Taking It [Paperback]

Michael Cadnum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1997

Seventeen-year-old Anna Charles, who has turned shoplifting into an art form and a way to vent frustration, feels her confidence crumbling when she begins finding things she does not remember stealing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cadnum (Calling Home; Breaking the Fall) keeps readers on the edge of their seats with this taut psychological portrait. What begins as a department store prank-fooling floorwalkers and detectives by pretending to shoplift-spins out of control when high school junior Anna Charles starts finding items in her purse and pockets that she does not remember taking. In her precarious mental state, Anna comes dangerously close to alienating herself from those who would be able to help her: her father, a high-profile lawyer; her independent-minded older brother, Ted; her best friend, Maureen; her mother and her new stepfather, a pop psychologist. With subtlety and tremendous insight, Cadnum draws connections between the causes and manifestations of Anna's kleptomania while revealing the complexity of her family life. As Anna narrates her tale in powerfully elliptical fashion, readers' perceptions of the protagonist and her dark journey through uncertainty will change dramatically. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up?In Breaking the Fall (Viking, 1992), Cadnum examined the function of crime in the lives of two boys who break into homes while the occupants sleep. Taking It is less suspenseful but more clearly focused, providing a new context for similar themes. Anna, 17, is caught in the middle of a broken marriage. She has invented a game in which she pretends to shoplift. Feasting on this delicious delusion, she enjoys spotting the plain-clothes detectives and knowing when they have spotted her. Then pretense becomes fact and she is stunned by the realization that her game has become an addiction?the one part of her life that she could control is now controlling her. Sadly, her parents are too preoccupied to respond to her signals for help. Caring but detached, they have given her a life of material affluence and emotional impoverishment. Turning to friends and finally to her older brother for support, she finds that they, too, are too involved in their own problems to take on hers. In desperation, she takes her car on a wild ride of escape, with nearly tragic consequences. Shocked into acknowledging their daughter's deep need for attention, her parents appear ready to take action at last. The story ends with a sense of hope that a resolution is at least possible, if not guaranteed. Some readers may have difficulty with the author's style, yet ultimately Anna's confusion is made all the more palpable by the disjointed way she relates her ordeal. She becomes a very real presence. The other characters are less complete, but Cadnum includes what is essential, and that is enough. If his work continues to show the skill and sensitivity contained in this novel, like Cormier and Crutcher he is sure to acquire and deserve many devoted followers.?Margaret Cole, Oceanside Library, NY
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140375708
• ISBN-13: 978-0140375701
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,447,520 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Cadnum is the author of thirty-five books, including the National Book Award finalist The Book of the Lion.  A two-time Edgar Allen Poe Award nominee, and an award-winning poet, Cadnum's work is widely acclaimed.

He lives in Albany, California, across the bay from San Francisco, with his wife Sherina.

For more of the latest on Cadnum and his work visit his website www.MichaelCadnum.com
 

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A not well- written book., July 8, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Taking It (Paperback)

The story is very confusing because it doesn't get to the point of the story. There are also unimportant and unnecessary things that readers wouldn't want to know.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not a quick read, January 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Taking It (Paperback)

The novel caught my interest in the beginning with the story of a young teen pretending to steel. The author's use of such explicit detail slowed down the pace of the story line and made it hard for the reader to stick to the book. Granted the tale itself is intreaging, but the way it is writen made the book a chore to enjoy.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A strong and beautifully written novel with many layers, December 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Taking It (Hardcover)

Michael Cadnum, a master at subtle and complex stories of coming-of-age, has here written an engrossing story about a thoroughly unlikeable seventeen-year-old who cannot control her own impulses to steal--until she hits bottom and begins to realize there are some people she can trust. Not a book for young or unsophisticated teens, this takes some literary smarts on the part of the reader.