Review: Taken by Erin Bowman




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 question everything he’s been raised to accept: the Council leaders and their obvious secrets. The Heist itself. And what lies beyond the Wall that surrounds Claysoot–a structure that no one can cross and survive.
Climbing the Wall is suicide, but what comes after the Heist could be worse. Should he sit back and wait to be taken–or risk everything on the hope of the other side (goodreads)?


1/2
ARC provided by the dolls at HarperTeen

What started off as a questionable read became an instant 2013 read!

Gray's adventure starts on the last day that he will ever see his brother alive. In order to escape this faith he attempts to climb over the wall that seals his small town and finds himself in the middle of a war that will decide the fate of Claysoot. 

Taken begins Hunger Games-eque. Gray lives in a poor town with little to no technology. Bowman doesn't waste any time, she introduces the problem, a couple of key characters, and the book is nonstop from there.In the  beginning it started off a bit rushed, with Gray being taken from point A, to point B, to point C. Like honestly, I had to take a break because there were too many locations, too much new information and too many betrayals for one-sitting. Once the real enemy surfaced,  I was able to follow the plot better and I felt like it had an end point with clear direction. Once I understood the direction this story was taking I could appreciate everything that happened. I understood what Bowman wanted to do with this story but the pacing at the beginning could have better. 

Gray....Gray was an interesting character. I wasn't his biggest fan, but I enjoyed going along with him for his adventures. He was a bit petty at times and sometimes I felt that his character was lost in all of the chaos of the plot.  I thought he was a well-written and complex character. What I thought was most interesting was the love triangle that surrounded him. I don't normally read about love triangles centered around a male protagonist so it was interesting to read about the inner struggle that Gray was having and how he dealt with having these conflicting emotions. 

This book confused me, intrigued me and had me jumping up and down for more. I can see this becoming a movie sometime in the near future. Erin Bowman, you've got yourself a fan!


Labels: , , ,