The Taking Review

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TITLE: The Taking

AUTHOR: Kimberly Derting

PUBLISHER: Harper Teen

PUBLICATION DATE: 4/29/2014

PAGES: 368

MY RATING:

BACK COVER SUMMARY: 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 deja 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 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 disappearance on little green men. Confused and lost, she turns to Tyler, her boyfriend'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 there are others life her who have been taken...and returned.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: I went into this book not knowing anything about it. I didn't read the summary because I wanted to be surprised, but I had heard that it might have something to do with aliens, so I was intrigued. This book was really good and had me reading whenever I had free time to see what was going on and what was going to happen. The story moves along very nicely and closer to the end we start to find out more about what it actually going on. 

The ending left everything completely open for the sequel and I cannot wait to see what comes next. I'm left with some questions and I am ready to find out where Kimberly takes the story.

CHARACTERS: Kyra and Tyler are great together. They feel so natural and I really like that. I'm excited to learn more about the characters as the series continues, specifically Kyra's dad and I'd also like to get to know Kyra's little brother more. 

COVER: The cover is awesome. It ties in with the book perfectly. I love the fireflies that make up the title.

**I received an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine for my honest review.

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting Review

TITLE: The Pledge

AUTHOR: Kimberly Derting

PUBLISHER: Margaret K. McElderry (Simon & Schuster)

PUBLICATION DATE: 11/15/2011

PAGES: 323

MY RATING:

INSIDE COVER SUMMARY: In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a in the class in the eye while they are speaking in their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs, where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max, who speaks a language she's never heard before...and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills become real emergencies and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: This was a pretty good book. It does not make my top list of favorites, but I did enjoy reading it. The twist in the middle of the story was pretty predictable, but I still enjoyed reading everything as the details were revealed. I have a slight problem with the love story in this book. I don't know if everything happened too quickly or what, but I just feel like the love between Max and Charlie is too forced. It doesn't feel natural.

CHARACTERS: I am so jealous of Charlie's ability. I think it would be amazing to automatically understand any language. It would be so helpful in communicating with people, and I just think it would be fun. My favorite character in this book was Angelina. She was so cute and sweet and I just wanted to pick her up and protect her from everything.

COVER:  I like the cover a lot. I love the faded word 'PLEDGE' with the design. and I like the dark and mysterious vibe it gives off.

*I received this from Amazon Vine for Review