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There are currently 23 member reviews
for The Take
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Molly A. (Pryor, OK)
Take It or Leave It: I Could Leave the Take
Jennifer Yang's The Take is an unflinching tale about social stratification, feminine insecurity, and aging. The book tries to address other important social themes, such as racism, sexism, and agism, but ultimately fails due to the complexity of these subplots.
The main characters are Maggie Wang, an Asian American aspiring writer, and Ingrid Parker, a battle-hardened Hollywood producer with a cheating husband. In ways that aren't very well explained scientifically, Ingrid benefits from the transfusion of Maggie's blood, causing decelerated aging in Ingrid and accelerated aging in Maggie. However, through the course of their business transaction (Maggie is receiving a nine-figure lump sum), an expected friendship blossoms as well as a potential book publishing for Maggie.
I found this story really difficult to bite on, and the morally blurry lines across all of the characters left me wanting for a protagonist and a resolution. The subplots watered down the story even more, since none of the supporting characters were very well developed, and the constant use of sentence fragments left me hearing nails on a chalkboard. It isn't the worst book I have read, but it certainly isn't one of the best.
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Jennie W. (Denver, CO)
The Take
This book was tough for me to keep coming back to. The premise grabbed me at first, but the writing felt basic, and the characters never fully came to life. I wanted more detail about the procedure but it felt glossed over. The ideas the book raised were actually the most interesting part. Things like: What's the real cost of getting your youth back? What is the price of giving up your youth? Is it worth the risk? And why do the wealth often feel entitled to take advantage of people with fewer resources?
