Taken

by Erin Bowman

Overview

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?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798989707102
Publisher:	Bolt Books
Publication date:	01/30/2024
Series:	Taken , #1
Pages:	370
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.82(d)

About the Author

Erin Bowman used to tell stories visually as a web designer. Now a full-time writer, she relies solely on words. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, and when not writing she can often be found hiking, commenting on good typography, and obsessing over all things Harry Potter. She is also the author of Taken.

What People are Saying About This

Marie Lu

“An action-packed thrill ride from beginning to end. I devoured this in one sitting and might have gnawed a nail or two off from all the excitement. More, please!”

Editorial Reviews

An action-packed, emotionally charged, plot-twisting adventure.

Booklist

An action-packed thrill ride from beginning to end. I devoured this in one sitting and might have gnawed a nail or two off from all the excitement. More, please!

Marie Lu

Debut author Bowman takes readers on a suspenseful trek through a dystopian landscape. Gray has reached the age of 17 in a primitive town that's defined by what happens to boys on their 18th birthdays: They are Heisted away, never to return. Gray is frustrated by the community's calm, resigned acceptance of the boys' shocking fate, so after his brother Blaine's Heist, he determines to go over the massive wall that contains the town to search for the explanation for their grim existence. Unexpectedly, his almost-a-girlfriend Emma follows him. On the other side of the wall, they are both captured--or possibly befriended--by the Franconian Order, which runs the modern, water-starved city of Taem. The story they are told is quickly contradicted by other information they discover, leading to the pressing need to identify possible helpers who might oppose the brutal followers of Frank or the rebels (including attractive Bree) who operate outside the city. The story is told in Gray's first-person narration, with occasional conveniently found documents to supplement back story that he can't provide. While suspense is often palpable, other times, plot elements don't fully add up--the Heists are conducted with helicopters (that no one sees because they've been drugged), and Emma remains safe but unfaithful in Taem after Gray escapes--diminishing the impact for discerning readers. In spite of a few flaws, readers will eagerly await the next installment. (Dystopian adventure. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews