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?
Title: The Taking (The Taking #1)
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: Harper Teen
Expected Publication Date: April 29, 2014
RATING: 5/5 Stars
The Cover Contessa's Review:
I want to thank Harper Teen for providing me with an early copy of this book to read and review. This is my first book from author Kimberly Derting and I'm so glad that I jumped in! Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or my review.
Blurb from Goodreads:
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?
As of late I have been very into Sci-Fi reads. So, when I picked this one up, I was hoping it would live up to the other Sci-Fi books I've been reading. And I'm so glad I did. First off, did you see this cover? Don't understand it? Well, pick up the book and you will!
Kyra, I love her. She's smart and sassy and strong, super strong. She will do anything to figure out what happened to her, why she was missing for so many years but still looks sixteen! She spends the entire story fighting for herself and figuring out who she really was (before she was Taken). Kyra is faced with twists and turns and uncertainty. And she's also faced with feelings for a boy who was only twelve last time she saw him. I think my favorite part of Kyra is that she keeps a clear and level head for most of this book (although the romance does throw that off a bit for her, but that's nothing new for a YA book).
Tyler, oh how I loved him. He was super sweet and totally swoon worthy. At first, I felt like it was odd that he and Kyra became this pair, but then it just kind of clicked and made sense. He was so much more her speed than his older brother. And Kyra knew herself so much better with Tyler than she did with Austin. So Tyler was really good for her. Best of all he's super loyal and totally believes in Kyra. It seems he would do anything for her, risk anything for her because she is all he's ever wanted.
I blasted through this book in one day. I loved every page of it. I was never bored. The action and twists and turns kept me wanting more (and I still want more even now that the book is over). It was fast paced and never boring. The story seems completely plausible, if you believe there is more out there than just the human race. But Derting left quite a bit of mystery in the story and I really loved that. She was able to give little bits here and there to create a rich and intriguing story. I loved her writing and prose, it was easy to read and flowed well.
Most interesting of all for me is that the story reads as a bit of a contemporary, with the romance that blooms between Tyler and Kyra and the fact that it's set in our time, as opposed to a future or something of that sort. The romance was sweet and slow for the most part (although Tyler was acting on a crush that he had had on Kyra for 5 years, but for Kyra the relationship was new). I enjoyed that the characters were completely relatable and fleshed out well and their emotions were very real. I could really feel the situations they were placed in and what affect they hd on them.
Derting creates a thrilling ride through this new sci-fi mystery. I highly recommend this book if you are a fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout. I can't wait for the next installment as the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger.
I want to thank Harper Teen for providing me with an early copy of this book to read and review. This is my first book from author Kimberly Derting and I'm so glad that I jumped in! Receiving this book for free has in no way influenced my opinion or my review.
Blurb from Goodreads:
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?
As of late I have been very into Sci-Fi reads. So, when I picked this one up, I was hoping it would live up to the other Sci-Fi books I've been reading. And I'm so glad I did. First off, did you see this cover? Don't understand it? Well, pick up the book and you will!
Kyra, I love her. She's smart and sassy and strong, super strong. She will do anything to figure out what happened to her, why she was missing for so many years but still looks sixteen! She spends the entire story fighting for herself and figuring out who she really was (before she was Taken). Kyra is faced with twists and turns and uncertainty. And she's also faced with feelings for a boy who was only twelve last time she saw him. I think my favorite part of Kyra is that she keeps a clear and level head for most of this book (although the romance does throw that off a bit for her, but that's nothing new for a YA book).
Tyler, oh how I loved him. He was super sweet and totally swoon worthy. At first, I felt like it was odd that he and Kyra became this pair, but then it just kind of clicked and made sense. He was so much more her speed than his older brother. And Kyra knew herself so much better with Tyler than she did with Austin. So Tyler was really good for her. Best of all he's super loyal and totally believes in Kyra. It seems he would do anything for her, risk anything for her because she is all he's ever wanted.
I blasted through this book in one day. I loved every page of it. I was never bored. The action and twists and turns kept me wanting more (and I still want more even now that the book is over). It was fast paced and never boring. The story seems completely plausible, if you believe there is more out there than just the human race. But Derting left quite a bit of mystery in the story and I really loved that. She was able to give little bits here and there to create a rich and intriguing story. I loved her writing and prose, it was easy to read and flowed well.
Most interesting of all for me is that the story reads as a bit of a contemporary, with the romance that blooms between Tyler and Kyra and the fact that it's set in our time, as opposed to a future or something of that sort. The romance was sweet and slow for the most part (although Tyler was acting on a crush that he had had on Kyra for 5 years, but for Kyra the relationship was new). I enjoyed that the characters were completely relatable and fleshed out well and their emotions were very real. I could really feel the situations they were placed in and what affect they hd on them.
Derting creates a thrilling ride through this new sci-fi mystery. I highly recommend this book if you are a fan of Jennifer L. Armentrout. I can't wait for the next installment as the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger.
Kimberly is the author of the BODY FINDER series (HarperCollins), THE PLEDGE trilogy (Simon & Schuster), and THE TAKING trilogy (coming April 29th from 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.
I have The Pledge Trilogy on my tbr shelf as I picked them up cheap. I am looking forward to picking it up because I keep seeing such amazing reviews for this one.
ReplyDeleteEveryone keeps on pointing out how good the main characters are and how strong they are. If I like my tbr series I will definitely take a peep at this one! :)
Thanks for sharing my dear and have a great week! :) xxx
Alex @ The Shelf Diaries
Thanks for stopping by! I really loved the characters in this one. The MC could be a little selfish and whiny, but what female YA MC isn't???
ReplyDeleteAhhhhhhhhhhhh I'm so glad you love The Taking! I've been eyeing it for a while but was a bit nervous in case it totally flopped. Thanks for an awesome review, Brooke :D
ReplyDeleteBekah I really did! I love Sci-Fi. I'm sure it won't be for everyone but it was right up my ally!
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