immediately added the book to my wishlist. After reading some reviews, though, I started to feel hesitant, but I was still pretty determined to read it. It, sadly, did not live up to my expectations.

One of the main problems I had with the book was the narration. Although Erin Bowman (a female author) did a good job with making her main character really think and seem like a male, I could not connect with the main character at all. I did not understand why he did things or acted the way he did in a certain situation. Initially, I did think Gray was an interesting character and wanted to read more about him. After a while, though, I began to dislike his personality--I mean, he hit a girl!

The rest of the characters weren't any better. We had our two female leads, Emma and Bree. Emma was, to simply put it, a sissy. [Minor spoiler ahead.] While Gray was working with the rebels and Emma assumed he was dead, she slept with another man and begged for forgiveness when they reunited. While I thought Bree was an okay character in general, she sort of wanted her relationship with Gray to develop quickly, which was a problem at times.

That brings me to my main problem: the romance. It was one of the worst love triangles I have ever come across. Gray had no chemistry with either of the girls and even bothered me when he thought of them. He constantly rejected the stronger, more interesting one for the weaker, annoying one. I get that he was trying to be a gentleman and all, but come on, he was an idiot. By the end of the book, there was a single event that caused him to move on to the other one, and it didn't even really seem like he like her. It felt as if she was just his second option or something.

Although the novel contained a decent amount of action and adventure, the hero got through situations much too easily (just like the heroine from Reboot ). He was able to get what he needed without much trouble and I wanted more struggles. The twists also seemed kind off odd and I'm curious to know how Bowman will intertwine that with the characters' lives and the main storylines in the next books in the trilogy.

The only thing I like about the book was how it started off strong. My curiosity about the Heists was built up in the beginning of that novel, and while I was still interested in that as the book went on, the disturbing things mentioned above removed my focus from the more interesting parts of the novel.

The gist? I would recommend this novel to fans of Amy Tintera's Reboot. I felt that, aside from the love triangle, the romances were similar as well as the writing style. ...more

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA Dystopian where boys are abducted on their birthdays. [s]	4	17	Jun 25, 2020 09:58AM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Dystopian Series. [s]	6	24	Apr 14, 2020 09:26PM
Thoughts on this book?	3	25	Mar 09, 2020 02:36PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Fantasy series about twin brothers. [s]	6	29	Mar 08, 2019 08:46AM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA Dystopian. Guy and girl live in a walled Community then escape [s]	6	39	Jun 16, 2016 05:39PM
YA Buddy Readers'...: Taken by Erin Bowman - Restarting March 20th 2015	26	56	Mar 20, 2015 04:08PM

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About Erin Bowman

Erin Bowman

1,764 followers

Erin Bowman is the critically acclaimed author of numerous books for children and teens, including the Taken Trilogy, Vengeance Road, Retribution Rails, the Edgar Award-nominated Contagion duology, The Girl and the Witch’s Garden, and the forthcoming Dustborn. A web designer turned author, Erin has always been invested in telling stories—both visually and with words. Erin lives in New Hampshire wi ...more