Review: The Taking by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Taking 

Author: Kimberly Derting

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publishing Date:  April 29th 2014

Pages: 357
Genre:  YA Sci/Fi 

Series: The Taking #1
Source: Audio

  

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?

I am a big fan of the Body Finder by Kimberly Derting and when I discovered her new series, about aliens, I was super excited. I waited a bit longer than anticipated to dive into this book but I finally read it (listened to it) and I loved it. The book wasn't what I was expecting but it was still super good. I can't wait for the next book. 

Kyra gets in a fight with her father one night and decides to walk home. She trips, there is a white light, she wakes up behind a dumpster the next morning with no memory of what happened. She makes it home to discover  her parents are divorced, she has a new brother, her boyfriend is in college and his kid brother is grown up... five years has passed with her missing and she has no memory of those last five years at all. Creepy really. After much deducing and digging up information she finds out she was taken by aliens that night and returned five years later, there are more like her, there are those that believe her, there are those who think she's crazy, and there are those that are chasing her. She is on the run, hiding, surviving, with the help of others like her and a very good and loyal friend. Its a crazy story really.


I really enjoyed this book. It was a bit slower than I thought it would be but there is a lot of background and story to uncover. I felt that this book just barely tipped the iceberg and there is so much more coming and I can't wait to read it. I felt this book was just a build up for the next in the series. 

The story wasn't the only build up in this book, there were also many relationships that were being explained, built, and discovered. There were many parts of Kyra's life that changed and I think the author did a wonderful job uncovering the past and explaining the present. With Kyra's memory and five years being gone from the very beginning there were bunches to explain and get used to. Some were her memories from before and others were her getting to know the present as new. I was able to connect to her easily and I felt I really knew her and I really liked her. 

Kyra was a very independent and strong character. She didn't just accept all that was going on. She had questions, she was frightened, she was confused, and she was determined. She made it through taking one day at a time without giving up. She was a real trooper. 

There is a bit of romance in the book and even though it was a bit fast I enjoyed it. It was sweet and with all the mystery and running, it was nice to have a tad of romance. It just gave a little bit more good to the story. 

I was hoping for more actual aliens, and this is the one thing that disappointed me. Even though it was clear aliens were involved, the aliens were never introduced and barely made an appearance, when they did it was nothing that would answer any of my questions. So that was just a bit disappointing. I am sure there is a reason for the taken and the returned so hopefully there will be more on that in the next book. 

Like I said most of the story was basically a build up for what is coming and a bunch happened in the last quarter of the book that just left me on the ground when the last page was read. I didn't know what to think or where to go because it just ended. Not on a cliffhanger but with a big question of what now. So yes be prepared for the ending. 

I really really enjoyed it. Not perfect but pretty darn close. 

Kimberly is the author of the BODY FINDER series (HarperCollins), THE PLEDGE trilogy (Simon & Schuster), and THE TAKING trilogy (HarperTeen). She lives in the Pacific Northwest, the ideal place to write anything dark or creepy...a gloomy day can set the perfect mood. She lives with her husband and their three beautiful (and often mouthy) children who provide an endless source of inspiration.