Taken by Erin Bowman

Taken by Erin Bowman

Released: April 16, 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

Series: Taken, Book 1

Followed By: Frozen

Page Amount: 360, US Hardback

POV: 1st Person (Gray)

Buy it here: Barnes & Noble•Amazon

OVERALL:

Plot-18/20
Characters-19/20
Creativity-17/20
Writing-20/20
Pace-9/10
Ending-9/10
=92/100 A
★★★★★/5

SUMMARY:

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?-Goodreads.com

REViEW:
Claysoot is not your average town. With all boys being heisted on their 18th birthdays, Claysoot is obviously a home of many secrets. I absolutely loved the premise of the Heist and the Wall that encloses Claysoot. That was all very unique to me. The first 100 some pages really captured my attention and made me unable to put the book down. I was so curious to find out what the big mystery was surrounding Claysoot and that compelled me to keep reading. However, when I did find out what Claysoot really was, I was a little bit disappointed. I really think most readers will absolutely love the "big reveal" and I know I would have been completely surprised if I hadn't read The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Sure it is completely different from Taken, but I couldn't stop thinking about the one similarity. I totally don't think it is a rip-off because they are very different, I just help drawing the parallel. I really wish I hadn't read the Maze Runner because this book is so much better and the story is absolutely amazing.   

The characters really took this story to a even higher level. Gray had a personality that I never read before. It made this book seem even more fresh in the ever growing YA world. Gray is impulsive and has fire in him. I'm nothing like him, but I was still able to relate to him and love his voice. His dedication to Emma was something really special. Emma was also a very good character. I loved her at the beginning and still loved her at the end. I understood what she thought when Gray had to leave her behind. She was very realistic just like Gray. There was a bit of a love triangle in this book. Typically, I don't think love triangles are believable, but this one was. I understand all of the characters motives and reasons, which make every single one of them realistic.    

The ending was really unique. I loved the new direction the book took. It really makes me excited for the sequel. The last couple of chapters really rekindled my love for this book. The action was perfectly described and really jaw-dropping. I loved that entire race at the end. Please don't get me wrong, I loved this book. It was really unique and the only reason why I pointed out my parallel was because that was one little thing that kept me from thinking this book was absolutely the best. I'm really truly excited to continue this series and I really think the next book will take this series to even more different and excellent places! 

My Favorite Part: The whole first half of the book was absolutely perfect to me!

ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? Yes it's a really fast-paced and exciting read!
Will I be reading the next book? Definitely!

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned for a Taken giveaway later tonight!

It's a Book Thing
Review by Macy ♥