TAKEN was a very promising debut novel. The characters were well-written and well-rounded and the writing didn't get in the way of the story. There was enough description and world-building and the author didn't inundate us with large info-dumps.TAKEN stands out among the large current crop of dystopias because of its well thought out plot and intriguing characters. Grey Weatherby is the younger more impulsive brother. When his older brother Blaine reaches eighteen and is removed from their town of Claysoot--"heisted" as the residents say, Grey doesn't know what he should do next. When he finds a part of a letter that his mother wrote Blaine as she was dying, he begins to look for answers to the new questions it brings up. Grey decides to climb the wall that surrounds Claysoot, even though everyone else who has tried has been found near the inner wall as a burned up body. Learning that he was a twin and has passed the time when he should have been heisted, makes him believe that he will be able to successfully cross over the wall. But he doesn't go alone. Grey has had a crush on Emma, the healer's daughter, for a long time but she seemed to prefer Blaine. Now that Blaine is gone and Grey has been slated for Emma, they become better friends. When Grey leaves, Emma follows him. Together they discover a world that they couldn't imagine.This story has it all--exciting adventure, great danger, a dastardly villain, and noble rebels--and Grey and Emma find themselves in the thick of it. There is even a potential love triangle as Grey meets a rebel girl named Bree who fascinates him with a courage and recklessness much like his own.Fans of dystopias will enjoy this one. I know that I am eager to read the next book in this trilogy myself.
