{Review} of TAKEN by Erin Bowman

Taken by Erin Bowman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENRE: YA Dystopian
THEME: Romance, Mystery
RECEIVED: Edelweiss
AUTHORS BLOG: Erin Bowmans' Site

BLURB:

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?

REVIEW:
This book was a fantastic surprise, I’m always wary with dystopians because they have started to all sounds similar. But the best part of Taken was having a male as the lead protagonist, which I don’t read often. This book feels like your standing at the edge of a dangerous cliff from beginning to end, because there is so much danger and a lot of twist and turns that will shock the readers to the very last page.

Taken follows a seventeen year old named Gray. He lives in a town that has a tough setting on the 18th birthday of all males. When they reach midnight on their 18th they disspear without anyone knowing what happens to them, this is called the Heist. Gray is trying to cope with the fact his older brother has reached the day of his Heist and there is nothing he can do. But after he finds a letter from his mother, he starts to figure out his town and the wall that keeps them there are apart of a large secret.

Gray is a determined young guy, who hates the fact that all the males have a certain fate and that he’s going to lose his brother. With it only being months away until his 18th, Gray makes a choice that will change his life. I loved how unstoppable Gray is, he doesn’t want to sit and wait for the inevitable, he wants answers. He does carry a bad attitude but truly loves his family and those close to him. His maturaty grows through out the very dangerous situations he gets himself in and overall becomes a leader type figure.

Emma grew up with Gray in their town Claysoot. He always liked her but was never one to show his feeling, he’d actually rather argue or fight. In their town the males are chosen for specific woman each month to continue the cycle. Emma is chosen for Gray and they begin to learn from each other and realize they both want answers about their town and what else is out there. She is a girl who has the same determination as him but I saw mostly as a damsel in distress. She is passive, intelligent and a healer, but she makes a mistake I probably wouldn’t forgive her for.I guess you can say her character was my major issue. I felt like I was suppose to like her but really didnt connect to her, and actually enjoyed when she wasn't in a scene.

Bree is a tough as nails and outspoken girl, she challenges Gray and also has his back when he needs it. I liked her much better than Emma, mostly because she was strong, ready to fight and wanted to help those who are fighting for the right cause. She and Gray build a bond that I felt developed really well and I look forward to seeing how it grows.

Overall I loved the concept of Taken, it may sounds familiar but there is so much backstory and reasoning behind what is happening. There are a ton of key characters that are the answers that Gray and Emma were looking for. I was pleasantly surprised by the constant unraveling of truths, but they were always followed by more questions that Gray will no doubt figure out. The best part of Taken is that anyone can enjoy this, there is lots of action, mystery, romance, complex plot twist and characters that continue to develop as the story move on.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is a Young Adult book with a dystopian theme. Fans of Dan Wells Partials series and Article 5 by Kristen Simmons will enjoy Taken by Erin Bowman.

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