Taken

by Edward Bloor

BY 2035 THE RICH have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer, and kidnapping has become a major growth industry in the United States. The children of privilege live in secure, gated communities and are escorted to and from school by armed guards.But the security around Charity Meyers has broken down. On New Year's morning, she wakes and finds herself alone, strapped to a stretcher, in an ambulance that's not moving. She is amazingly calm - kids in her neighborhood have been well trained in kidnapping protocol. If this were a normal kidnapping, Charity would be fine. But as the hours of her imprisonment tick by, Charity realizes there is nothing normal about what's going on here. No training could prepare her for what her kidnappers really want . . . and worse, for who they turn out to be.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Dystopia, Adventure, Teen

258 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Edward (William) Bloor

Personal Information: Born October 12, 1950, in Trenton, NJ; son of Edward William and Mary (Cowley) Bloor; married Pamela Dixon (a teacher), August 4, 1984. Father to a daughter and a son. Education: Fordham University, B.A., 1973.

Career: Novelist and editor. English teacher in Florida public high schools, 1983-86; Harcourt Brace School Publishers, Orlando, FL, senior editor, beginning 1986.

* Tangerine, Harcourt Brace (San Diego, CA), 1997.
* Crusader, Harcourt Brace (San Diego, CA), 1999.
* Story Time, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2004.
* London Calling, Knopf (New York, NY), 2006.
* Taken, Knopf (New York, NY,) 2007.

Media Adaptations:
Tangerine audiobook, Recorded Books, 2001.
Story Time audiobook, Recorded Books, 2005.
London Calling audiobook, Recorded Books, 2006.

Reviews

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Lynn Crow for TeensReadToo.com

Ever since her dad invented a super-effective bronzing treatment, Charity's been living the life of the coddled rich, in a guarded estate of a select 120 homes, with servants to see to all of her family's needs. But being rich has its downsides, too -- she can rarely go beyond the walls of the estate, her father and ex-stepmother are too busy with their own lives to concern themselves with hers, and being a rich kid makes her the target of the growing kidnapping industry.

When Charity finds herself taken by mysterious men in an ambulance, she decides to follow the rules to the letter to ensure that she'll be delivered safely home as soon as the ransom is paid. But the longer she spends with the kidnappers, the more clear it becomes that their plans are more complicated than she could have imagined.

TAKEN puts readers right inside Charity's head, making every moment of the kidnapping as vivid as if they were experiencing it themselves. Charity's reactions are believable and poignant. With every frightening development and shocking twist, readers will find themselves right there with her, quickly turning the pages to learn what will happen next. Charity herself is a strong heroine, practical, scared, yet not afraid to put up a fight when she has to.

Readers may have a hard time relating to the world the novel portrays and the isolation in which Charity now lives with her family's newfound wealth. The society seems very strongly divided between the rich and poor, with little room in between. Nonetheless, it provides a pointed commentary on many of the advantages the privileged in today's world take for granted, and the struggles of those who do not have those advantages. TAKEN is sure to provoke thoughtful discussion among its readers.

For both its tense and unpredictable story and its social commentary, TAKEN is a great read. Be forewarned -- with so many twists, at least one is guaranteed to take you completely (and pleasantly) by surprise!

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really need a bookshelf labeled "books so awful I couldn't finish them".

Female main character (FMC), who I didn't care enough about to actually remember her name, is a priviledged white girl living in Florida(?) in the not-so-distant future when kidnapping is a legitimate industry. Rich kids get kidnapped, their parents pay up, they are returned safely 24 hours later. While it's still a traumatic event, it's pretty much expected.

But when FMC is kidnapped, it's not a normal kidnapping. But we don't find out WHY it's not a normal kidnapping for-ev-er because, in order to stay calm, she decides to take us through ridiculously boring flashbacks of what her life was like before being kidnapped. (Promising idea, poor delivery.) Then, of course, there is the BIG TWIST at the end. Not so big. Not so twisty, actually.

A tantalizing idea for a teen novel, but ultimately a let down.

[Nate U. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taken:

A Tale of Finding True Meaning in Life
Have you ever felt like something you’re doing is pointless, that you’re only doing it to keep your head above water, and that it is not benefiting you nor anyone else? In Taken, by Edward Bloor, this idea is explored. The book, a quick science fiction read, is set in 2035, in a community called The Highlands, which is somewhere in the United States. Because of something called the “World Credit Crash”, kidnapping has become a major industry. Many rich families, including the main character, Charity’s, will do anything to protect their children from kidnappers. Kids have GPS chips implanted inside of them, and are constantly watched by personal armed guards with machine guns. The story describes how a mysterious man named “Dr. Reyes” and Charity’s bodyguard Albert kidnap her. While her dad is bringing the ransom, his helicopter is electrocuted and he supposedly dies. But it turns out that Charity’s dad really is Dr. Reyes, and he kidnapped her so he could escape from his boring job and rich person life to go start a life as a doctor helping poor families. I thought this book was okay, and I would give it 3 stars. One of the main themes in Taken is that things aren’t always the way you think they are because Dr. Reyes was actually Charity’s dad, Albert was kidnapping her to help her and her family, and that Charity's dad wasn't who she thought he was.

Taken really shows that things aren’t always the way they seem because Dr. Reyes was actually Charity’s dad! The whole time she was being kidnapped, Charity thought that Dr. Reyes was this evil man that was going to cut her up to take the GPS tracking device out of her so they couldn’t be tracked. The boy that was assigned to guard her told her that she should be quiet and not look in his eyes. Boy, was she surprised when she found out that Dr. Reyes was her dad! The text states, “He peeled off his surgical scrub shirt and then his pants, revealing a white cotton T-shirt and blue jeans beneath. He reached his right hand up and, in swift, methodical gestures, pulled off his surgical hat and mask, his dark glasses, and finally a black wig…. My eyes widened and dropped open. For there before me, risen from the depths of Deep Lake, was my father, Dr. Hank Meyers. After a long, long pause, I managed to whisper, ‘You… No. You’re dead.’” (pg 202) This shows how surprised she was that Hank (her dad) was actually alive. She is basically blinded by confusion, as she can't understand at all why her own father would kidnap her. Charity thought that Dr. Reyes was this greedy, evil man who wouldn't hesitate to harm her, but it turned out he was really her dad.

Also, the theme that things aren't always what they seem to be is shown when Albert was kidnapping Charity to help her and her family. Charity was outraged at him for betraying her, but he was actually helping with her dad's plot. The text says, “'I'm glad to see you (Albert) safe.' 'You need to know that I am the kidnapper.' (says Albert) His words did not register at all. 'What?' I stared at him for a long moment. Then I finally understood. 'No!'” (pg. 147) Charity thinks that she has been captured by Dr. Reyes and his squad of kidnappers, Monnonk and Dr. Lanyon, but it turns out that it was Albert all along. To even further this theme, it turns out that Albert wasn't kidnapping her for money, he was helping Charity's dad Hank escape from his meaningless rich person life as a dermatologist.

Finally, the theme of the book is demonstrated by the fact that Charity's dad isn't actually who she thought he was. She's under the impression that he is this rich doctor who loves college football and drinking, but it turns out that he has been sneaking out to be a doctor (in the name of Dr. Reyes) for poor families who can't afford health care. In the text, Hank (Charity's dad) says, “Every time Dr. Reyes appeared at the clinic and helped heal wounds and stop infections and save lives, he became stronger. And Dr. Hank Meyers, hiding behind his walls, hoarding his currency in his vault, became weaker. Soon I was actively plotting how to escape into Reyes full-time.” (page 218) In this quote, Hank is comparing himself to Jekyll and Hyde and telling how he his behavior as Hank Meyers was really just a mask. Hank is really not the way he seems.

One of the main themes in Taken is that things aren’t always the way you think they are because Dr. Reyes was actually Charity’s dad, Albert was kidnapping her to help her and her family, and that Charity's dad wasn't who she thought he was. I can really connect to this book because of how the grade older than me always seems so big and scary. In every grade I have been in, the grade older than me has always seemed so big and scary. Now, after being in quite a few grades, I have realized that there are only a couple people who would harm younger kids, so there's nothing to be afraid of. That's a pretty good example of how things aren't always the way they seem. I have learned in reading this book not to judge a book by its cover. This book had a really cool looking cover with some chess pieces on it (which usually means that the book is pretty good), and the back cover made it sound like it would be a fun read. I felt like this book had a great premise for a short story, but it was just WAY TOO SHORT. The descriptions and details weren't nearly long enough, especially when some of the major plot twists happened. This book was the first book I've read that really showed me that just because you have a great idea for a book, it doesn't mean that the end result will be good. If the author had spent a little more time on this, to make it into a real novel, then it could have been pretty good. But Taken just felt rushed, and in the end it didn't stand out from the many other short stories that I have read.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend the book Taken, by Edward Bloor to a friend because, it is a riveting story about one girls stress and agony of being taken. It describes and helps us understand her struggle to free her self from the hands of evil kidnappers. Taken takes place in 2036, where most children have a chip in them which tells the parents where the child is. Where they are kidnapped, that is what the kidnapper first looks for to take out so the parents can’t locate the child. The book has 5 main characters, Charity the girl who is kidnapped, her father, her butler Albert, and the kidnapper Dr. Reyes and his teen enemy and friend of Charity, Dessi. The book has great language. An example of this is on page 4, “I tired not to think about the dead empty room. All that was in it, me-myself-and I.” The quote shows strong language through Charity’s thoughts. Charity feels like she is secluded from the world while trapped in the room. She doesn’t know what will happen next. Charity is also very nervous and tries not to think about being trapped in the room, but she can’t. In the book Charity talks about her nervousness and says, “ Makes me feel like I swallowed a brick.” (pg.4) Charity is very stressed. However some people might think that the use of great language may be too descriptive and reveling for younger reader. But, the great language helps the reader get more of scene of tension in a scene. The book also displays imagery. On page 186, “ I noticed and opening between Dessi and the door. If Dessi would just move his arm I could make my escape. But should I? I don’t want to die.” In this quote the author lets the reader become part of the scene. Dessi is the friend and enemy of Charity. So if she escapes or tells Dessi will he go along with the plan? Or will he let Dr. Reyes know about Charity’s plan and have her killed? This is what Charity is trying to decide, and Edward Bloor opens the doorway into her thoughts. He lets you process Charity’s ideas and plans as she does in the book. This brings the book to life and the reader really connects with that scene. I could see into Charity’s point of view, instead of having to make up my own. On the other hand, people may think that the clear images in the book may be to elaborate or gruesome for younger readers, or even the readers who are very squeamish when it comes to death and torture. But the elaborate images in the book help create a clear picture of the story, which makes the book that much better. Taken also delivers on suspense, and a lot of it. On page 198, “I ran, I ran and didn’t stop. I knew that if I stopped then they would catch up to me. Not just Dessi and Dr. Reyes’ crew, but Dr. Reyes himself. He would surely kill me. I kept running. As Charity runs, runs from all the pain and hurting, the reader can feel her thoughts. I could feel the suffering that Charity was trying to run away from. As Charity runs she begins to get very tired, then she sees the lights of the ambulance she was just in. Dr. Reyes was after her and this is where the suspense really escalates. But Charity keeps running and doesn’t stop. Although some people may think suspense is scary, and again to gruesome for some reader, this is what moves the plot and the whole book along. Without the suspense in the book, the book would be very plain and boring. Charity may seem nervous during the book, but she is not. Charity is strong.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Once you've been taken, you usually have twenty-four hours left to live. By my reckoning that meant I had about twelve hours remaining."

An excellent opening which, unfortunately, in retrospect doesn't make much sense. Charity wakes on a stretcher in a van and immediately knows that she has been taken as part of the flourishing kidnapping industry. The problem with the opening sentence is that it is completely undermined by the premise that the kidnapping industry of this imagined near future only works because the victims are returned in 85% of the cases - meaning that most of the taken have far more than twenty-four hours to live. Opening line aside, Bloor effectively reveals what his future society looks like through Charity's memories of the previous few days before her kidnapping which she forces herself to relive in order to keep herself calm. As Charity begins to unravel who has taken her and why she soon comes to understand that this is no ordinary kidnapping. Taken was much more slowly paced than I expected based on the premise, but in some ways the slow reveal of Charity's world works as a metaphor for how junior high school students are often just beginning to wake up and observe the wider world around them. The action does pick up partway through and once things started happening, I didn't want to put it down, but the slow beginning makes this best for readers with patience.

[Ana Bierle czernek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a buddy-read with my 12 year old daughter. It was a surprisingly good read. I'd read mixed reviews on it, but she and I both thoroughly enjoyed it. There were twists and turns that we didn't predict. There was drama and suspense as well as intrigue and duplicity. Instead of following our initial plan to read it over the course of the week, we started and finished it the same day.

[Katie Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I felt like I was watching a soap opera.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

disappointing for the most part but had a very nice ending

[Saleh MoonWalker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Onvan : Taken - Nevisande : Edward Bloor - ISBN : 037593636X - ISBN13 : 9780375936364 - Dar 272 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2007

[Benjamin Lazzaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frustratingly simple and anticlimatic. Much like this review.

[Austin Hubler]

I liked this book. it gave me a different perspective on life and how someone can help people as much as they can. I learned a lot about dermatology (a skin doctor). I never truly knew what that was until I read this book. I liked how the author tricked me. I didn't think the father was the one who kidnapped charity. Next the author tricked me to believe that the father was at a football game. When he was really helping less fortunate people at work. Then they also made me think that the father was dead. All in all a good book I got confused sometimes but then it made sense after I thought about it. I would recommend to anyone who wants to read a pretty good book.

[Jamie Boeskool · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never got anywhere...

[Annie K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars.

The premise of this was so good, and I was so excited to read it!

But it was just kind of disappointing, and not all that great.

[Sommer Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was WAY different than you would expect or from books I have read in the past about kidnappings and criminal things. Right when you start the book the girl is already kidnapped instead of starting at home or from the beginning, she is already in danger. This makes the book a whole lot more entertaining and makes if way different than any other book that I had read. I love books that are exciting from the beginning. This girl, the main character, is a very smart person and knows a lot about kidnapping. She knows exactly what to do in most situations that happen, when and when not to escape which is very cool to read because it is not normal for a person to stay calm and know what to do. She hasn't escaped yet but I'm sure she will because she knows a lot about what she is doing. I really enjoy this book so far and can't put it down.

[Alex Templeton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first devoured Bloor's book "Tangerine" during my senior year in high school, when I figured I'd moved beyond young adult novels. A couple years later, I did the same with "Crusader". He is at his best and most compelling when he is writing about racial and most especially class issues; therefore, I was really pleased to see that "Taken" was a return to form after his somewhat disappointing novels "Story Time" (a meditation on the craziness of our standardized test culture) and "London Calling" (a WWII-era historical adventure story).

SPOILER ALERT!

I raced through this book. It had excellent suspense and great plot twists. I would certainly read it with one of my students; it would provide great discussion fodder. However, the message of the ending disturbs me. It turns out that the main character, Charity, has been kidnapped by her father so that he and she may have the opportunity to flee their oppressive, gated-community lives. If the point was simply that wealth too brings a life of oppression, but in its own way, I could have lived with that. But Charity's dad is a dermatologist, and decides that they are going to disappear and live fulfilling lives by changing their skin and hair color and living as a part of the Hispanic community, providing medical services to the poor. The medical services part I had no problem with. But there was an uncomfortable romanticizing of the poor community. Charity and her dad turn into Hispanic people, living in relative poverty and speaking the language. This is the way they are going to find fulfilling lives. The underlying message--that the life of the downtrodden is somehow more pure and fulfilling, forgetting the day-to-day difficulties of living as one of them, and recognizing that, if given the chance, many would likely choose an alternative--bothered me quite a bit. I usually don't appreciate when things are criticized on political levels. A story can only do so many things; better to see all the things something is rather than all the things it is not and had no room to be. Still, I wanted to speak up on this one.

I do recommend the book. I think Bloor is a great young adult author. I just think readers have to question the message of the ending.

[Jeannie]

Kidnapping becomes a major increase in America in 2035. Taken, by Edward Bloor, is a mystery novel that takes place in the future. The people of the Highlands take kidnapping very seriously and even have classes dedicated to it. Charity Meyers lives in a huge house with security guards and surveillance cameras everywhere in her house. Charity becomes kidnapped but this is nothing like what she was prepared for. She recreates the past three days in her mind to keep herself calm. She knows that even though she is kidnapped, her parents will pay the ridiculous amount of money to get their child back just like everyone else’s parent who had a child kidnapped…or will they.
Charity faces an external conflict because she has been kidnapped. She has to be able to stay alive and find out who the real kidnappers are. If this were a normal kidnapping, Charity would be fine. But as the time goes by, she realizes that there is nothing normal going on here. Nothing could prepare her for what the kidnappers really want.
I thought this book was good because some of it was told in the past and some of it was told in the present but the book itself took place in the future. It seems as if it would be confusing to follow but once you read it, you get the hang out it. I thought it was strong in describing the settings and the characters. The vivid descriptions of the characters made me feel like they were standing right in front of me. This book is not like any other book I read but I do recommend it to anyone who likes a good mystery or suspense.
(286)

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot of twists which was good, however, it was sort of slow paced. It felt like J Fic, but every once in a while threw in a curse word or suggestive comment to warrant it a YA. It felt like it did just enough to make it inappropriate for a 4th grader. Anyhoo, the story is set in the near future 2035/6 and kidnapping has become an industry. Wealthy kids are regularly kidnapped and there is a protocol to follow in order to get your child back. It starts with the main character, 13 year old Charity, realizing she has been "taken." Initially, I was excited about the book, it seemed like it was going to be in real time, but then we got a bunch of flashbacks (only mildly interesting ones at that) and it sort of made me loose interest. Like I said though, the twists were pretty good, and only some of them were predictable. I didn't really like the ending. It fell a little flat in the last 5 - 10 pages.

[Zora R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taken was a good book. It was a book full of suspense and also was full of action. The book is about a girl named Charity Meyers. She is a wealthy thirteen year old girl who lives in a rich neighborhood called the highlands with high security, due to kidnapping progression during the years. on a new years morning she found her self in an ambulance and has been taken. In the highlands they are trained to do whatever they are told to do. Unfortunately many things go wrong. I like the book but there could have been some improvements with the writing. For example it goes to many flashbacks that the main character goes through to not think of where she is and what she is doing, but it just confused to be honest. It could have had a couple of flashbacks but it was a whole week of flashbacks. Other than that I really liked the book. It has a lot of surprises and twists and turns. Over all it was a really good book.

[Dracolibris · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 2035, kidnapping is a growth industry and the children who live enclosed in guarded estates are taught tactics in school about how to act and cooperate if they happen to be "taken." This book begins with Charity awakening to discover that is exactly what has happened to her. She has been taken. But by who? Why her? And will her family cooperate fully?

This book was a fast, suspenseful read that had a few nice plot twists I didn't see coming from a mile away. While I may have rolled my eyes once or twice at the "be true to yourself" and "figure out how to really live life to the fullest" messages that cropped up in the end, I confess that I actually liked the ending, no matter how sappy. I definitely had a smile on my face as I turned the last page, and that is not something I can say for every book. :-)

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book takes place in the future where kidnapping has become a major industry, and rich kids are separated from poor families in high security gated neighborhoods. they dont even go to real schools. charity, the main character in this story, gets kidnapped on christmas during the night and can bareley remember what really happened because she was sick. while in the back of this ambulence that they whisked her away in, she tinks back to her most recent, vivid memories of her and her friends and family in the highlands, and after a while comes to realize that this is no average kidnapping, and what she thought was under control was relly the exact opposite, and nothing is really like it seems.

i personaly hated this book. i thought it was terrible and boring and a waste of time. i do not recomend this book to anyone.

[fruitcake · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 2035, the children of the rich are often kidnapped and held for ransom money, thus these kids are usually kept in gated communities with armed guards and rarely go outside them. Charity has been kidnapped and is waiting for her parents to follow the protocol and pay the money to get her back.

The first 150 pages were a mix of boring flashbacks and boring current-time/in-the-middle-of-the-kidnapping stuff. I guess the flashbacks were there to give you an idea of what life is like in 2035, but in the end, none of it really mattered and, for the most part, this kidnapping could have taken place almost the same way today. Once the flashbacks stopped and the kidnapping scenario got down to business, the book got much better. Still, I felt like it was too little, too late.

[Morgan Wendel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this book was really good and thought it had a lot of action. To me, this book was very hard to put down because it was so good. Throughout the entire book I just wanted to keep reading because when the kidnapping happened, everything and everyone changed and it was kind of intense. My favorite character was Charity because she never gave up on what she wanted to do and she wasn't selfish like some of the other characters in the book. My favorite part is when she tries to escape from the kidnappers, but fails when they catch her in an abandoned house. I gave this book a 5/5 because it was very well written and I loved that this book was hard to put down.

[Adele · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't really pulled into this book like I thought I should be for a kidnapping book. I was kind of reeled in, but maybe if the main character was less annoying I would have liked it better (don't you just hate those books were you just can't sympathise for the main character and you just WANT them to die). However I must say that the author gave an interesting dystopian future, that is a valid possibility of a future economy. And he managed to explore what gives us happiness. Money or freedom?

[Keith Bagdon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had one of the greatest hooks at the beginning to keep me reading, but then dives down into a terrible hole. It was really interesting, but got boring when charity (main character) remembered flash backs. There are like 100 boring and useless flashbacks that last 10-20 pages each. They don't add anything to the book, just keep the reader from the action. Don't feel bad if you find yourself skipping the useless flashbacks to get back into the action.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like how it was set up to be honest. I liked certain parts of it, particularly the parts where it was actually present time. But overall I couldn't really get into it.

[Haylee · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't think the book is that good it just drags on. It is really boring . Stuff hapens that knowbody needs to know

[Tegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. Going to be used for a middle school (7 & 8 grades) book club. Full review to come!

[Andre]

Exploring the Book “Taken” and Kidnapping
This story is about a girl who is kidnapped and the scenarios that occur throughout the book that can either kill her or keep her alive. Charity Meyers is the young girl who unsuspected got kidnapped in the “Highlands” which is the so called safe place for people who are in fear of being kidnapped. Protected by gates and guards its safe for people like Charity Meyers until one day she goes missing. Charity tries to negotiate with her kidnappers but that never worked. All the kidnappers want is money and it would take long for the kidnappers to come in to contact with Charity’s family. As a result, Charity must figure out why she was kidnapped and what she can do before her time runs out.
The style and quality of the novels writing is good because it has good vocabulary and good word choices that make the story flow well. The novel to me is a decent size book to read not to long but not to short. It’s a great novel to read because of the main conflict and the social justice issue being portrayed. The main conflict is about a girl who was kidnapped in a “safe place” if you have a fear of being kidnapped. The social justice issue being portrayed is kidnapping. Kidnapping is the abduction and restraint force of a person to be held captive against their will. In the book Charity Meyers is kidnapped and is held captive by her kidnappers who want money in exchange for her to be released. Kidnapping is a very significant issue that has taken the lives of many innocent people. Just like Charity Meyers she’s in risk of losing her life.
I would recommend the book “Taken” by Edward Bloor to teens. I recommend this book to them because it’s very interesting and has a good story line to it. I feel like it would be an appropriate book for teens to read. I also recommend this book to people who are interested about kidnapping or missing people. My opinion on the book is it’s a great novel to read to keep you interested throughout the book. It has all the right things an enjoyable book should have lots of pages, good plot, a sequel to the book etc. Overall, this book is good and I would like to read more books like this one.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is written by Edward blood. I've never read any other books by him but I really liked this one. His writing style is very realistic and he writes to tell you what's going on and the thought going through the characters head. I really liked that this book is so real, the emotions are real and so is the situations. The main character was charity. She had been kidnapped. Now it may not be easy to relate to that but the author puts you in her head and makes the emotions as vivid as possible. If you like realistic type book this is a good one for you. This books has many twists to keep you invested and I really liked that. The one this that made me feel a little disconnected from the book is the family aspect. Her family has a newfound wealth and a society that is very split. Although it does state what is good and bad about the way they live. In this book it talks about the many hardships that com along with family. Things like divorce and remarriage witch is easy to relate to. It also talks about the hardships of siblings. For someone who has experienced it in real life the situations are pretty accurate. Relating to a book always makes it a fun read. The thing I like most about this book is how the integrate the hardships of life in to a situation that could and does happen to some people.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The population's affluent, wealthy segment hides behind tall gates while everyone else lives in poverty — and a cottage industry focused on demands for kidnapping and ransom has become so widespread that middle-schoolers write papers on it. Charity is one of the few fortunate, and she knows exactly how to behave when she is kidnapped: be respectful, speak to your captors and hope that your parents will pay for it. Scenes interweave flashbacks and reveal how hollow her life was. But the kidnapping of Charity isn't what it looks like; her father created an elaborate illusion to break them free from their boundaries and create a new life. Filled with unsubtle race and wealth remarks, this still manages to be genuinely exciting although astute readers will see the twist early on. Charity’s self-possession strains credibility, as does her quick turnaround at the novel’s end, but this is competent near-future fiction.