Taken by Erin Bowman

Taken by Erin Bowman

Release Date: April 16, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Series: Taken, Book 1
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: Edelweiss
Buy: Amazon ● The Book Depository
Goodreads ● Website

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?

This one took me a while to get through, but not for the reasons that you think. The eGalley was loading SUPER slowly, so it did take me some time to read this one. Nonetheless, I loved Taken. The concept is SO original – and it gets even more so later on in the plot – and I enjoyed every second of this action-packed dystopian story.

The characters were phenomenal! They had their own faults, but I thought that's what in fact made them such great characters. For instance, Gray the main character (who, now I have a major crush on) was pretty impulsive. I probably mentally slapped my forehead so many times because of all the rash decisions he makes. But I mean, where would Gray be if he wasn't impulsive? Taken by the Heist for sure, so pretty much we owe it to his character for making the story so much more interesting. Thank you faults! On another note, I'm pretty glad though that the main character is a male, as unfortunately, we don't see too many in the world of YA fiction, and it's great to see another headstrong lead come to existence.
With Emma and Bree, I have no idea what to think. I seriously have no preference for one of them, because both have their pluses and minuses. Just when I think one's better than the other, the other does something (or the former does something) and it all changes. I have no concluded feelings of either of them, so I'll just have to wait for the second book to find out more.

The twist in this story was MIND. BLOWING. Seriously, did not see that one coming. I was like WOAH, WHAT?!?! This twist happens quite "early" on in the story, as there's a whole chunk of plot following it up. This whole book was full of them, surprising and shocking me with every revelation. Characters aren't what they seem, more history with the Heist than is mentioned, and a cliffhanger-y ending to top it all off.

That being said, Taken is a new series I'm definitely *hehe pun intended* taken with. Erin Bowman has created this gorgeous world with a fiery, determined male protagonist taking charge. I loved it so much I even managed to get my own copy of it (thanks to Lisa at Dizneeee's World of Books). Can't wait to read more of what happens with Gray, Emma and Bree, as well as the rest of the characters in the sequel, Frozen!

If you like this, try...

• Delirium by Lauren Oliver ● Goodreads
• Pure by Julianna Baggott ● Goodreads
• Uglies by Scott Westerfeld ● Goodreads

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