Customer Reviews

Taken

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What we might call Fat-Cat Syndrome renders many Americans blind to the potential impact of the growing disparity between the haves and the have-nots in our society (and globally), but Edward Bloor has his eyes wide open. With Taken, he uses his obvious concerns to create a striking portrayal of a possible near-future in which, as our heroine Charity Meyers points out, "Kidnapping has become a major growth industry."

Charity is the narrator of Taken, and the book begins with her strapped to a stretcher in an unknown location, wondering whether her captors will have to remove a body part in order to find her personal GPS tracker. (An acquantance of hers has a badly replaced ear for that very reason.) The story alternates between Charity in the present in her captors' hands and Charity's memories of the past as they relate to her predicament (everything from kidnapping protocols to the faux Edwardian servants and Christmases favored by members of her elite community).

This book is well written as a story, but it is also a fable that might make some teens think a little more about how social stratification affects their lives. I bought another newly published book this week which turned out to be a fable about social stratification, too, though The Castle Corona by Newbery winner Sharon Creech has a medieval/fairy tale setting. (Some middle schooler looking for a great writing project for school should compare and contrast the two books!)

Look for Bloor's satirical take on other issues in Taken--the ineffectual satellite-based schooling, the wonky health-care system, the artificiality of vidqueen (and Charity's ex-stepmother) Mickie's "documentaries," and the crass cruelty of rich, purposeless young people. I also got a kick out of the sight of Charity's butler carrying a Glock as he follows her down the street, openly guarding her against kidnappers. The toy helicopter crashing Mickie's Christmas special decor is another lively and no doubt symbolic moment.

If, in the service of his message, Bloor's poor characters are a little too normal and noble, he does throw ethical dilemmas at them to liven things up. For that matter, Charity is an awfully nice kid, considering how she's been raised! (Of course, her early years were more sensible, before her father made his fortune and moved her to the soulless, gated community where they now reside.) Especially with his juxtaposition of Charity and Dessi, Bloor points out something that shouldn't need to be said, but is often forgotten: that two people on this planet have more in common as human beings than not.

Intriguing plot twists add to the adventure and suspense, making the book a compelling read even if you don't entirely agree with its message.

Unfortunately, Taken's portrayal of rich-and-poor dynamics isn't quite as futuristic as we might like to think. In this book, servants are assigned Edwardian names like Victoria and Albert, and their real names and lives are kept secret. Well, a friend of mine once told me she overheard her wealthy husband yelling at a servant, "I don't care what your name is! While you're here, your name is Maria because I SAY so!"

Ever since her dad invented a super-effective bronzing treatment, Charity's been living the life of the coddled rich, in a guarded estate of a select 120 homes, with servants to see to all of her family's needs. But being rich has its downsides, too -- she can rarely go beyond the walls of the estate, her father and ex-stepmother are too busy with their own lives to concern themselves with hers, and being a rich kid makes her the target of the growing kidnapping industry.

When Charity finds herself taken by mysterious men in an ambulance, she decides to follow the rules to the letter to ensure that she'll be delivered safely home as soon as the ransom is paid. But the longer she spends with the kidnappers, the more clear it becomes that their plans are more complicated than she could have imagined.

TAKEN puts readers right inside Charity's head, making every moment of the kidnapping as vivid as if they were experiencing it themselves. Charity's reactions are believable and poignant. With every frightening development and shocking twist, readers will find themselves right there with her, quickly turning the pages to learn what will happen next. Charity herself is a strong heroine, practical, scared, yet not afraid to put up a fight when she has to.

Readers may have a hard time relating to the world the novel portrays and the isolation in which Charity now lives with her family's newfound wealth. The society seems very strongly divided between the rich and poor, with little room in between. Nonetheless, it provides a pointed commentary on many of the advantages the privileged in today's world take for granted, and the struggles of those who do not have those advantages. TAKEN is sure to provoke thoughtful discussion among its readers.

For both its tense and unpredictable story and its social commentary, TAKEN is a great read. Be forewarned -- with so many twists, at least one is guaranteed to take you completely (and pleasantly) by surprise!

Reviewed by: Lynn Crow

i think this book is amazing honestly. this is my third or fourth reading it and some of the reviwers say the plot is unrealistic...DUH its in the future lots of books are unrealistic thats why its called FICTION. Many book s are placed in the future and are really good books such as this one and really it kind of is atleast semi realistic its about kinnaping somthing tht happens everyday in the twenty-first century an even before then ok maybe the way the kiddnaping is handled isnt realistic but who wants to read a compleatly realistic FICTION book nobody thats why the plot is so fun anyway i find it to be a really good book if i didnt i wouldnt read it agian and i wouldnt take the time to write this review

i would suggest it to anybody please try it you wont regret it

This book received wonderful reviews when it came out, and I like the author's "Tangerine" a lot, so I thought this story would be equally insightful, with equally sympathetic characters. Not so. The characters aren't really sympathetic, the setting (the future) isn't really depicted in believable detail, and the plot is weak.

TANRD BOOK REVEIW

In my opinion the book Taken by Edward Bloor is very well written and the ending is one of the best I've read in an action book.

The book is a fable that begins on New Year's Day, 2036 with Charity Meyers who wakes up having no idea where she is or how she got there; she realizes she is trapped in the back of an ambulance. Charity comes to the conclusion that she has been "Taken", Charity's father, a famous dermatologist and inventor, and her stepmother, a video personality who evaluates experiences solely on whether they'll make good reality TV.

Charity has moved to The Highlands an extra-exclusive, gated community in Florida. Charity is terrified of being kidnapped but she has done her research and she knows that even when children are returned safely following a successful ransom drop, they are rarely ever the same after having been taken.

Charity hopes and prays her father can be reached, and he is willing to follow the kidnapper's demands and instructions. If her father acts quickly, Charity will not be harmed. Despite how hard her father tries to save her, the plan fails.

When one of the kidnapper's identities is revealed, Charity feels shocked and betrayed. She knows she has no choice but to save herself and she cannot trust anyone else.

What Charity does not realize is that being kidnapped will actually save her in the end. Losing the life she has now and leaving others behind is the only way she will ever experience true freedom and happiness

Finally in my opinion I think the ending will have you on the edge of your seat and you won't want the book to end.

I read this book as my 11 y/o had to read it for school and I co-read so I can help answer any questions. I read a lot of YA fiction so it is not a new genre for me. I do understand this book is written more for the middle school age.

In my opinion, there are many things wrong with this book. The main problem is that there is no world building in this book. Granted it was only set 25 years into the future but I thought this must be second in a series when I began reading it. I felt there was little to no description of the situation, items, background, etc. I had a lot of questions: what is a vidscreen? why did it appear that there was no longer a middle class? what caused the fear of others? etc. The author appeared to think that the reader would just accept the lack of description and move on. As and adult reading this book, I was confused. My child was even more confused. I found this story line weak. I thought the characters were not fleshed out enough so I did not care about them. The only reason I finished the book was to be able to assist my son with any quations and he had a lot of them!

Frankly, I am very shocked this is a Sunshine State Book for Florida grades 6-8.

Taken is intended to be a suspenseful and mysterious book; however it is written in a very confusing and unrealistic manner. As soon as you have read the first page, you are already lost. What's a vidscreen anyway? Is it some sort of IPad that the author changed the name of? You never find out what a vidscreen is and the tale itself is not authentic.

The story takes place about 25 years from now in a very wealthy and heavily guarded neighborhood named the Highlands in Florida. The main character is Charity Meyers who is the narrator of the story. She is in seventh grade. Her father is a very rich dermatologist who needs to pay a ransom in order to get his daughter back.

The author created a very bad future where life is completely contained. The children of The Highlands are transported to different locations with either a butler holding a Glock (a type of handgun) or they are escorted in and out of the neighborhood through an enormous, armored, and bombproof bus that can hold up to twenty-five people. Their school is known as satschool, which the author explains as a room with a table, chairs, and a vidscreen. The children watch the display and learn from it.

In this time period, kidnapping is a major criminal industry. The author uses this event as a mean to modify the lives of Charity and her father. The reader is surprised by an absurd turn of events that lead to a fairy tale ending, which couldn't be more unlikely and dull.

The captors consist of a teen boy named Dessi, a strange Dr. Reyes, and her butler Albert. The reason for the kidnapping seems to be money (like most cases), but in this situation it is not. Charity's dad is to deliver a large amount of cash using his helicopter, otherwise his daughter gets hurt. Charity has friends who have been through this type of event, and have ended up with missing body parts. All the children have personal locators implanted somewhere in their bodies which the kidnappers remove in order to not be located. Charity is in a race against time before her kidnappers may hurt her.

The drama ends with Charity and her father becoming two new people with different life styles and a happy ending (so they say).

Honestly, due to the variety of thrilling books available to young readers, this one would not even make the top one hundred. I would not recommend this book or the author. This story makes you want to put the book down.

who ever thinks that this book was one bit wrong is the most talent blind person on earth i have only read a sample but from that i can tell you that it gives me shivers and goose bumps in every sentence and i am couting the seconds from now til i get the book

I buy my 11 year old daughter the sunshine state readers. I started reading this one before her, and I am shocked and appalled at some of the things mentioned in it and I do not think that I will be letting my daughter read it. Firstly it mentions bulimia, then goes on to mention rape, and lastly there are some pretty horrible descriptions of the fellow classmates in the girl's 'satclass.' I am just shocked that on the author's own website, it says that this book is for 9 years and over. I do not want to discuss rape or bulimia with my 11 year old. I just wondered if anyone else thinks this, or am I over-reacting...?

this book is preaty good until you get to about the 100th page when all it is that the girl is just talking to the leader of the kidnaping squad. her father has agread to pay the ransom of money and is going to get his dauter.