Taken by Erin Bowman
Release Date: April 16, 2013
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Young Adult Sci-fi
ISBN: 978-0062117267
Source: Hardcover from BEA 2013
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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?

1. Who were the most memorable characters?
Gray definitely made himself the most memorable for his actions, both good and bad. Although Blaine stands out more to me since he’s more likable.

2. What did you think about the main character’s point of view?
Gray has anger issues. Gray acts before he thinks, when he even thinks at all. Gray has plenty of unlikable qualities…so while following Gray was refreshing in this sense, it was also infuriating to see him make many of the decisions that he did. He’s still a kid though and really needs to work out his issues in order to grow up, so hopefully that will happen as the series goes on.

3. Which character did you want more from?
I could have followed Blaine and has friends for the rest of the book (SPOILER) In the scene after Gray was reunited with Blaine) and been a happy camper.

4. Which character name is your favorite?
There were a lot of characters in this book. It was a little overwhelming to keep track and wonder if I should keep track with certain minor characters and characters simply mentioned. But as for the names I liked…I did love that a girl was named “Carter.” Emma and Laurel also reminded me of The Lying Game.

5. How did you connect with the main character?
If there’s one quality I like about Gray, it’s that he doesn’t like leaving the people he cares about behind. People will do anything to survive but no matter what happens, Gray is there for the people he loves.

6. How did you connect with the villain?
There’s still so much we don’t know about Frank so it’s hard to say. But he doesn’t stop until he gets what he wants and on a non-psychotic level, I can relate to that. Still though, it’s difficult to say that I connected with Frank because I really haven’t yet.

7. Which relationship did you enjoy reading the most?
I always love reading stories where there are siblings and the dynamic between siblings is right. Erin got it right with Blaine and Gray. On the opposite front, I was not a fan of the love triangle. I’m hoping Bree is simply the rebound and nothing more. I’m hoping.

8. What were your initial thoughts on the premise?
I loved the premise and couldn’t wait to see where Erin would take her readers. She went farther than I imagined she would and am interested in finding out if we’ve read the last of the virus or not.

9. What setting had the best imagery?
Claysoot was the easiest to envision. Things got more complicated once (SPOILER) Gray and Emma were taken after they jumped the wall. The town they entered was complex and the rebel compound was just as complex, if not, more.

10. What line or scene made you think, “I wonder how much research it took to write this?”
When the virus came into play, I was initially concerned about how well it would play into this world that’s been created with a different history than our own and a nation divided not twice but even more with experimental groups. There’s a lot to take into consideration here with how the virus works, if/when it’s been used before, etc… but I think it works out well enough here. I just hope they didn’t (SPOILER) find the vaccination, take it, and that was it. There’s got to be more to that. Otherwise, it was too easy a conflict to have. The payoff was too quick.

11. What did you notice most about the author’s writing?
The storytelling was fantastic. I devoured this book.

12. Which scene resonated with you the most?
The scene in which Blaine shows Gray the rest of the letter their mother wrote to Blaine was hard hitting. It’s quite a blow to find out that a family member doesn’t trust you enough to tell you something. But turning it around, he had to have a great deal of humility to realize that she didn’t trust his actions. It wasn’t at all about who he was as a person. Because everyone’s heart is in the right place but actions mean a lot when you’re facing what’s inside and later outside the walls of Claysoot.

13. What theme/symbolism struck you the most?
Gray has to take chance after chance after chance on people and situations and life and I loved that the meaning of “Taken” isn’t just about the boys who are being taken on their 18th birthdays. It’s so much more than that. It’s so much more.

14. If this book had a theme song, it would be?
Based on Erin’s “Taken” playlist on Spotify, I’m going to chose “Uprising” by Muse.

15. What was the biggest lesson learned for you?
Don’t be afraid to make the shot. Make the sacrifice.

16. Did you read this at the right time in your life?
I think if this book were out then, I personally may have enjoyed this a bit more in middle school or my freshman/sophomore years of high school given my head space at that time.

17. Any pet peeves?
I wasn’t a big fan of Gray’s attitude much of the time. Gray wasn’t the most likable character so if that means a lot to you, I wouldn’t recommend you read this. But if you can stick it out for the story, keep this on your TBR list.

18. Which did you like the most, the title or cover? The storytelling, writing, or world building? The opening or conclusion?
I loved the title, storytelling, and opening the most.

19. Can you rate pacing, transitions, and the middle on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the best?
5 for pacing and the middle. 4 for transitions.

20. If you read this again, would it be as an audio book or on your kindle to annotate?
If I read this again, it would be as an audio book.

21. If you put together your dream cast for a movie adaptation, who would play the MC?
There are so many faces swirling around in my head, it’s hard to choose just a few.

Final Thoughts:
Most YA books I can recommend to readers of all ages but this one in particular I feel more readers who are actually teens will get the most out of this book given their head space and where they are in their lives at that time. So if you’re not a teen and have read enough books you think are similar to this one (in setting, tropes, etc…) you probably just want to get this for a younger sibling, cousin, etc…

Taken by Erin Bowman is available now.