Pages: 368
Publication: April 29th 2014 by HarperTeen
Series: The Taking #1
Source: Harper Teen via Edelweiss
Amazon • TBD • Kobo • Goodreads
A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing.When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day.
Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men.
Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?
I really went out on a limb when I wanted to read The Taking. Aliens are not something that has ever interested me, for some reason they just don’t appeal or intrigue me so when the synopsis grabbed me I knew I was going to be venturing into unchartered reading territory.
The Taking opens with a prologue, something that I really enjoyed and appreciated for this story. It’s the night that Kyra disappeared and you are able to experience exactly what happened that night through her eyes, so when the first chapter opens up with Kyra waking up behind a dumpster and thinking it was that night, you really understand the way she feels.
Kyra was an ok character. I was very impartial to her the whole book, I didn’t love her and I didn’t dislike her. The Taking is much more plot based so I was really, really focused on the story… I was just taking the characters as they came for the most part. But TYLER! Oh, I really liked Tyler. He was sweet and kind, and he made chalk pavement drawings <3 I disliked her mother though, I found her reaction to her daughter very strange and although she was supposed to be trying so hard with Kyra, I didn’t get that impression at all. I thought she behaved oddly for someone whose daughter was missing for five years! I really liked Kyra’s dad though. Even though he came off a bit crazy, he invested all of his time in what he thought was the truth trying to get his daughter back and find out what happened. And he loved Kyra soo much.
The plot was phenomenal. Maybe it’s because everything was new to me, it being an alien story, but I thought The Taking was unique, thrilling and intense. I really had no idea where the story was going, and I was shocked page after page. For a plot point that I was trying out, I was thoroughly amazed that I enjoyed it so much. I’ve heard wonderful things about Kimberly Derting’s books prior to this one and I should have picked one up earlier!!
The ending FLOORED me. Holy smokes, I love cliffhangers for the most part, and this one is no different but seriously? It will be such a long wait for the next book with an ending like that!
I will definitely be continuing this series and certainly picking up Kimberly Derting’s other books, I love her writing and she certainly can build an intense storyline!
I wholeheartedly recommend giving The Taking a try, even if aliens aren’t your thing!
I enjoyed this book a lot! I thought that the romance was a little quick, but I understood why it moved at the pace that it did. I totally agree about her mom. She was pretty horrible. It was like she had completely forgotten about her daughter. And that whole thing at the beginning with her mom’s new husband not recognizing her? She hadn’t changed at all. How did he not recognize her??? Weird. And that ending!!! Wtf. I cannot wait a year to find out what happens to you-know-who. You should try out her Pledge series. I haven’t read the last one yet, but the first two books are awesome!
Oh yah, the romance was a bit quick… I didn’t really notice it a ton though because the book was so fast paced. YES! How did her husband not recognize her? SHE LOOKED THE SAME! I found that SO SO weird. I do want to read her Pledge series!!!
You have me curious about this one! I really really really didn’t like Derting’s The Body Finder so I was crossing this off my list, but maybe I’ll have to give her a second chance with this.
Hmm… I think you should give it a try maybe ? It’s a really fun story, but I haven’t read THe Body Finder so I can’t compare 🙁
Yay I’m really glad you loved this. I really enjoy everything this author writes in all different genres so I can’t wait to read this one. Some reviewers were saying they didn’t like this book at all so I was getting a little worried about it but I should have known to have faith in Derting.
Thanks for the great review! I can’t wait to read this one now.
I also really like the plot! It might have to do with my small number of alien books (I believe I’ve read 3 before this one), but it was interesting. I can’t wait to see how it’s going to develop in the sequel.
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