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brittney_tyler 's review for:
The Taken
by Inbali Iserles
Star Rating: 5 stars
After reading quite a few epic fantasy books in a roll, I decided to break it up and read one of what I classify as my “palate-cleansing” books. This are usually middle-grade books told through the perspective of animals, for example, Erin Hunter’s Warriors, Seekers, Survivors, or Bravelands books, Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’Hoole or Wolves of the Beyond books, or Tui T. Sutherland’s Wings of Fire books, because they give me a break from the scheming and manipulation that most books told from the perspective of humans entail (and most humans participate in real life) and allow me to step into the mind of some of my favorite animals/mythical creatures. The one I chose to pick up this time was Foxcraft: The Taken by Inbali Iserles, and this one was new for me. I love foxes, Iserles is one of the women behind Erin Hunter, and there were blurbs from the previously mentioned Tui T. Sutherland and Kathryn Lasky on the back so I had high hopes for this one, and I have to say I was not disappointed in the slightest.
This tells the story of Isla and Pirie, two young foxes that were born in the middle of winter, a time when not very many fox cubs are born. Because of this, they are naturally skilled in the magic of their species called Foxcraft and are unnaturally powerful, and this leads to them getting involved in conflicts that have nothing to do with them. Isla stays out a little too late and goes back to her family’s den to find them gone, strange foxes patrolling around it, and her brother, Pirie, missing. She, later, finds out that because she and Pirie are so powerful, the different groups of foxes that are vying for power in the Wildlands want to use them for their own purposes. However, all Isla wants to do is find her brother and live their lives in peace because they didn’t ask for their power and the conflicts brewing in the Wildlands have nothing to do with them.
The best thing about this story has to be the unique perspective that we get of the world that we all know and are used to. We get to see ordinary things, events, and actions through the eyes of foxes, which lead to things becoming much more meaningful and important. For example, Isla ends up stumbling into a zoo or wildlife sanctuary (not for sure which), and meets a wolf that has been driven mad because it is imprisoned alone with no pack. She wonders why the “furless” or humans would do such a thing- don’t they know that for a wolf to be without his pack is to be without his soul, they are so dependent on their packs they have, for the most part, lost their ability to be alone. As humans, sometimes we forget that animals have families, families that they are dependent on to be happy, healthy, and safe. However, with her unique perspective, Isla reminds us of that. Another example would what Isla calls the “snatchers” or as we know them, animal control officers. She sees them rounding up foxes and putting them in their “manglers” aka cars and taking them away never to be seen again. We know that they are taking them to a place of supposed safety, whether it is an animal sanctuary or the wilderness, which Isla knows as the Wildlands, but to her it seems like we are the enemy, stealing her kinsmen from the only life that they know. Through Isla’s eyes, we learn to respect the world around her and the creatures that live in it and make us want to take care of and save it so that it can continue to a home for all the creatures that depend on it.
With all the technical names for the different things that the foxes come into contact with (knowing what they call their territories, what they call different parts of their anatomy, and what their social hierarchy is, etc.) and the sensible mythology/culture that she is able to develop for them, we can see Iserles did her homework. She obviously spent lots of time watching foxes interact with each other in the wild or in captivity, and she must have talk to lots of experts in order to get the authentic feel of how foxes would interact in certain situations and scenarios as well as with each other and how they would view certain situations and it shows. Also, the mythology/culture that she comes up for them is entirely believable, and the experience that she gained by working with the other members of Erin Hunter’s team is put on display. One of the hardest things when it comes to these kinds of books is realizing that even though these are animals, they would still have belief systems- even they wonder where they came from, why they exist, and where they go when they die. Because of this, they have to have a mythology. Also, they are going to interact with other of their kinds and have interactions with other animals in their environment so they would have to have some kind of culture to dictate their actions- they don’t just react a certain way because they can, there has to be a logical reason. The author that realizes this and is able to give her book those critical elements in a way that makes sense is going to be very successful, and Iserles is, in my opinion, one of the best at it.
In conclusion, I greatly enjoyed this book, and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Also, I will be interested to read any other books that Iserles puts out, whether they be along these same lines or not. I really think that she is going to be one of my favorites that I return to again and again, whenever I need a break from the cycle of epic and high fantasy.
After reading quite a few epic fantasy books in a roll, I decided to break it up and read one of what I classify as my “palate-cleansing” books. This are usually middle-grade books told through the perspective of animals, for example, Erin Hunter’s Warriors, Seekers, Survivors, or Bravelands books, Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’Hoole or Wolves of the Beyond books, or Tui T. Sutherland’s Wings of Fire books, because they give me a break from the scheming and manipulation that most books told from the perspective of humans entail (and most humans participate in real life) and allow me to step into the mind of some of my favorite animals/mythical creatures. The one I chose to pick up this time was Foxcraft: The Taken by Inbali Iserles, and this one was new for me. I love foxes, Iserles is one of the women behind Erin Hunter, and there were blurbs from the previously mentioned Tui T. Sutherland and Kathryn Lasky on the back so I had high hopes for this one, and I have to say I was not disappointed in the slightest.
This tells the story of Isla and Pirie, two young foxes that were born in the middle of winter, a time when not very many fox cubs are born. Because of this, they are naturally skilled in the magic of their species called Foxcraft and are unnaturally powerful, and this leads to them getting involved in conflicts that have nothing to do with them. Isla stays out a little too late and goes back to her family’s den to find them gone, strange foxes patrolling around it, and her brother, Pirie, missing. She, later, finds out that because she and Pirie are so powerful, the different groups of foxes that are vying for power in the Wildlands want to use them for their own purposes. However, all Isla wants to do is find her brother and live their lives in peace because they didn’t ask for their power and the conflicts brewing in the Wildlands have nothing to do with them.
The best thing about this story has to be the unique perspective that we get of the world that we all know and are used to. We get to see ordinary things, events, and actions through the eyes of foxes, which lead to things becoming much more meaningful and important. For example, Isla ends up stumbling into a zoo or wildlife sanctuary (not for sure which), and meets a wolf that has been driven mad because it is imprisoned alone with no pack. She wonders why the “furless” or humans would do such a thing- don’t they know that for a wolf to be without his pack is to be without his soul, they are so dependent on their packs they have, for the most part, lost their ability to be alone. As humans, sometimes we forget that animals have families, families that they are dependent on to be happy, healthy, and safe. However, with her unique perspective, Isla reminds us of that. Another example would what Isla calls the “snatchers” or as we know them, animal control officers. She sees them rounding up foxes and putting them in their “manglers” aka cars and taking them away never to be seen again. We know that they are taking them to a place of supposed safety, whether it is an animal sanctuary or the wilderness, which Isla knows as the Wildlands, but to her it seems like we are the enemy, stealing her kinsmen from the only life that they know. Through Isla’s eyes, we learn to respect the world around her and the creatures that live in it and make us want to take care of and save it so that it can continue to a home for all the creatures that depend on it.
With all the technical names for the different things that the foxes come into contact with (knowing what they call their territories, what they call different parts of their anatomy, and what their social hierarchy is, etc.) and the sensible mythology/culture that she is able to develop for them, we can see Iserles did her homework. She obviously spent lots of time watching foxes interact with each other in the wild or in captivity, and she must have talk to lots of experts in order to get the authentic feel of how foxes would interact in certain situations and scenarios as well as with each other and how they would view certain situations and it shows. Also, the mythology/culture that she comes up for them is entirely believable, and the experience that she gained by working with the other members of Erin Hunter’s team is put on display. One of the hardest things when it comes to these kinds of books is realizing that even though these are animals, they would still have belief systems- even they wonder where they came from, why they exist, and where they go when they die. Because of this, they have to have a mythology. Also, they are going to interact with other of their kinds and have interactions with other animals in their environment so they would have to have some kind of culture to dictate their actions- they don’t just react a certain way because they can, there has to be a logical reason. The author that realizes this and is able to give her book those critical elements in a way that makes sense is going to be very successful, and Iserles is, in my opinion, one of the best at it.
In conclusion, I greatly enjoyed this book, and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Also, I will be interested to read any other books that Iserles puts out, whether they be along these same lines or not. I really think that she is going to be one of my favorites that I return to again and again, whenever I need a break from the cycle of epic and high fantasy.