What do readers think of The Take by Kelly Yang? Write your own review.

At first glance, this book appears to be a Hollywood/beach read. Fast intro to characters and then onto a situation or problem. Don't be quick to judge either the book or the two main female characters. I started agreeing with one character, then switching to the other and then...examining both of them with a more critical eye. I sided with youth at first, remembering how no one thinks a young person has experiences more worthy than those of a more seasoned person. "You have to earn your stripes." And then, I switched to the more mature character, thinking, "yeah, I worked hard to get here." But in the end, both are wanting the same thing - success and recognition. But at what cost? This is the ultimate decision, I believe. What are you willing to give up, lose or sacrifice - your youth, your family, your dignity?

Interesting and thought provoking read. Good book for book club discussions.

Two women with their goals and how they get there. Learning along the way or following fears and the past. Using others to meet your goal and needs or learning how to stand on your own and do things your own way. It is quite controversial - whether to do things via control to gain your desire or to with what is true for you. One succeeds and the other loses all.

A new twist on a very old story. The Take has been (or almost has been) sucks the life out of a promising young threat to continue their dominance. This reads like a made for TV movie. It is not literary fiction by any stretch. The characters were one dimensional and the book didn't say anything new. It is unfortunate that publishers misuse the literary fiction genre tag so often. Folks looking for lit fiction will not find this satisfying but those looking for more plot and drama would like this I believe.

Kelly Yang's first adult novel, The Take, portrays Maggie Wang's struggles to move from MFA student to published writer. Yang revisits themes of young Asian women struggling with white mentors' devaluing or appropriating their work, demanding mothers, cheating boyfriends, and problematic girlfriends. Despite some interesting plot twists, I wasn't as sympathetic to Maggie's travails as I suspect Yang intended. Maggie seemed self-absorbed and unrealistically impatient for recognition of her work. As she faced several challenges, she seemed to exacerbate her problems, sometimes alienating those who might be able to help. She agrees to a contract for services that will make her wealthy but puts her health at risk. This arrangement forces the central characters to confront their—and societies'—attitudes about women's aging. I was not drawn into the competitive world of fighting for literary agents, film options, and screen-writing contracts so I felt more a bystander than an engaged reader.

THE TAKE left me cold! I struggled to both get into and then finish the story. The premise is interesting as are the characters. I did think they could have been drawn in more detail.

It does, however, raise some interesting questions. What are you willing to sacrifice for youth or for money? Why does acceptance continue to rest on superficial traits ? What gives those with money the right to deceive and abuse those without it? Was it unethical to not discuss the potential dangers of the arrangement ?

I'd consider this book for a book club read. It could engender some excellent discussions.

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.

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?