The Taking - Kimberly Derting

The Taking – Kimberly Derting

Having read The Body Finder series by Kimberly Derting, I stumbled across The Taking series. To which I instantly went and bought to carry on my need for Dertings writing style and stories. I was eager to read more of her writing, and see what other world she could bring to life.

‘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 thoroughly enjoyed The Taking, it was different to the Body Finder series, yet it was still a great read. The premise of the story, if thinking about it from your own perspective would be truly terrifying. I mean, how you would handle losing 5 years of your life and finding that everything has changed. People had grown up, moved on, and yet you were still the age you were when you left, exactly the same, with no memories between then and now. It would be awful and truly terrifying. I found that Kyra our lead protagonist handled the whole situation remarkably well, granted she didn’t fit in and struggled with the changes to her family life, but how she remained sane is beyond me.

My main struggle with all this was her relationship with Tyler, her boyfriend/ex boyfriends little brother. He was 12 years old when she last saw him, and now 5 years later she is 16 and he is 17, and suddenly there is a connection between the two, and she doesn’t find it a little weird. Sure she is stubborn with admitting her feelings towards him, but as far as she was concerned, yesterday he was 12 and today he is 17, there were no 5 years for her, yet she accepted this all so easily. Regardless of that I did enjoy reading the development between the two, and Austin did come across incredibly selfish in comparison. 

The characters in this story were incredibly vast and different. Kyra’s parents for one, I disliked how the mum was towards her daughter on her return, how she handled the NSA and completely disregarded anything her daughter said and believed it to be untrue. I absolutely loved her dad, who at first seemed like one of those controlling over bearing parents, but actually was funny, and probably the only person even close to the truth, I am excited to learn more about his character in the next book.

Austin and Cat, Kyra’s ex boyfriend and best friend were an interesting duo. I think Cat’s character will be an intriguing one to see unfold, she seems like a great best friend, and still somewhat loyal (disregarding who she is currently in a relationship with of course) I think we will probably see more of her in the next book, as she seems adamant to get her best friend back and make up for all those lost years. Austin, well, at the start of the book he seemed really sweet, him and Kyra looked like the perfect couple, however College Austin came across incredibly selfish, looking to just make himself feel better, with no concern over how Kyra is, or what even happened to her. It was quite upsetting to see Kyra deal with that situation.

Tyler was an interesting character, he seemed sweet and caring, and someone Kyra could rely on during this strange time she was going through. He really became her rock, even if he did have a massive crush on her, and adamant to make her realise she felt the same.

This story was fun and enjoyable, and really action packed near the end with the introduction of Simon and the returned. It was certainly an emotional rollercoaster and the ending really left you needing to know more. So much so, that I ordered book two in the series instantly after finishing this one. I honestly cannot wait to find out where this story is taking us and just what happens to each of the characters.

If you are looking for a fun, sci fi YA story, with a hint of action and mystery then this is a book for you. I managed to finish this story in less than a day, so it is an incredibly quick read, so i would highly recommend you give it a go. Dertings writing is incredible, as always, and hooks you right into the story instantly which is perfect for a story such as this.

I have given this 4 out of 5 stars.