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Abducted - Escape From Kraile

(Abducted #1)

J.R. Cleveland (Goodreads Author)

3.97 · Rating details · 101 ratings · 35 reviews

After discovering two aliens trying to milk a cow in his Grandfather's barn, fourteen year old Luke Summers is abducted. Scared out of his wits, he soon discovers that the aliens, Simon and Leonidas, aren’t planning to probe him… huge relief.

Instead, after injecting Luke with nano-translators so he can understand them, they tell him that his parents, both astronauts who w ...more

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Kindle Edition, 231 pages

Published March 17th 2016

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Sep 05, 2016 Carole P. Roman rated it it was amazing

Perfect adventure for middle school students. Orphan farm boy Luke is abducted aliens he found attempting to milk his cow in the family barn. He wakes up aboard the alien ship only to discover the parents he thought were dead are imprisoned on a distant planet. They were on a mission for NASA on Mars and now Luke has to save them. Action-packed, full of wild life forms, Cleveland writes with humor and warmth. Luke is a fun action hero, his interaction with his alien comrades entertaining. Abduct ...more

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Jan 31, 2017 Bob Platypire rated it it was amazing

5 Platypires!!

I wasn't sure what to expect from an alien abduction book for younger readers (I'm old fart hahaha), but this was a TON OF FUN! The pacing, tempo, flow, etc. was perfect, and I loved the characters.

I thought Luke was well written, and I got pretty attached to him! To the others as well, actually. I really think I my boys would like this, and I think I'll buy physical copies for them.

Anyone who doesn't mind a younger hero and loves aliens would most likely enjoy this. I will be re ...more

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Oct 19, 2016 Nicole M. Hewitt rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-addiction-read

This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction

This was a delightful book that took me completely by surprise. For some reason I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed the story and were engaged right from the very start. Luke’s experiences in space are full of action, danger and mystery as he goes on a (sometimes crazy) quest to save his parents from a deadly race of aliens. I loved all of the fun references to alien conspir This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction

This was a delightful book that took me completely by surprise. For some reason I wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I did. My kids and I thoroughly enjoyed the story and were engaged right from the very start. Luke’s experiences in space are full of action, danger and mystery as he goes on a (sometimes crazy) quest to save his parents from a deadly race of aliens. I loved all of the fun references to alien conspiracy theories (yep, this book confirms that aliens helped build the pyramids. Who knew?), and it was truly interesting to see what the aliens thought about humans and human emotions. One small detail that didn’t make sense to me: the aliens seemed to be incredibly impressed by the fact that humans are willing to put themselves in danger for others, but the aliens themselves were doing that for Luke and his family. (I guess the argument could be made that they were doing that out of duty rather than sacrifice, but it didn’t seem completely that way.) I did enjoy how Simon and Leonidas seemed very logical at first but as Luke got to know them you totally saw their soft sides.

Narration: I’m hoping the audiobooks for the next two books in the series come out soon because we really enjoyed listening to these—my kids especially loved that the narrator gave the aliens interesting voices. They were bummed to hear that we might have to actually read the next two if we want to get to them soon. Braden Wright is an excellent narrator, though it took me a little while to get used to his deeper, more serious voice right after listening to Momotaro, where the full narration was in more of a kid’s voice. (Wright did a great job with Luke’s fourteen-year-old voice in the dialogue, but he didn’t sound kiddish for the whole narration—which was totally fine, just different.) And, like I mentioned before, Wright did a fantastic job with all of the different alien character voices.

I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for something fun to read or listen to with younger YA readers (or MG, though there is a bit of violence in parts—nothing too horrible). This one gets 4/5 Stars.

***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Audiobook Boom! in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.*** ...more

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Mar 11, 2021 Kenya Starflight rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2021-popsugar-challenge

I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- just because you're writing a book for kids doesn't mean you can slack off on the writing. Abucted: Escape From Kraile seems geared towards middle-grade students, and while its basic plot isn't the most original out there it still had potential to be entertaining and fun. Sadly, the writing is weak, the dialogue is awful, and the plot falls back on tired cliches and a lot of random events (and stupidity on the part of the characters) to go forward.

L I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- just because you're writing a book for kids doesn't mean you can slack off on the writing. Abucted: Escape From Kraile seems geared towards middle-grade students, and while its basic plot isn't the most original out there it still had potential to be entertaining and fun. Sadly, the writing is weak, the dialogue is awful, and the plot falls back on tired cliches and a lot of random events (and stupidity on the part of the characters) to go forward.

Luke Summers goes out to his grandfather's barn late one night to discover two aliens trying to milk one of their cows. That close encounter leads to said aliens kidnapping him... and revealing to him that his astronaut parents are alive, but captives on another planet! The two aliens, who call themselves Simon and Leonidas, offer to help Luke rescue his parents, and what results is a planet-hopping mission that will have Luke training under a mercenary, meeting bizarre creatures, and fleeing from horrific creatures. Can he and his new alien friends save his parents, or will he never see his home world again?

The basic story isn't entirely original -- kids having to rescue their parents is a more common staple of film and literature than people think -- but it had the potential to be fun and entertaining. The writing itself feels bland and simplistic, though, and the dialogue is awkward enough to be cringy at times -- I understand that some of this was intentional, to indicate that the translation nanobots Luke used to understand alien languages weren't perfect, but it still made for awkward reading. Descriptions in particular feel both overly simplified and inadequate -- I never felt fully immersed in the world and its beings.

The plot itself is less a coherent plot and more leaping from one random event to the next, without much transition between said events. There's a lot of false suspense-building by having characters deliberately hide their actions from one another for no discernable reason -- there are ways to hint towards future plot twists or to maintain suspense that feel organic and unforced, and relying on the "I'll tell you what we said/did later" trick is NOT one of those. Also, at least one twist felt completely unforeshadowed and was never adequately explained in-story (in fact, I don't think it was explained at all?). It seemed thrown in just because the author wanted some big twist and couldn't work one in naturally.

I hate to bash on this book so relentlessly, as it was obviously a labor of love by its writer. But it's not a good book, and I can't help but feel that the writing quality was skimped on simply because this book was aimed at middle schoolers. Believe it or not, kids deserve great writing as well as adults, and this book deserved better writing than it got. ...more

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Feb 07, 2017 Donadee's Corner rated it it was amazing

Abducted Escape from Kraile by JR Cleveland Review 2/7/17

Farm life just got interesting with new vistors!

After discovering two aliens trying to milk a cow in his Grandfather's barn, thirteen-year-old Luke Summers is abducted. Scared out of his wits, he soon realizes that the aliens, Simon and Leonidas, don't mean him any harm… huge relief. Instead, after injecting Luke with Nano-translators so he can understand them, they tell him that his parents, both astronauts who were pronounced dead durin ...more

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Aug 19, 2018 Patti rated it really liked it

Cute story!

I enjoyed this quick read! Very different from my usual genre. It is geared for young adults, but this 61 year old grandmother got a kick out of it! I think my grandson will really like this one when he is a bit older. Too many "big" words for a new 3rd grader.
The characters were quite interesting, especially the aliens! Good descriptions made it easy to visualize the various creatures. I absolutely do not ever want to encounter even a youngling Krailian! Just the thought gives me the ...more

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Jun 28, 2018 Ryan Miller rated it really liked it

Fun read! I believe you'll enjoy this book. ...more

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Feb 17, 2017 Elena Alvarez Dosil rated it really liked it

http://www.lomeraniel.com/audiobookre...

I have received this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

Luke wakes up during the night and hears some noises coming from the his grandfather's barn. When going there to make sure that everything is okay he sees a red light, and discovers two aliens milking one of the cows. He will be taken in their spaceship in a mission that will change Luke's life.

This book is aimed at young readers, but even grownups will enjoy it. L http://www.lomeraniel.com/audiobookre...

I have received this book in audio format from the narrator in exchange for an honest review.

Luke wakes up during the night and hears some noises coming from the his grandfather's barn. When going there to make sure that everything is okay he sees a red light, and discovers two aliens milking one of the cows. He will be taken in their spaceship in a mission that will change Luke's life.

This book is aimed at young readers, but even grownups will enjoy it. Luke is transported to a different world and meets strange creatures, pursuing a very noble goal. There are a lot of Star Wars references, and I think the main character's name is a clear tribute to the movies. It is a quite original story and is told in a very funny way, which will delight kids and adults.

I found some parts though that add little to the story, or that would have been presented in a different way since in a way they have some important information for later on. The training Luke has during flight felt just too long, and the part of the arena had the same feeling. In a way Cleveland abused a bit too much of the Deus ex Machina device. I understand that this could somehow work in a book for kids, but once they become more critic they will demand more intelligent plots.

Something that I missed was a better introduction to the background story. This is about Luck's parents, missing for the last five years partly due to Simon on Leonidas. The introduction goes a bit too fast and the main goal of the story is just merely mentioned. I think the whole story would have worked better if we would have known more about Luck's parents and the rest of the crew, along with the circumstances of their disappearance. Just mentioning it does not completely work nor motivate the reader.

The characters were not fully developed, but I think Simon and Leonidas were very charismatic.

What I really enjoyed was the narration. Braden Wright gave the exact amount of humor to the voices. I think the sound effects used for Simon and Leonidas were just perfect, and the book clearly benefited from the narration. I am looking forward to listening to more books narrated by Wright.

The ending does not leave an open door for a second book, so I am curious about what how the second goes. It is something good though, since I get sometimes frustrated about cliffhangers. If you have kids and teens interested in sci-fi I recommend you to try this book. ...more

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Mar 13, 2017 Jebaraj Jehosh rated it it was amazing

This book is just...I can't explain!!! Nothing was better than this book, even the Harry Potter series. I recommend this to everyone that ever loved Sci Fi. If so, you will love it more, if you loved it in the past, this will reel you in like a big fish. ...more

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Sep 19, 2016 Lori rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobooks

Well written, cute, fun, humorous, entertaining and very enjoyable listen. Listened to this on a road trip with my grandchildren. They loved it and so did I.

The story grabs your attention from the beginning and the adventure just gets better from there.

When Luke Summer's hears a noise in his grandfather's barn and goes to investigate he gets the surprise of his life. Aliens. When he's abducted by these aliens he discovers his parents are still alive. They were actually there to get him and take ...more

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Dec 18, 2017 Scotts Kindle rated it really liked it

Light hearted

Did not know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised. This book just made me laugh. I found the interaction entertaining and fun. Good job. 👍

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Jun 27, 2016 Ryan Slattery rated it liked it

J. R. Cleveland's Abducted Series features a teenage boy (Luke) taken on an adventure spanning the unknown alien infested galaxy. I immediately downloaded this free book when I read the first line of the product description about Luke discovering aliens trying to milk a cow in his barn. I knew I would be in for a quirky, fun and funny adventure. Did it deliver?

What I liked about the book:
1. The world-building was excellent. I loved the way the aliens talked as well as the gestures used to give t J. R. Cleveland's Abducted Series features a teenage boy (Luke) taken on an adventure spanning the unknown alien infested galaxy. I immediately downloaded this free book when I read the first line of the product description about Luke discovering aliens trying to milk a cow in his barn. I knew I would be in for a quirky, fun and funny adventure. Did it deliver?

What I liked about the book:
1. The world-building was excellent. I loved the way the aliens talked as well as the gestures used to give the story an alien quality. The locations were also varied and interesting.
2. I liked that the Luke was in almost constant danger. It helped the plot move even when there were plot issues.
3. The main character's voice was unique and good.
4. The editing and prose were without fault. There were no typos or weird syntax issues tripping up the reading experience.

What I think would've made it better.
1. The pacing was off. The end of Act 1 came very early in the story, which lead to the fact that...
2. Even though Luke was on a mission to save his parents at the beginning of Act 2, I felt zero empathy for his situation because it was never established that his parents being gone had brought distress to his life. Act 1 could have been bolstered to give us more background and help us care more.
3. [SPOILER] Luke as a main character didn't seem to have a character arc. While he is the protagonist of the story, he does very little and even himself says at the end of the book that Leonidas and Simon are the real superheros. And they were...they did basically everything.
4. While Luke was in danger, there was one instance that, as far as I can tell, had no impact on the plot whatsoever. He gets lost and captured only to get rescued and then the plot resumes. Maybe it's a plant for the next book in the series, but even if that's true, it needed a better integration with the plot of this story.

Final Analysis:
I actually liked this book more than I have a right to. The writing was fluid and fun, as were many of the concepts. I think I read it more for the fun and interesting world-building rather than the plot. And unfortunately, the plot and character arc take a back seat. I still recommend it to people who enjoy the genre or are just interested in spending some time in an alien world. ...more

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Feb 20, 2017 Starfighter rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebooks, fiction, children, fantasy

Thoroughly enjoyed the book, even though the target audience is probably around half a century younger than I am. I'll be on the look out for visitors on my walk - you never know ...more

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Sep 11, 2016 Ryan H rated it it was ok

I actually have to give this one too. Five. There were a lot of things to like about this book but one thing I found was it was too short and I really wanted more. You definitely cannot go wrong with an alien abduction story as others have stated below me I feel the same way however when it came to some aspects of the background story and a little bit of character development I thought could've been extended. It was a very cool story and had some very cool aspects which gave it just a little som ...more

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Apr 04, 2016 William rated it it was amazing

I was offered this book for free in exchange for an honest Review. I had explained to the Author that I'd write and post a review if I felt the book deserved at least a Four Star rating; less than that and I would give him a private review and critique his work. Since I'm writing a review, you already know I've given him a four star or better review.
To be totally honest, when I began to read this I wasn't sure I would enjoy it because I thought having a 14 year old as the main character was go ...more

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May 18, 2016 Bruce Blanchard rated it really liked it

Genre: YA and Science Fiction

Abducted: Escape From..... was a request for a review and given its primary focus has taken a while. Not that it's bad...just a different venue from my usual. The basic plot without a lot of teasers is a boy living with his grandparents on a farm. A disturbance breaks the night with aliens attempting to milk a cow? The boy awakes in the company of two aliens who are trying to release his supposedly dead parents held in the grasp of a military minded planet. Earth boy ...more

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Nov 16, 2016 Charles van Buren rated it it was amazing

Great entertainment for all ages, May 7, 2016

Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Abducted: Escape From Kraile (Abducted Series Book 1) (Kindle Edition)

This is a well written and edited novel which reminds me of Heinlein's juveniles in the themes explored. Family, courage, loyalty and a sense of adventure are among those themes. Just as with Heinlein, even though the target audience is young adults, the story is written well enough to appeal to all ages
I thought that I had found t ...more

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Mar 26, 2016 Mary rated it it was amazing

Abducted: Escape from Kraile is a great read. I read the book from start to finish in one sitting.

The story begins with 13 year old Luke Summers hearing and seeing a commotion during a storm on his grandpa's farm. What he wasn't prepared for was what he saw - two aliens trying to milk the cow. Next thing you know, Luke has elsewhere - but not being used for research. It turns out the aliens had been looking for him. Five years earlier, Luke's parents, astronauts, had been pronounced dead after t ...more

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Sep 24, 2016 Jean rated it really liked it

A Young Adult or "Junior" level Halloween Story..

** A Few Spoilers **

Luke, the male lead, hears strange noises outside one night so he goes out to investigate.

He ends up seeing two aliens near his cow.

Luke blacks out and wakes to find that he is apart some "alien mission".

He wants no part of the mission, that is.. until the aliens make him an offer that he can't

refuse.

There are several obstacles that Luke has to overcome.

This book was interesting and suspenseful read which made it an overall g ...more

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Jun 18, 2016 Manny rated it it was ok

Maybe its because I've read sci-fi novels and action/adventure novels before but I found this story rather flat. Even when I thought things would improve, for example, when Luke was going into an arena to fight an alien, it fizzled out.

You can blame Star Wars, because naming a character Luke and placing him in a science fiction setting seemed so wrong to me. Plus the fact that Luke was constantly scared. I know he's only a teenager but it annoyed me. Heroes need to overcome their fears at SOME ...more

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Aug 21, 2016 Andre rated it really liked it

"This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobook Blast."

A good space adventure for tweens.
I class this book in the pre-teen range (tween). I would have loved to have this kind of book when I was at that age. Great narration and the different voicing of each character was nicely performed. Luke's adventure has a bit of everything, even humour is blended in well. The trials that young Luke has to surmount to save ...more

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Apr 03, 2016 Kelly Coffman rated it really liked it

I wasn't sure what I expected when I started reading this book. The hero of the story is a fourteen-year-old young man named Luke, so I wasn't sure that being a grown woman I would be able to connect. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The trips in spaceships, visiting a violent planet, and the making of alien friends all make for great fun. I could actually see this being made into a movie. Enjoy. ...more

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Apr 03, 2016 Judy A. Ptacek rated it really liked it

Out of this world adventurer

Luke is abducted by aliens that are planning to rescue his parents and their crew that went missing on a Mars mission and were presumed dead. He is excited to learn his parents and crew are alive but need to be rescued. Luke goes on quite an interesting time having gruesome experiences. With the help of friendly pair of loyal aliens he has success. Well worth your time to read. I recommend it for YA and adults that are young at heart.

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Dec 18, 2016 Deedra rated it really liked it

This was a fun book.Our main character runs into aliens milking his cow and finds out that his long dead parents were really abducted and not dead.This leads to a search and maybe even a rescue if everything can come together.We learn where some earth customs came from,and wish they'd have kept them.We see friendships form and end abruptly.Braden Wright is a very good narrator.I was goven this book free from the author,narrator or publisher. ...more

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Jun 02, 2016 Terrie Stamey rated it it was amazing

Abducted

What a fun read. Didn't know what to expect, but it turned out to be exciting. You really get into Luke and what happens when he meets up with aliens in his grandfather's barn, trying to milk a cow. He goes on a wild ride with them to find his parent's that were abducted years before. You'll love this book! ...more

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Jun 10, 2016 Christine rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 25, 2016 Teri Miller rated it really liked it

Cute idea, enjoyed this book a lot. It turned out to be more violent than I thought it'd be. From the cover and the blurb I was expecting more humor. I do recommend it, just don't expect to be laughing your way through it. ...more

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Apr 09, 2016 alan mills rated it it was amazing

Great

Had a wonderful time reading this story. Up most of the night reading I would really suggest reading this book

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Apr 18, 2016 Debrac2014 rated it liked it

I enjoyed this free short story! Can't go wrong with alien abduction! ...more

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Apr 22, 2016 Justin rated it it was amazing

Amazing

This book was amazing! I loved it so much. I really hope there will be another book because I would definitely buy it. You should definitely read this.

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