Edward Bloor, who has previously plied his writing craft in the creation of realistic fiction and eerie fantasy novels, in this book turns his concentration to the realm of science fiction.Taken isn't a story set two thousand years in the future, though, about a human race living in ways that we can only dream about, surrounded by technology that dwarfs anything we could imagine today. It's set not that far in the future at all, at the onset of the year 2036, and very little of the technology that's mentioned in the story is far enough advanced past what we already have to deserve special notice. Perhaps the most noticeable difference is the full acceptance of the metric system for measurement. It's kind of strange to read a description of a character as being two meters tall. There is, however, one major change to mainstream life as we know it today in the U.S. Kidnapping the children of the wealthy has become a major financial industry, albeit a completely illegal one, in civilized society. Criminals who want to punch their ticket for early retirement have hopped on the band wagon of abduction and ridden it for all it's worth, and so many have followed in their lucrative footsteps that the practice is almost now tolerated by the wealthy. As long as their children are safely returned by the kidnappers, with few instances of tragic endings, the rich seem content enough to dish out the dough and redeem their endangered progeny from the land of limbo. Charity Meyers appears to be just such a case, at first. Kidnapped from her home by way of an elaborate ruse while her father and ex-stepmother are away, she awakens in an ambulance alone with a young guy, known to her only as Dessi, sitting vigil beside her. Himself only an assistant to the real kidnapper, Charity's companion at first seems less than willing to engage in conversation with the kidnapped child, but her continued questioning and genuine curiosity about Dessi are eventually enough to draw him in, both to debate about the legitimacy of extracting money from the rich by abducting their loved ones, as well as to find out a little bit more about the larger scheme of the abduction plot. Time is ticking and Charity knows that whatever transaction has been agreed upon for her safe return will have to be put in place soon, but before a smooth trade can be accomplished, the whole plan starts to fall apart. Now, Charity is about to find out that the deeper meaning behind her kidnapping is much more significant than she ever realized, and more than just her own life and well-being hangs in the balance as the intense negotiations over her freedom begin to veer violently off course. The most memorable parts of this story, in my opinion, are the sharp and fast moving conversations that take place between Charity and Dessi as they sit waiting in the ambulance. The angry energy flies back and forth like a good tennis match as the two of them fill the air with intelligent defenses of their own ideas and biting attacks on the actions of the other, both parties dragging social commentary, personal wealth and implied prejudice into the deal. These conversational exchanges are some of the top highlights of the story, filled with verve and emotion and deep thought, fueled by their own personal feelings about what's right and what's wrong rather than the imposition of fear. Charity would have never been able to talk to the actual kidnapper this way, but Dessi puts something of a human face on the whole rotten deal that has been forced upon Charity, and she feels no obligation to let Dessi off the hook for what he has helped do to her. She isn't afraid to intellectually give it to him with both barrels, or to take the same in return. As in his four previous novels, Edward Bloor has in Taken created a tale of intrigue and mystery, with some deeper thought involved. It's a story that should play well with the young adult demographic and help give a good grasp of some essential issues regarding justice and inequality between very different social classes. I might give two and a half stars to this book.
I would recommend the book Taken, by Edward Bloor to a friend because, it is a riveting story about one girls stress and agony of being taken. It describes and helps us understand her struggle to free her self from the hands of evil kidnappers. Taken takes place in 2036, where most children have a chip in them which tells the parents where the child is. Where they are kidnapped, that is what the kidnapper first looks for to take out so the parents can’t locate the child. The book has 5 main characters, Charity the girl who is kidnapped, her father, her butler Albert, and the kidnapper Dr. Reyes and his teen enemy and friend of Charity, Dessi. The book has great language. An example of this is on page 4, “I tired not to think about the dead empty room. All that was in it, me-myself-and I.” The quote shows strong language through Charity’s thoughts. Charity feels like she is secluded from the world while trapped in the room. She doesn’t know what will happen next. Charity is also very nervous and tries not to think about being trapped in the room, but she can’t. In the book Charity talks about her nervousness and says, “ Makes me feel like I swallowed a brick.” (pg.4) Charity is very stressed. However some people might think that the use of great language may be too descriptive and reveling for younger reader. But, the great language helps the reader get more of scene of tension in a scene. The book also displays imagery. On page 186, “ I noticed and opening between Dessi and the door. If Dessi would just move his arm I could make my escape. But should I? I don’t want to die.” In this quote the author lets the reader become part of the scene. Dessi is the friend and enemy of Charity. So if she escapes or tells Dessi will he go along with the plan? Or will he let Dr. Reyes know about Charity’s plan and have her killed? This is what Charity is trying to decide, and Edward Bloor opens the doorway into her thoughts. He lets you process Charity’s ideas and plans as she does in the book. This brings the book to life and the reader really connects with that scene. I could see into Charity’s point of view, instead of having to make up my own. On the other hand, people may think that the clear images in the book may be to elaborate or gruesome for younger readers, or even the readers who are very squeamish when it comes to death and torture. But the elaborate images in the book help create a clear picture of the story, which makes the book that much better. Taken also delivers on suspense, and a lot of it. On page 198, “I ran, I ran and didn’t stop. I knew that if I stopped then they would catch up to me. Not just Dessi and Dr. Reyes’ crew, but Dr. Reyes himself. He would surely kill me. I kept running. As Charity runs, runs from all the pain and hurting, the reader can feel her thoughts. I could feel the suffering that Charity was trying to run away from. As Charity runs she begins to get very tired, then she sees the lights of the ambulance she was just in. Dr. Reyes was after her and this is where the suspense really escalates. But Charity keeps running and doesn’t stop. Although some people may think suspense is scary, and again to gruesome for some reader, this is what moves the plot and the whole book along. Without the suspense in the book, the book would be very plain and boring. Charity may seem nervous during the book, but she is not. Charity is strong.
What do You think about Taken (2007)?
In 2035, the children of the rich are often kidnapped and held for ransom money, thus these kids are usually kept in gated communities with armed guards and rarely go outside them. Charity has been kidnapped and is waiting for her parents to follow the protocol and pay the money to get her back.The first 150 pages were a mix of boring flashbacks and boring current-time/in-the-middle-of-the-kidnapping stuff. I guess the flashbacks were there to give you an idea of what life is like in 2035, but in the end, none of it really mattered and, for the most part, this kidnapping could have taken place almost the same way today. Once the flashbacks stopped and the kidnapping scenario got down to business, the book got much better. Still, I felt like it was too little, too late.
—Kimberly
The book I read was Taken by Edward Bloor. This book set in 2035 making it science fiction. The book is about a major kidnapping industry. The industry only kidnaps rich people. This place is a place where the poor is poorer and the rich is richer. The children who aren’t able to be kidnapped end up getting guarded throughout their lives. The main character is Charity. It doesn’t exactly give us her age but we know she is young enough to be living with her parents. I myself didn’t like this book. Out of 5 stars I would rate it a 2 because it was way to slow paced for my liking. I would recommend this book to anybody who read Ransom by Lois Duncan and liked it. If you're interested in books about kidnapping or just thrillers in general.
—Tabby Gerhardt
this book takes place in the future where kidnapping has become a major industry, and rich kids are separated from poor families in high security gated neighborhoods. they dont even go to real schools. charity, the main character in this story, gets kidnapped on christmas during the night and can bareley remember what really happened because she was sick. while in the back of this ambulence that they whisked her away in, she tinks back to her most recent, vivid memories of her and her friends and family in the highlands, and after a while comes to realize that this is no average kidnapping, and what she thought was under control was relly the exact opposite, and nothing is really like it seems.i personaly hated this book. i thought it was terrible and boring and a waste of time. i do not recomend this book to anyone.
—Hannah
