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Taken: Summary and book reviews of Taken by Edward Bloor, plus links to an excerpt from Taken and a biography of Edward Bloor.

Taken

Taken
by Edward Bloor
Hardcover: Oct 2007,
272 pages.
Paperback: Dec 2009,
256 pages.

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BOOK SUMMARY

By 2035 the rich have gotten richer, the poor have gotten poorer, and kidnapping has become a major growth industry in the United States. The children of privilege live in secure, gated communities and are escorted to and from school by armed guards.

But the security around Charity Meyers has broken down. On New Year's morning, she wakes and finds herself alone, strapped to a stretcher, in an ambulance that's not moving. She is amazingly calm - kids in her neighborhood have been well trained in kidnapping protocol. If this were a normal kidnapping, Charity would be fine. But as the hours of her imprisonment tick by, Charity realizes there is nothing normal about what's going on here. No training could prepare her for what her kidnappers really want . . . and worse, for who they turn out to be.
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Taken's vision of families where hired help do the parenting, and of a world where racial and economic injustice imprison both rich and poor is made vivid by the anger and brilliance that inform Bloor's most successful, moving and darkest novels—Tangerine and Crusader.  (Reviewed by Jo Perry).

Full Review Members Only (838 words).

Media Reviews

  Kirkus Reviews
Filled with unsubtle commentary about race and wealth, this still manages to be genuinely exciting although astute readers will see the twist early on. Charity's self-possession strains credibility, as does her quick turnaround at the novel's end, but this is competent near-future fiction.

  VOYA
The violence is not graphic, and there is little coarse language, making a good fit for middle school readers. But the effect for which Bloor seems to be striving - opening readers' eyes to the divisions in society - is muted by a heavy-handed tone.

  Booklist
This page-turner will grab readers at the outset, and its unexpected twist at the close will send them back through events to look for embedded clues.

  Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Deftly constructed, this is as riveting as it is thought-provoking.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated 1 of 5 of 5 by ryder
taken review
This was the dumbest book i have ever read. if your thinking about reading it i will give you some advice, DON'T. The cover makes it sound like it will be such a good book. I was very disappointed. I will say, tho. that the idea was good. Go back...   Read More

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Bj
loved it !!!!!!
This was an awesome book about a girl that gets kidnapped and fights her way through that keeps you you on the edge of your seat. It took me 2 days to read the book. I literally stayed up all night reading this. I definitely recommend this to any...   Read More

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by LOVE
MY REVIEW
I think this book is teeth clenching and that it is a book that you will not know what will happen next. I love it!

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Bluebabe
Loved it
I actually really enjoyed this book. Normally I don't like my summer reading books but this kept me on the edge of my seat and wanting more. Thumbs up from me! :)

Rated 4 of 5 of 5 by Nvaz
Taken
Don't understand how can this book be on a school list if it has sexual content.

Rated 5 of 5 of 5 by Bharat
Awsome!!!
This book is about the kidnapping of a girl. Find out who kidnaps her, and how shocking it is!

...4 More Reader Reviews

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children posts the following U.S. Department of Justice statistics on taken children:

  • 797,500 children (younger than 18) were reported missing in a one-year period of time (approximately 2,185/day), but the majority of these were quickly found.
  • 203,900 children were the victims of family abductions.
  • 58,200 children were the victims of non-family abductions.
  • 115 children were the victims of "stereotypical" kidnapping - crimes involving someone the child does not know or someone of slight acquaintance, who holds the child overnight, transports the child 50 miles or more, kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently.

It is reassuring to learn that the stranger-abductions so prevalent in Taken are very rare in the USA and that almost 60% of children abducted by strangers were returned safely. Kidnappers were "just as likely to be someone known to the...

Continued...  Beyond the Book (members only)

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