Title: The Taking
Series: The Taking
Author: Kimberly Derting
Rating: 4.5/5 ★★★★☆
Release Date: April 29th, 2014
Type: Library Loan
Genre: SciFi, Fantasy, Romance, Suspense, Mystery, YA
Pages: 357
Synopsis:
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? [From Goodreads (x)]
My Thoughts:
Kimberly Derting starts off the book with a bang! Or more like a bright flash of light. From the very first line the book pulled me in. I mean one day you're living your life, worrying about college, parents, a boyfriend, and then suddenly you wake up and it's five years later except for you it doesn't feel like it's been five years. For you it feels like it was just yesterday but then you find out you've actually been missing for five years. The mystery, confusion, and suspense of that automatically grabbed my attention as well as Kimberly Derting's writing. She paints the picture perfectly to the point where I could actually feel the main characters confusion and anxiety from not understanding whats happened to her. I mean it's five years later her parents are divorced, she has a step father and a little brother, her boyfriends off at college dating her best friend, and she's not changed one bit. Literally, well as far as she knows at that point. Her whole life has changed around her. That's a lot to take in.
I loved the mystery and suspense of the book. It managed to grab my attention and take me on an adventure. It was to the point where I actually didn't want to finish the book because I didn't want it to end and just the thought of having to wait for the sequel made me feel impatient. I also loved the tad bit of romance she introduced between the main character and her (ex) boyfriends little brother. I know what you're thinking; that's gross. At first I was a bit deterred at the thought of that too but it's actually not as bad as you're thinking. And while the romance is a part of the story it doesn't overshadow everything else going on. Because a lot is going on. Just picture government agents, conspiracy theories, memory gaps, a group of people who are younger than their age, and the belief in life outside earth. Kimberly Derting takes something that could be completely cliche and cringe worthy and makes it interesting and new.
Although there are a few things that caused an eye roll from me here and there. I didn't like how self centered the main character could be at times. It made moments where she turned into another cliche whiny main character. I understood how her whole life had changed while she was gone but it was like she expected everyone to put their lives on hold without her there. Which just isn't realistic. I also felt it could do without the constant reminder that Tyler was her ex boyfriends little brother. I wanted to love the romance and I did but those moments when that was mentioned was kind of like a bucket of ice thrown over it all. I also felt that the whole mother, step father, and little brother plot should have been explored more. It was lacking for me in that department. The same goes for her best friend. I didn't mind the whole dropping of the ex boyfriend thing but I wanted more of her best friend. I hope that those thing's are explored more as the series goes on. Especially where her mother is concerned.
Overall the book was incredible and ends leaving you wanting more. So now I'm impatiently waiting for the release of the second book. I can't wait to see how Kimberly Derting builds and changes this world throughout the series!
Note: The second book to The Taking series The Replaced is to be released on April 28th , 2015.
About The Author:
Kimberly Derting is the author of The Body Finder, Desires of the Dead, The Last Echo, and Dead Silence, which are as much coming-of-age romances as they are paranormal thrillers, as well as the dystopic fantasies The Pledge and The Essence. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, where the gloomy weather is ideal for writing anything dark and creepy. Her three beautiful (and often mouthy) children serve as an endless source of inspiration and frequently find things they say buried in the pages of their mother's books. You can visit her online at www.kimberlyderting.com [From the back of the book]
Note: I cross-post on my goodreads so when I post a review here it shows up on there as well. [And then I slightly edit it because all the extra info I add on here isn't needed on there.].
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