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ki4eva's review against another edition
2.0
This book started out good, but slowly went down hill. I really liked part 1 and half of part 2. By part 3 I was just annoyed with the characters.
rubenstein's review against another edition
2.0
http://theprettygoodgatsby.wordpress.com/2013/04/22/taken-by-erin-bowman/
For the boys in Claysoot, "live fast, die young" is a way of life. No one knows how or why, but on a boy's eighteenth birthday, he's Heisted: completely wiped off the face of the earth with no trace. To ensure their society doesn't die out, each month teens are slated, or paired up with one another in the hopes of, well, conceiving a child. The only love felt is between a mother and child; what's the point of falling in love if a boy is going to vanish one day?
Life is hard in Claysoot, and for Gray Weathersby, it just got a whole lot harder. After his older brother Blaine is Heisted, Gray can't function. His brother left behind a hole in Gray that can't be filled and a pain that won't fade over time (although Gray knows that in just one year he'll be Heisted too). After his mother died, Blaine was the only family Gray had. Now he's totally alone.
Despite a lifetime of horror stories about The Wall - those who attempt to climb over and escape return as charred bodies - Gray decides to climb and see if there's more to life than his tiny town. An overheard conversation, along with a revealed secret, make him question his entire life. Determined, he leaves Claysoot followed by Emma, his long-time crush.
Taken ENRAGED me. When I first heard about this book it seemed like fun - not to mention it had a male protagonist! Within the first ten pages, however, I was entirely fed up and wanted to throw the book down. Gray is not a likable guy. At all. Or, sure, there are moments where he says or does something that were meant to make the reader feel sympathetic (he can't bear the thought of going through with a slating and have a child who will grow up without a father, when the New Girl comes along Gray pushes all thoughts of her aside for Emma, etc), but ultimately fail.
There isn't a single redeeming quality about Gray. Those first ten pages I just mentioned? They include an all-out fistfight with a girl. A girl made him angry, so he punched her. Multiple times. No. No, no, NO. This act of violence does absolutely nothing for the plot (other than point out what a dick Gray is) apart from showing Blaine is supposed to be the level-headed brother. Apparently in this case, level-headed means someone who doesn't go around randomly punching girls.
Things go from bad to worse with this book. Gray hurts people (physically and emotionally) for the sake of hurting them, there are plot twists galore, and the writing suffers from a SEVERE case of telling, not showing.
I could rant about this book until I'm blue in the face, but I'll leave you with this: don't waste your time with Taken. Go find a copy of The Village and waste two hours with that movie instead.
For the boys in Claysoot, "live fast, die young" is a way of life. No one knows how or why, but on a boy's eighteenth birthday, he's Heisted: completely wiped off the face of the earth with no trace. To ensure their society doesn't die out, each month teens are slated, or paired up with one another in the hopes of, well, conceiving a child. The only love felt is between a mother and child; what's the point of falling in love if a boy is going to vanish one day?
Life is hard in Claysoot, and for Gray Weathersby, it just got a whole lot harder. After his older brother Blaine is Heisted, Gray can't function. His brother left behind a hole in Gray that can't be filled and a pain that won't fade over time (although Gray knows that in just one year he'll be Heisted too). After his mother died, Blaine was the only family Gray had. Now he's totally alone.
Despite a lifetime of horror stories about The Wall - those who attempt to climb over and escape return as charred bodies - Gray decides to climb and see if there's more to life than his tiny town. An overheard conversation, along with a revealed secret, make him question his entire life. Determined, he leaves Claysoot followed by Emma, his long-time crush.
Taken ENRAGED me. When I first heard about this book it seemed like fun - not to mention it had a male protagonist! Within the first ten pages, however, I was entirely fed up and wanted to throw the book down. Gray is not a likable guy. At all. Or, sure, there are moments where he says or does something that were meant to make the reader feel sympathetic (he can't bear the thought of going through with a slating and have a child who will grow up without a father, when the New Girl comes along Gray pushes all thoughts of her aside for Emma, etc), but ultimately fail.
There isn't a single redeeming quality about Gray. Those first ten pages I just mentioned? They include an all-out fistfight with a girl. A girl made him angry, so he punched her. Multiple times. No. No, no, NO. This act of violence does absolutely nothing for the plot (other than point out what a dick Gray is) apart from showing Blaine is supposed to be the level-headed brother. Apparently in this case, level-headed means someone who doesn't go around randomly punching girls.
Things go from bad to worse with this book. Gray hurts people (physically and emotionally) for the sake of hurting them, there are plot twists galore, and the writing suffers from a SEVERE case of telling, not showing.
I could rant about this book until I'm blue in the face, but I'll leave you with this: don't waste your time with Taken. Go find a copy of The Village and waste two hours with that movie instead.
sage_bee's review against another edition
3.0
In the future, there is a place called Claysoot. a place where boys are taken on their 18th birthday. No one knows where they go, they are simply gone. The people call it the Heist.
When Grey Weathersby's older brother Blaine is Heisted, Grey finds a note from his mother, and after doing some digging, he finds out that Blaine was actually his twin.
Taken, by Erin Bowman, is a pretty good book. It combines adventure, romance, and a futuristic dystopian society to make an engaging story. However it is lacking something for me, because I am not able to relate to the characters very much, the story being about an 18-year-old boy, and I being a girl significantly younger.
This book is not appropriate for anyone under 13 because of overly romantic content.
(you know what I mean)I think that someone between the ages of 16 and 18 would be able to relate to the characters and therefore enjoy this book the most.
When Grey Weathersby's older brother Blaine is Heisted, Grey finds a note from his mother, and after doing some digging, he finds out that Blaine was actually his twin.
Taken, by Erin Bowman, is a pretty good book. It combines adventure, romance, and a futuristic dystopian society to make an engaging story. However it is lacking something for me, because I am not able to relate to the characters very much, the story being about an 18-year-old boy, and I being a girl significantly younger.
This book is not appropriate for anyone under 13 because of overly romantic content.
(you know what I mean)I think that someone between the ages of 16 and 18 would be able to relate to the characters and therefore enjoy this book the most.
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
3.0
Falls in the category of "No IRB in the world would approve this", interesting world and characters, but a lot of it seems implausible (how do you climb a wall carrying a lit (fire) torch?) and it skips around a lot feeling like parts are missing. Note some content may not be suitable for all readers.
beccahiltz93's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
The plot was the only thing that kept me reading! I had a very hard time with the pacing because it felt slow paced and then would pick up then slow back down…
It was a cool concept and world but I don’t know if I have it in me to read the other two.
It was a cool concept and world but I don’t know if I have it in me to read the other two.
chantaal's review against another edition
2.0
Boring.
There is nothing interesting or new in this one, just another paint-by-the-numbers dystopian novel with lots of twists and secrets and action and instalove triangles and characters I barely remember at all. I did skim the last half of the novel, but at that point I was bored and only wanted some answers to all the secrets flying around.
One good thing: Gray gets answers pretty quickly (and more questions, but then those get answered as well). That was nice.
There is nothing interesting or new in this one, just another paint-by-the-numbers dystopian novel with lots of twists and secrets and action and instalove triangles and characters I barely remember at all. I did skim the last half of the novel, but at that point I was bored and only wanted some answers to all the secrets flying around.
One good thing: Gray gets answers pretty quickly (and more questions, but then those get answered as well). That was nice.
elevetha's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not sure what to say about this one. It was okay, I guess, but I had little to no interest in the story or the characters, and what interest I did have was mostly hoping that person would die so I wouldn't have to endure his/her whining for the rest of the book. Does that count? Oh, and bashing my head against the wall at the hideous love triangle.
Gah, I hate Gray and Emma. Bree was fine. *squints* Mostly.
Gah, I hate Gray and Emma. Bree was fine. *squints* Mostly.
oneandonlywm3's review against another edition
2.0
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 bad?" And my answer, as usual, is that no, it wasn't that bad. It was just that bad in my case, because I've given up on the genre a long time ago. I'm sure another question pops in your head, "Why the fuck did you read this then?", and my answer is that I'm still looking for YA books that are actually good. I'm sure there are a bunch of them out there, and I don't want to be labeled a genre discriminator. I may have a negative perception of the novel, but at least I still try to read some from time to time.
The idea of boys disappearing on their 18th birthday did catch my interest, but what i failed to realize early on was that this was so similar to The Maze Runner. I mostly ignore and forgive such similarities because I'm sure the author didn't copy TMR. It was just a realization I had about 200 pages in.
I didn't like the writing because it was too spoon-fed. It's like the author didn't even want the readers to think on their own. This is not a children's novel, and I'm pretty sure most teenagers can decipher ideas on their own. That's one of biggest problems I had with this novel.
Even though I didn't enjoy this, I still won't spoil anything for interested readers. I guess you'll have to see for yourself if this is good or bad.
1.5/5 stars. Not recommending this because I didn't even finish it to begin with. Hoping other YA fanatics would enjoy this though.
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 bad?" And my answer, as usual, is that no, it wasn't that bad. It was just that bad in my case, because I've given up on the genre a long time ago. I'm sure another question pops in your head, "Why the fuck did you read this then?", and my answer is that I'm still looking for YA books that are actually good. I'm sure there are a bunch of them out there, and I don't want to be labeled a genre discriminator. I may have a negative perception of the novel, but at least I still try to read some from time to time.
The idea of boys disappearing on their 18th birthday did catch my interest, but what i failed to realize early on was that this was so similar to The Maze Runner. I mostly ignore and forgive such similarities because I'm sure the author didn't copy TMR. It was just a realization I had about 200 pages in.
I didn't like the writing because it was too spoon-fed. It's like the author didn't even want the readers to think on their own. This is not a children's novel, and I'm pretty sure most teenagers can decipher ideas on their own. That's one of biggest problems I had with this novel.
Even though I didn't enjoy this, I still won't spoil anything for interested readers. I guess you'll have to see for yourself if this is good or bad.
1.5/5 stars. Not recommending this because I didn't even finish it to begin with. Hoping other YA fanatics would enjoy this though.
prairiedances's review against another edition
3.0
I'm always a fans of stories of siblings such as Blaine and Gray (won't go farther than that due to spoilers) and I like Gray as a character. That said this reminded me a lot of all the other dystopians that came before this one. Which is a shame because it's written pretty well. Hunger Games is so popular because it was fresh and exciting. I think dystopians can continue but they got to stop being so similar. And enough with the love triangles!! I will read more though to see where the story goes because Gray's a cool guy.
g8girl's review against another edition
3.0
There are no men in Claysoot.
Gray Weatherby grows up waiting for the day his brother will be taken or 'heisted' on his eighteenth birthday. Just as he waits for his own 365 days later.
The village of Claysoot feels a lot like District 13, and the heists feel a lot like the reaping. The main character is an excellent archer and uses this skill to provide for his family. He is harsh and acts on his feelings/instincts before thinking. Everyone likes his brother better (homage to Katniss and Prim with the ages reversed ).
The wall surrounding Claysoot keeps them from the outside world and Gray means to climb over it and see what's on the other side. When he gets there however he finds friends who may not be exactly what they seem (homage to Divergent and the Giver).
We discover the state of the world is very much like the one present in Legend.
And of course throw in your teenage love trial, your long missing friends, sacrifice and all the secondary characters making plans about the main character withouth his knowledge and you've got Taken....and the Hunger Games, and Divergent, Legend, Matched...you get the picture.
Not a bad book overall but certainly nothing new. I'd like to see the authour take book two in a different direction.
Gray Weatherby grows up waiting for the day his brother will be taken or 'heisted' on his eighteenth birthday. Just as he waits for his own 365 days later.
The village of Claysoot feels a lot like District 13, and the heists feel a lot like the reaping. The main character is an excellent archer and uses this skill to provide for his family. He is harsh and acts on his feelings/instincts before thinking. Everyone likes his brother better (homage to Katniss and Prim with the ages reversed ).
The wall surrounding Claysoot keeps them from the outside world and Gray means to climb over it and see what's on the other side. When he gets there however he finds friends who may not be exactly what they seem (homage to Divergent and the Giver).
We discover the state of the world is very much like the one present in Legend.
And of course throw in your teenage love trial, your long missing friends, sacrifice and all the secondary characters making plans about the main character withouth his knowledge and you've got Taken....and the Hunger Games, and Divergent, Legend, Matched...you get the picture.
Not a bad book overall but certainly nothing new. I'd like to see the authour take book two in a different direction.