Taken
Tia says:
Reading books purely because their description reminds me SLIGHTLY of Chaos Walking is only going to get me disappointment, but for some reason I keep doing it. My gosh, this book was exhausting. This book was 357 pages long and had what I counted to be 13 plot twists. THIRTEEN. THAT'S TOO MANY. I am so exhausted right now because I just can't handle so much flipping of what is or isn't happening. Gray just wasn't likeable to me, Emma was so dull, and while Bree was okay it made me mad ...that her only purpose was to serve as angst between Gray and Emma. Yikes.
mad says:
Adam McCaffery Period 9 read the book Taken, by Erin Bowman for my book talk, which is a dystopian book.There are multiple settings in Taken. All of the different settings show why this is a science fiction, and to be more specific, a dystopian book. You can tell this book takes place in the future because there is futuristic technology. For instance the text states, “He could be a Forgery, another trick of Taem, engineered to look like something that will tear at our heartstrings and later murder us as we sleep,” (Pg. 170, Bowman) This shows how this is a Dystopian setting because the Forgeries are clones of someone. They are used in military to deceive their enemies and kill them. A dystopian place in the story is Taem. Taem is struggling to survive right after a war. This is illustrated on page 105 when the text states, “...a smooth section of an aged building is illuminated with words: Water distribution today. Segments 13 & 14 only. Must present ration card.” (Pg. 117, Bowman) This shows how this is a dystopian society because they are low on water and have to distribute equally. Most dystopian societies are scarce on some sort of material, and Taem is. People don’t agree with how the government is treating the water distribution, and this was shown when a man stole water for his sick family that needed it. Another example of this is all of the test groups that were used to help make a perfect soldier. The text stated, “Five test groups have now been set up across AmEast, labeled, for now, from A to E. As the nature of this project is to create durable and tough soldiers, we need a range of subjects for experimentation,” (Pg. 252, Bowman). This shows how the setting is a dystopian one because AmEast is trying to attain a perfect soldier by testing groups of humans with futuristic technology. This decision isn’t the most agreeable, and that is why the society is crumbling, making it a dystopian society.Gray Weathersby is the main character in the story. Gray is extremely curious. This is illustrated when the text states, “And the answers are waiting, on the other side. All I have to do is climb over,” (Pg. 88, Bowman). This proves Gray is curious because he was daring to climb the wall, which is a death trap, to get his answers. Gray is also a very reckless character. The is specifically stated by Gray himself when he says, “But me, I’m reckless, always reacting to some feeling in my chest,” (Pg. 10 Bowman). This can also be shown when he attacks Chalice, a girl, for making fun of him. Gray doesn’t think too many things through and this is why he attacked Chalice, which made him look like a fool. Moreover, Gray is extremely brave and courageous. This was shown through his actions. Gray states, “I march Harvey back to Taem, turn him in, and create a diversion allowing us to grab the vaccine” (Pg. 290, Bowman). This shows he was gallant because he was going on a daring rescue mission to help save the Rebels from disease. He could’ve easily gotten himself killed during his mission. Gray’s older brother Blaine just got “Heisted”, or disappearing into an unknown place. This happens to all 18 year old boys. However, things aren’t what they seem when Gray finds out he is Blaine’s twin brother. After craving for answers once Gray finds out the truth, he climbs the colossal wall separating Claysroot from the rest of the world. Emma, who Gray has a relationship with, climbs with him too. No one usually makes it over the wall alive, but Emma and Gray were found by a man named Marco and were taken to safety in a dystopian society called Taem. Taem was led by a man named Frank and he controlled the Order. The Order was trying to search for a man name Harvey, who created Claysroot and other locations like it for testings. While in Taem, Gray is reunited with Blaine who is now an Order soldier, and most Heisted boys go to Taem after they are Heisted. Something didn’t seem right to Gray about Taem and he gets in trouble with the law for questioning too many things and trying to find out the truth. Therefore, he espaces Taem and is forced to leave Emma. While running away from Taem, he runs into an Order unit, about to attack the Rebels, which is believed to be helping Harvey. However, the Order is ambushed and Gray and Blaine are captured by the Rebels. Gray and Blaine eventually join the Rebels once they find out the truth that Frank created Claysroot and all the other test locations. Gray meets his father at the Rebel base, Crevice Valley, who was presumed dead after the Heist. It turns out, he was a Captain for the Rebels all along. During his training to be a Rebel soldier, Gray befriends Bree, who is also a soldier. During a Rebel meeting, it was found out that the Order was going to attack the Rebels by disease. As a result, Gray, Bree, and Harvey are sent back to Taem to try and get the vaccine. Gray was going to pretend to be Blaine because they looked so much alike, and have Harvey as his prisoner. While there, Bree would create a diversion that would allow them to grab the vaccine without anyone noticing and return back to Crevice Valley safe and unharmed. I can relate a lot to Gray. Some traits he has really stick out to me because I can relate to him so much. Gray is a very curious character. He always wants the truth, and nothing will stop him. He’s so determined to get the truth in the book, he would jump off a cliff if the answers were at the bottom. For instance, the text states, “And the answers are waiting, on the other side. All I have to do is climb over,” (Pg. 88, Bowman).When Gray wanted to find the answers to what was really going on in Claysroot, he took a life threatening risk by climbing over the wall, which no one survives. I feel as I would do the same if I were in Gray’s position. Something like this happened to me when a couple years ago. Something didn’t feel right with my parents, and I felt like they were hiding something. I asked them what was going on and they wouldn’t tell me. Curious and aggravated, I started to search for the answers on my own. I went in the search history and found they were buying tickets for a vacation in Florida. Since I knew, I had to pretend to be surprised when they told me. I would undoubtedly recommend this book. Comparing this book to other popular dystopian books like The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner and Divergent, this book is very unique, but in a good way. You get the taste that something is different just as you start to read it. The main thing I love about this book is when Erin Bowman tries to make me crave the answers just as much as Gray. On the other hand, I don’t like the romance in this book. I feel like there was no point in adding Emma because she is barely used after they get to Taem. On a scale 1-10 this would definitely by a 8.5. Spoiler Alert!!!!: When Gray was trying to execute the plan previously mentioned, things go haywire. Gray and Harvey are thrown into a prison because Frank doesn’t trust them. Frank was going to make Gray, as Blaine, execute Harvey in front of everyone in Taem. Gray shot Harvey, and in order to make everyone panic, Bree shot Gray to make it look like a Rebel attack. The civilians panicked and this allowed Gray and Bree to escape with the vaccine. The only reason he survived was because a man named Bo Chilton helped him out. In the end, Bo, Bree, and Gray all make it back to Crevice Valley as heroes. The climax of the story is when Harvey died. Gray was finally able to let things go and escape during the mission. He could’ve let go of Harvey, but it was too hard for him to make the sacrifice earlier. Once Harvey died, Bree and Gray were able to escape. Before, Gray wouldn’t have been able to escape because of Harvey slowing them down. The book ends with a group of rebels including all these characters going to Group A to rescue them from their version of the Heist so they can join the Rebels making them stronger in numbers. The theme of this book is that there is always more to everything than people say there is, and people should be honest. This means that the truth won’t be explicitly stated right away, and you have to dig for answers yourself if you want the truth. In the beginning of the book, Gray finds a secret letter written by his mom that he wasn’t supposed to find and states, “How dare they keep a secret that so clearly affects me,” (Pg. 37 Bowman). Gray thought everything was perfectly normal, but when he found the secret letter, things changed. Now, everything was suspicious and possibly he lived his whole life a lie. Another example of this is later in the book when Gray states, “No matter how obvious something may seem, there are two sides to every story,” (Pg. 97 Bowman). This perfectly describes the theme. When Gray said this, he was looking for the truth himself. He felt like Frank and the Order was hiding something from him. They gave him the “truth” that Harvey created all the tests, but Frank was the one who did it. Both of these examples show why people should be kept honest. If Gray was constantly asking questions and searching for the truth in the first place, he could have had much more of an insight on the society and made the right decisions earlier.MoreLess
Reading books purely because their description reminds me SLIGHTLY of Chaos Walking is only going to get me disappointment, but for some reason I keep doing it. My gosh, this book was exhausting. This book was 357 pages long and had what I counted to be 13 plot twists. THIRTEEN. THAT'S TOO MANY. I am so exhausted right now because I just can't handle so much flipping of what is or isn't happening. Gray just wasn't likeable to me, Emma was so dull, and while Bree was okay it made me mad ...that her only purpose was to serve as angst between Gray and Emma. Yikes.
mad says:
Adam McCaffery Period 9 read the book Taken, by Erin Bowman for my book talk, which is a dystopian book.There are multiple settings in Taken. All of the different settings show why this is a science fiction, and to be more specific, a dystopian book. You can tell this book takes place in the future because there is futuristic technology. For instance the text states, “He could be a Forgery, another trick of Taem, engineered to look like something that will tear at our heartstrings and later murder us as we sleep,” (Pg. 170, Bowman) This shows how this is a Dystopian setting because the Forgeries are clones of someone. They are used in military to deceive their enemies and kill them. A dystopian place in the story is Taem. Taem is struggling to survive right after a war. This is illustrated on page 105 when the text states, “...a smooth section of an aged building is illuminated with words: Water distribution today. Segments 13 & 14 only. Must present ration card.” (Pg. 117, Bowman) This shows how this is a dystopian society because they are low on water and have to distribute equally. Most dystopian societies are scarce on some sort of material, and Taem is. People don’t agree with how the government is treating the water distribution, and this was shown when a man stole water for his sick family that needed it. Another example of this is all of the test groups that were used to help make a perfect soldier. The text stated, “Five test groups have now been set up across AmEast, labeled, for now, from A to E. As the nature of this project is to create durable and tough soldiers, we need a range of subjects for experimentation,” (Pg. 252, Bowman). This shows how the setting is a dystopian one because AmEast is trying to attain a perfect soldier by testing groups of humans with futuristic technology. This decision isn’t the most agreeable, and that is why the society is crumbling, making it a dystopian society.Gray Weathersby is the main character in the story. Gray is extremely curious. This is illustrated when the text states, “And the answers are waiting, on the other side. All I have to do is climb over,” (Pg. 88, Bowman). This proves Gray is curious because he was daring to climb the wall, which is a death trap, to get his answers. Gray is also a very reckless character. The is specifically stated by Gray himself when he says, “But me, I’m reckless, always reacting to some feeling in my chest,” (Pg. 10 Bowman). This can also be shown when he attacks Chalice, a girl, for making fun of him. Gray doesn’t think too many things through and this is why he attacked Chalice, which made him look like a fool. Moreover, Gray is extremely brave and courageous. This was shown through his actions. Gray states, “I march Harvey back to Taem, turn him in, and create a diversion allowing us to grab the vaccine” (Pg. 290, Bowman). This shows he was gallant because he was going on a daring rescue mission to help save the Rebels from disease. He could’ve easily gotten himself killed during his mission. Gray’s older brother Blaine just got “Heisted”, or disappearing into an unknown place. This happens to all 18 year old boys. However, things aren’t what they seem when Gray finds out he is Blaine’s twin brother. After craving for answers once Gray finds out the truth, he climbs the colossal wall separating Claysroot from the rest of the world. Emma, who Gray has a relationship with, climbs with him too. No one usually makes it over the wall alive, but Emma and Gray were found by a man named Marco and were taken to safety in a dystopian society called Taem. Taem was led by a man named Frank and he controlled the Order. The Order was trying to search for a man name Harvey, who created Claysroot and other locations like it for testings. While in Taem, Gray is reunited with Blaine who is now an Order soldier, and most Heisted boys go to Taem after they are Heisted. Something didn’t seem right to Gray about Taem and he gets in trouble with the law for questioning too many things and trying to find out the truth. Therefore, he espaces Taem and is forced to leave Emma. While running away from Taem, he runs into an Order unit, about to attack the Rebels, which is believed to be helping Harvey. However, the Order is ambushed and Gray and Blaine are captured by the Rebels. Gray and Blaine eventually join the Rebels once they find out the truth that Frank created Claysroot and all the other test locations. Gray meets his father at the Rebel base, Crevice Valley, who was presumed dead after the Heist. It turns out, he was a Captain for the Rebels all along. During his training to be a Rebel soldier, Gray befriends Bree, who is also a soldier. During a Rebel meeting, it was found out that the Order was going to attack the Rebels by disease. As a result, Gray, Bree, and Harvey are sent back to Taem to try and get the vaccine. Gray was going to pretend to be Blaine because they looked so much alike, and have Harvey as his prisoner. While there, Bree would create a diversion that would allow them to grab the vaccine without anyone noticing and return back to Crevice Valley safe and unharmed. I can relate a lot to Gray. Some traits he has really stick out to me because I can relate to him so much. Gray is a very curious character. He always wants the truth, and nothing will stop him. He’s so determined to get the truth in the book, he would jump off a cliff if the answers were at the bottom. For instance, the text states, “And the answers are waiting, on the other side. All I have to do is climb over,” (Pg. 88, Bowman).When Gray wanted to find the answers to what was really going on in Claysroot, he took a life threatening risk by climbing over the wall, which no one survives. I feel as I would do the same if I were in Gray’s position. Something like this happened to me when a couple years ago. Something didn’t feel right with my parents, and I felt like they were hiding something. I asked them what was going on and they wouldn’t tell me. Curious and aggravated, I started to search for the answers on my own. I went in the search history and found they were buying tickets for a vacation in Florida. Since I knew, I had to pretend to be surprised when they told me. I would undoubtedly recommend this book. Comparing this book to other popular dystopian books like The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner and Divergent, this book is very unique, but in a good way. You get the taste that something is different just as you start to read it. The main thing I love about this book is when Erin Bowman tries to make me crave the answers just as much as Gray. On the other hand, I don’t like the romance in this book. I feel like there was no point in adding Emma because she is barely used after they get to Taem. On a scale 1-10 this would definitely by a 8.5. Spoiler Alert!!!!: When Gray was trying to execute the plan previously mentioned, things go haywire. Gray and Harvey are thrown into a prison because Frank doesn’t trust them. Frank was going to make Gray, as Blaine, execute Harvey in front of everyone in Taem. Gray shot Harvey, and in order to make everyone panic, Bree shot Gray to make it look like a Rebel attack. The civilians panicked and this allowed Gray and Bree to escape with the vaccine. The only reason he survived was because a man named Bo Chilton helped him out. In the end, Bo, Bree, and Gray all make it back to Crevice Valley as heroes. The climax of the story is when Harvey died. Gray was finally able to let things go and escape during the mission. He could’ve let go of Harvey, but it was too hard for him to make the sacrifice earlier. Once Harvey died, Bree and Gray were able to escape. Before, Gray wouldn’t have been able to escape because of Harvey slowing them down. The book ends with a group of rebels including all these characters going to Group A to rescue them from their version of the Heist so they can join the Rebels making them stronger in numbers. The theme of this book is that there is always more to everything than people say there is, and people should be honest. This means that the truth won’t be explicitly stated right away, and you have to dig for answers yourself if you want the truth. In the beginning of the book, Gray finds a secret letter written by his mom that he wasn’t supposed to find and states, “How dare they keep a secret that so clearly affects me,” (Pg. 37 Bowman). Gray thought everything was perfectly normal, but when he found the secret letter, things changed. Now, everything was suspicious and possibly he lived his whole life a lie. Another example of this is later in the book when Gray states, “No matter how obvious something may seem, there are two sides to every story,” (Pg. 97 Bowman). This perfectly describes the theme. When Gray said this, he was looking for the truth himself. He felt like Frank and the Order was hiding something from him. They gave him the “truth” that Harvey created all the tests, but Frank was the one who did it. Both of these examples show why people should be kept honest. If Gray was constantly asking questions and searching for the truth in the first place, he could have had much more of an insight on the society and made the right decisions earlier.MoreLess
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Guest 6 years ago
yes
Guest 6 years ago
great plot. wish could finish the whole story
Guest 7 years ago
The Story seems interesting. But i can't go beyond the part where the team leaves for Group A. Is that where this book ends, or is there a sequel to it?Write Review:
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