strangecandy's review
1.0
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book so much I read it in one sitting! It kind of reminded me of The Host by Stephanie Meyer which I really enjoyed as well. The story is told from the point of view of Gracie and Brandon in alternating chapters. Then Jake the child they find takes a turn in the narration. Gracie and Brandon meet up after an alien invasion destroys the world as they knew it. They've both lost their families and have to stick together to find a safe place to stay at Brandon's uncles cabin up north. They find Jake along the way who doesn't speak and has many secrets of his own but they all grow together and take care of each other as they make their way through a dangerous landscape. Coming across people they cannot trust and some who they thought they could trust. Very good story!
urlphantomhive's review
3.0
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
A real alien invasion is not just like in the movies. Except that it read exactly like watching one of those movies. Giant alien spacecraft arrive, doing nothing for some time, until they start harvesting. The few people left over are trying to survive and slowly start to realise there might be something more threatening out there,
The story contained the typical characters in a (post)apocalyptic YA. The protected character who will have to learn everything about survival but does have a good brain and a big heart. The troubled character who for convenience knows a lot about survival. To spice things up, they are also taking care of a little boy.
It was an average read. I was mostly interested in the storyline of the little boy, but found the ending unsatisfactory. The rest of the story was quite a standard read. I did enjoy it, for I like these kind of books, but the alien invasion wasn't given too much of a new angle to make it really interesting.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
A real alien invasion is not just like in the movies. Except that it read exactly like watching one of those movies. Giant alien spacecraft arrive, doing nothing for some time, until they start harvesting. The few people left over are trying to survive and slowly start to realise there might be something more threatening out there,
The story contained the typical characters in a (post)apocalyptic YA. The protected character who will have to learn everything about survival but does have a good brain and a big heart. The troubled character who for convenience knows a lot about survival. To spice things up, they are also taking care of a little boy.
It was an average read. I was mostly interested in the storyline of the little boy, but found the ending unsatisfactory. The rest of the story was quite a standard read. I did enjoy it, for I like these kind of books, but the alien invasion wasn't given too much of a new angle to make it really interesting.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
yche09's review
4.0
This is an action packed, fast paced, thrilling and mysterious read!
I don't even know where to start with this book..
*whew*
First.. What is this book all about?
It's about aliens coming to Earth, taking some people with them, but leaving some too.. with weird yet powerful traits in them. It's also all about the people who are truly left behind. People who haven't been touched by the aliens and continue to struggle living in fear.
You see, our characters Gracie, Brandon and Jake once had a normal life. They had a family, neighbors, other people in their lives... Until they all got taken away. It's sad really because they're just so young to experience what they have experienced. I feel bad for each of them because each family had a story to tell. They were just getting by, then poof! Gone!
What do you do when the world around you changes and all you have are 2 people with you doing the best to survive?
I guess you hold on to those two. Start accepting life as it is and move on from that.
That's exactly what our characters did. After being on the run mainly because of the people who wants to dissect the "others", they find a safe haven and stay there. I noticed how fast the pacing from thereon because I read this in under 3 hours. One thing I can say about them being on the run though, they're smart! Like street smart! I like that about them. Brandon's dad helped a lot with that. Even though he was a drunk, he taught Brandon some life preserving skills and that helped them along the way. I like how they're able to go through one rough patch to another. There's a certain beauty when you outwit people who are older than you. Hah! ;) So there... action, thrill, mystery (you'd have to find out what that is because I'm not telling! ^_^).. all of these are in this book.
I guess the only thing that's holding me back from giving this a 5 is that I still have a few questions after finishing the book. Like what does it mean when people get taken? Does that mean that the aliens took over their brains already? Another one is what happened to the world after this? Do they rebuild right away or start looking for the "others"
Anyway... The ending kind of left me speechless. I actually did not see it coming, but it really is for the best. Ahhh! It's killing me not to describe it in detail, but trust me, this book is worth the time so READ IT!
P.S. I requested for this book because of that gorgeous cover. It makes the premise even more interesting!
I was provided with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
I don't even know where to start with this book..
*whew*
First.. What is this book all about?
It's about aliens coming to Earth, taking some people with them, but leaving some too.. with weird yet powerful traits in them. It's also all about the people who are truly left behind. People who haven't been touched by the aliens and continue to struggle living in fear.
You see, our characters Gracie, Brandon and Jake once had a normal life. They had a family, neighbors, other people in their lives... Until they all got taken away. It's sad really because they're just so young to experience what they have experienced. I feel bad for each of them because each family had a story to tell. They were just getting by, then poof! Gone!
What do you do when the world around you changes and all you have are 2 people with you doing the best to survive?
I guess you hold on to those two. Start accepting life as it is and move on from that.
That's exactly what our characters did. After being on the run mainly because of the people who wants to dissect the "others", they find a safe haven and stay there. I noticed how fast the pacing from thereon because I read this in under 3 hours. One thing I can say about them being on the run though, they're smart! Like street smart! I like that about them. Brandon's dad helped a lot with that. Even though he was a drunk, he taught Brandon some life preserving skills and that helped them along the way. I like how they're able to go through one rough patch to another. There's a certain beauty when you outwit people who are older than you. Hah! ;) So there... action, thrill, mystery (you'd have to find out what that is because I'm not telling! ^_^).. all of these are in this book.
I guess the only thing that's holding me back from giving this a 5 is that I still have a few questions after finishing the book. Like what does it mean when people get taken? Does that mean that the aliens took over their brains already? Another one is what happened to the world after this? Do they rebuild right away or start looking for the "others"
Anyway... The ending kind of left me speechless. I actually did not see it coming, but it really is for the best. Ahhh! It's killing me not to describe it in detail, but trust me, this book is worth the time so READ IT!
P.S. I requested for this book because of that gorgeous cover. It makes the premise even more interesting!
I was provided with a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
theartolater's review
4.0
Young adult novels continue to be a hot property as of late publishing-wise, with readers of YA novels pretty much driving the industry at present. Even so, straight, non-dystopian YA science fiction tends to be a little hard to come by. We've come a long way since the Heinlein juveniles and the Tripods series, yes, but when everything feels like it's either a retread of The Hunger Games or Twilight (and may the higher powers help us all if someone ever finds a way to combine those two things), adult readers of genre fiction and YA fiction may feel like they're out in the cold.
I was able to land an advance copy of J. E. Anckorn's debut novel Untaken, and it follows well in the old-school tradition of science fiction for the younger set. Instead of trying to push the envelope with over-the-top ideas and themes, the book is instead an enjoyable throwback of sorts to the alien invasion science fiction of another era while keeping things feeling fresh and new.
The story follows two teens in New England following an alien invasion. They're pretty sure they can get to a family member's cabin to safety, but it's not going to be easy. One girl's parents have already been taken by the aliens, and the two kids have everything working out until they meet a 5 year old kid who won't talk and is pretty hurt. What becomes complicated is when the teenagers learn that Jake has a secret, and it is likely to change everything.
Untaken works best when it is allowed to exist in its own setting. In a way, the book feels like a love letter to the Boston area, with references to landmarks and cities and even a local AM radio station. The alien threat is handled in a different way from what I'm used to as of late as well - the alien existence is a given, and while it feels real, it also feels like part of the setting itself, much like any other problem someone might be facing. Compared to, say, The 5th Wave (a book I definitely enjoyed), the difference in how the threats are handled by our protagonists and by society feel stark. The kids aren't superhuman, they're just surviving, and it ends up being very realistic.
I can't discount, either, the old-style feel it has. While it might be a turn-off for some readers used to a different type of setting, this story feels a lot like the old science fiction that Gracie enjoys in the book. Consciously or not, the book feels very War of the Worlds-ish at times, and that is mostly to its benefit. The narrative along with the plot speaks directly to this sort of throwback, and I love the cover as a result - this would have absolutely sat on my shelf 20+ years ago.
My chief criticism, however, is that the book does take a while to get rolling. The first quarter or so of the book does move a bit slower than the rest as it works to establish what it seeks out to be, but this is both a product of the style it's presented and a product of modern expectations. The payoff (especially the way the book ends) is well worth the wait, but readers looking for a more direct route to the story might find themselves frustrated to start.
Overall, though, an excellent debut and a sci-fi novel I didn't realize I wanted until I was done with it. The book doesn't come out until March, but there is a pre-order available at Amazon that won't break the bank. I'm glad I got to take a look at it, and you will be as well.
I was able to land an advance copy of J. E. Anckorn's debut novel Untaken, and it follows well in the old-school tradition of science fiction for the younger set. Instead of trying to push the envelope with over-the-top ideas and themes, the book is instead an enjoyable throwback of sorts to the alien invasion science fiction of another era while keeping things feeling fresh and new.
The story follows two teens in New England following an alien invasion. They're pretty sure they can get to a family member's cabin to safety, but it's not going to be easy. One girl's parents have already been taken by the aliens, and the two kids have everything working out until they meet a 5 year old kid who won't talk and is pretty hurt. What becomes complicated is when the teenagers learn that Jake has a secret, and it is likely to change everything.
Untaken works best when it is allowed to exist in its own setting. In a way, the book feels like a love letter to the Boston area, with references to landmarks and cities and even a local AM radio station. The alien threat is handled in a different way from what I'm used to as of late as well - the alien existence is a given, and while it feels real, it also feels like part of the setting itself, much like any other problem someone might be facing. Compared to, say, The 5th Wave (a book I definitely enjoyed), the difference in how the threats are handled by our protagonists and by society feel stark. The kids aren't superhuman, they're just surviving, and it ends up being very realistic.
I can't discount, either, the old-style feel it has. While it might be a turn-off for some readers used to a different type of setting, this story feels a lot like the old science fiction that Gracie enjoys in the book. Consciously or not, the book feels very War of the Worlds-ish at times, and that is mostly to its benefit. The narrative along with the plot speaks directly to this sort of throwback, and I love the cover as a result - this would have absolutely sat on my shelf 20+ years ago.
My chief criticism, however, is that the book does take a while to get rolling. The first quarter or so of the book does move a bit slower than the rest as it works to establish what it seeks out to be, but this is both a product of the style it's presented and a product of modern expectations. The payoff (especially the way the book ends) is well worth the wait, but readers looking for a more direct route to the story might find themselves frustrated to start.
Overall, though, an excellent debut and a sci-fi novel I didn't realize I wanted until I was done with it. The book doesn't come out until March, but there is a pre-order available at Amazon that won't break the bank. I'm glad I got to take a look at it, and you will be as well.
athomehangel's review
3.0
READ MY REVIEW ON MY BLOG
HTTP://THEBOOKISHANGEL.WORDPRESS.COM
Copy was provided by Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for an honest review.
I thought I would like this book very much because the synopsis sounded great to me. It felt like it was similar to Angelfall by Susan Ee which is my favorite post-apocalypse book. The cover is absolutely gorgeous too.
The story started pretty okay. The main characters each had a back story. Gracie is a 14 year old nerd girl. She’s into stuff like the alien invasion and she had an online community where she talks about those stuffs with other people. Knowing that she’s into alien invasion, I expected her to know a few stuffs about survival. I’m into post-apocalypse books right now and I have picked up a few information on how to survive one. But Gracie? She doesn’t know how to survive and she has to constantly depend to Brandon. While Gracie is a 14 year old girl who talks like she’s younger, Brandon is a teenaged boy who talks like he’s an adult. It may be because of his upbringing but still. It’s like the characters are inconsistent.
There is also never a clear image of what really happened. Where is the government? How about the other survivors? The pacing of this book is so slow that I thought I would never finish this book. There is nothing interesting that is happening for like almost half of the book. Fortunately there is a kid that is one of the main characters and he kind of interests me so I kept reading.
If you’re into gross alien stuff then you may like this book, it’s one of the things that appealed to me. It’s also kind of scary if this book would happen in real life.
If you haven’t read any post-apocalypse books before then you may like this one and also if you’re into gross alien stuff.
HTTP://THEBOOKISHANGEL.WORDPRESS.COM
Copy was provided by Curiosity Quills Press in exchange for an honest review.
I thought I would like this book very much because the synopsis sounded great to me. It felt like it was similar to Angelfall by Susan Ee which is my favorite post-apocalypse book. The cover is absolutely gorgeous too.
The story started pretty okay. The main characters each had a back story. Gracie is a 14 year old nerd girl. She’s into stuff like the alien invasion and she had an online community where she talks about those stuffs with other people. Knowing that she’s into alien invasion, I expected her to know a few stuffs about survival. I’m into post-apocalypse books right now and I have picked up a few information on how to survive one. But Gracie? She doesn’t know how to survive and she has to constantly depend to Brandon. While Gracie is a 14 year old girl who talks like she’s younger, Brandon is a teenaged boy who talks like he’s an adult. It may be because of his upbringing but still. It’s like the characters are inconsistent.
There is also never a clear image of what really happened. Where is the government? How about the other survivors? The pacing of this book is so slow that I thought I would never finish this book. There is nothing interesting that is happening for like almost half of the book. Fortunately there is a kid that is one of the main characters and he kind of interests me so I kept reading.
If you’re into gross alien stuff then you may like this book, it’s one of the things that appealed to me. It’s also kind of scary if this book would happen in real life.
If you haven’t read any post-apocalypse books before then you may like this one and also if you’re into gross alien stuff.
penguininabluebox's review
2.0
I received a free copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a book about an alien invasion that basically swallows up a lot of people and so 14-year-old Gracie's family is suddenly nowhere to be found, 15-year-old Bradon's Dad is dead, and they find 5-year-old Jake all alone half-dead under a broken house. Together the three of them need to survive and try to find their families.
I honestly didn't enjoy this much. Especially Brandon was terrible in my opinion - he was misogynistic and condescending and I couldn't stand him. I also didn't really get into the story much and there wasn't much suspense for me. The general idea was good but I thought it was poorly executed.
This is a book about an alien invasion that basically swallows up a lot of people and so 14-year-old Gracie's family is suddenly nowhere to be found, 15-year-old Bradon's Dad is dead, and they find 5-year-old Jake all alone half-dead under a broken house. Together the three of them need to survive and try to find their families.
I honestly didn't enjoy this much. Especially Brandon was terrible in my opinion - he was misogynistic and condescending and I couldn't stand him. I also didn't really get into the story much and there wasn't much suspense for me. The general idea was good but I thought it was poorly executed.
mollysbooknook's review
3.0
*I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This book is hard for me to give a star rating. Mainly because the first half and second half of the book were very different for me.
The first half was kind of slow. The author was trying to give a perspective of what the lives of the characters were like prior to the aliens... but it was a little drawn out. There was way too much detail about Brandon's drunk father. I mean, that's basically all you learn about Brandon, is that his father's kind of a dick. Then there was literally 2 paragraphs describing how Gracie gets ice cream.. why? It had no impact on the story, it was just a bunch of extra details that weren't necessary. I actually ended up skimming through a lot of the beginning because I knew it wouldn't matter in the end.
With that said, the second half picked up. I started to enjoy the story. I wasn't too attached to the characters. I feel like the author gave Gracie a completely new personality after the aliens took people. Before, she was a loser, shy, didn't stand up for herself. But after, she was kind of a bitch to Brandon and thought she was the shit. I ended up disliking her, but the story was interesting enough. I liked the survival aspects and that the real enemy didn't seem to be just the aliens.
Overall, it didn't draw me in too much and I didn't get attached to any of the characters but it was an interesting/OK story.
This book is hard for me to give a star rating. Mainly because the first half and second half of the book were very different for me.
The first half was kind of slow. The author was trying to give a perspective of what the lives of the characters were like prior to the aliens... but it was a little drawn out. There was way too much detail about Brandon's drunk father. I mean, that's basically all you learn about Brandon, is that his father's kind of a dick. Then there was literally 2 paragraphs describing how Gracie gets ice cream.. why? It had no impact on the story, it was just a bunch of extra details that weren't necessary. I actually ended up skimming through a lot of the beginning because I knew it wouldn't matter in the end.
With that said, the second half picked up. I started to enjoy the story. I wasn't too attached to the characters. I feel like the author gave Gracie a completely new personality after the aliens took people. Before, she was a loser, shy, didn't stand up for herself. But after, she was kind of a bitch to Brandon and thought she was the shit. I ended up disliking her, but the story was interesting enough. I liked the survival aspects and that the real enemy didn't seem to be just the aliens.
Overall, it didn't draw me in too much and I didn't get attached to any of the characters but it was an interesting/OK story.
book_grinch's review
2.0
Arc provided by Curiosity Quills Press through Netgalley
Book status: Already Released ( March 23rd )
For me the main problem with this story, is that it feels as if it suffers from multiple personality
This was supposed to be a YA sci-fi story, but with a fourteen, a fifteen and even a younger kid, there's times in which this is clearly a middle grade story.
However there are other moments in which this crosses to "the adult road" _ a lot of swearing for instance and misogynistic bullshit. I normally couldn't care less about this situation_ the first one_, but in this story it just felt strange and out of place.
But then there's a lot of "dorks", "nerds", "losers", "chicks" comments running around, so I guess that that makes this YA.
The synopsis sounded really amazing: I read it, and my mind immediately conjured images of something along the lines of "Angelfall". Something intense and focused on the characters survival.
My bad.
The thing is that for more than thirty percent we get treated to the characters backstory, and it says a lot about the story execution that despite being privy to that, I couldn't care less about them.
The characters:
For starters, Gracie sounds way younger than her fourteen years old.
"Mom and Dad always told me never to play with—or even touch—lighters or matches, and even though getting a booboo was a seriously pre-Space Man thing for a person to worry about,(..)
Brandon sounds way older than his fifteen years of life, something more than comprehensible due to the way he was raised, but for almost three quarters of the story, the guy is such a prick to the girl that I practically couldn't stand him. If an alien would come and took him away, I would just say:
THANK YOU.
I am not sure anymore if it's on their first or second interaction that he calls Gracie a bitch...
"There was something kind of romantic about a gun."
Then there's comments like this "lying around" waiting to trip you. "A pearl of wisdom" that a friend of Brandon apparently decided to share with the guy.
Yup! Buy a gun you teens, blow your brains out!-_-
Also, the story has some severe lacunas in important parts of the story:
For instance, when Gracie and Brandon first meet they are both in a safe-house with a large number of other refugees . But then something out of a nightmare happens, and the military forces end up appearing and everything is told fast forward in a blink of an eye... and that's it. Move on.
We never have a clear image of what has happened. Where is the government? Where are his allies?
WHERE IS NATO?
Where are the other survivors?
With the exception of a few moments, the pace of a story never manages to pick up.
Strangely _ in a story like this _ this was a most boring read. I lost count to the vast number of pages wasted on boring, couldn't care less details.
Yes it has some horror moments, some alien abduction scenes, some disgusting octopus attacks, but when I didn't get to watch a real partnership establish itself between the kids, and instead I had to watch the fifteen old jerk boss the girl around I was mostly done with this story.
Unfortunately, I found myself interested in the younger kid story (Jake), so I had to keep on reading. -_-
With Brandon's increasing stupidity as the story moves along... although it does give the fifteen old character more credibility as to his age, it was hard to force myself to keep turning the pages.
In the end, Brandon manages to grow up, because a year has gone by, but I didn't get to see that.
Bottom line: Just as I suspected, a post apocalyptic scenario isn't all that fun to live in, or to read about, not when there isn't a sense of dread of what is looming ahead.
And although the characters and their interactions change with time, this is not a story that I see myself re-reading.
What can I say?
I am not a big fan of ET.
avoraciousreader68's review
4.0
Forget Armageddon. Aliens have shown up in large numbers in strange silver ships and they did not come in peace. Destroying buildings and killing humans, the aliens have made a right mess of Earth. The remaining people are scattered among shelters, but when they thought they could count on the government to protect them, they soon realize how very wrong they were. Gracie, Brandon and Jake need to get to safety and wait for the Army to rescue them from aliens and the special agencies such as the CIA. However, they didn't count on Jake being of special interest to the government and aliens alike. Now they can't trust anyone except themselves. How long can they hide and survive? And if there's no one left, does it matter if they do?
This is an interesting take on alien invasion. A slow start, but picks up as it goes along. The story is told from three POVs, 14-yr-old Gracie, 15-yr-old Brandon and 5-yr-old Jake. None of them are related, but they all want to survive. Gracie and Brandon's stories of the invasion are sorta similar, but Jake's is very different. He's very different.
The invasion is a bit confusing. Why hover and wait around for so long? Then come in guns blazing when it later becomes clear that they want the humans. So why slaughter so many? Didn't make sense. And our own governments? What asshats! Seriously.
I enjoyed the switching POVs. It gave a well-rounded telling of the events both before and after the invasion. The writing is superb and the plot interesting. It made me wonder aloud to my husband how well our own kids would fair if they were dumped into a flight and survive situation. The kids in this story had to go back to basics. Forget tv, internet and video games. How well would most of the kid/teen population today get along if they had to do without electricity, running water and grocery stores? How many of us are prepared for such an event? I grew up on a farm and my husband knows how to hunt, so we would probably be ok as long as we avoided the aliens and the bad government guys. But still...eep. Let's just not let this happen. Ok?
This is an interesting take on alien invasion. A slow start, but picks up as it goes along. The story is told from three POVs, 14-yr-old Gracie, 15-yr-old Brandon and 5-yr-old Jake. None of them are related, but they all want to survive. Gracie and Brandon's stories of the invasion are sorta similar, but Jake's is very different. He's very different.
The invasion is a bit confusing. Why hover and wait around for so long? Then come in guns blazing when it later becomes clear that they want the humans. So why slaughter so many? Didn't make sense. And our own governments? What asshats! Seriously.
I enjoyed the switching POVs. It gave a well-rounded telling of the events both before and after the invasion. The writing is superb and the plot interesting. It made me wonder aloud to my husband how well our own kids would fair if they were dumped into a flight and survive situation. The kids in this story had to go back to basics. Forget tv, internet and video games. How well would most of the kid/teen population today get along if they had to do without electricity, running water and grocery stores? How many of us are prepared for such an event? I grew up on a farm and my husband knows how to hunt, so we would probably be ok as long as we avoided the aliens and the bad government guys. But still...eep. Let's just not let this happen. Ok?
vesperbell's review
4.0
I was lent this book by a coworker who happens to be related to the author as they thought I would enjoy it, but I was not requested to or expected to review it.
The premise of Untaken is unmistakably similar to The 5th Wave in theme — an alien attack on earth that comes in waves, with two teenagers trying to survive whilst protecting/rescuing a young child. However, it’s been long enough since I’ve read The 5th Wave that I wouldn’t be able to make a direct comparison of specific similarities and differences between the two other than them both being YA fiction.
We spend a fair bit of time at the beginning of this book becoming acquainted with the lives of our two protagonists Brandon and Gracie. Coming from different backgrounds, their experiences definitely acted as believable catalysts for their actions and interactions throughout the book; when they finally meet it is surprising how well they compliment each other’s individual strengths, and their ability to reach practical decisions together in stressful situations works in their favour many times. They bicker and have disagreements, but there is an underlying respect on both sides that helps them reach mutual conclusions which are stronger than any of their individual ideas.
My main concern coming into this book was the worry of encountering excessive romance or a pseudo-family relationship between Brandon, Gracie, and the child they are trying to take care of, Jake. However, these elements only surfaced for maybe two or three chapters and I did not feel that they were particularly forced. Unnecessary perhaps, but that’s purely my personal preference.
Often I tend to find myself frustrated with YA fiction written in first person, but the writing in Untaken flows well, capturing the personalities of each of the characters and how they view the world around them. The switch to third person is particularly successful in stumbling you as the reader whilst conveying the battling consciousnesses of Jake, which is a major part of his narrative arc.
I felt the focus of the book was fairly singular when there was clearly a lot going on elsewhere with the military’s efforts to stabilise the remaining population. Whilst this was frustrating, it was understandable as the three needed to stay isolated; by leaving us in the dark it showed how frustrated the characters themselves must be having to live and plan their movements with such little contact with the rest of the world.
However, by omitting the information of what was going elsewhere (and I’m treading lightly here to avoid spoilers), I felt that some extra time could have been spent following Jake and the strange events that were beginning to happen around him. His chapters were fascinating, and it was a shame that Gracie and Brandon’s chapters seemed to be so stuck in denial of what was happening when there was opportunity to really delve deeper and learn more, though I welcomed the challenge of certain things being left open to interpretation.
Overall, a solid book covering a snapshot of a devastating event with characters I could empathise with and a fast-paced story. I only wish it were slightly longer in some areas!
The premise of Untaken is unmistakably similar to The 5th Wave in theme — an alien attack on earth that comes in waves, with two teenagers trying to survive whilst protecting/rescuing a young child. However, it’s been long enough since I’ve read The 5th Wave that I wouldn’t be able to make a direct comparison of specific similarities and differences between the two other than them both being YA fiction.
We spend a fair bit of time at the beginning of this book becoming acquainted with the lives of our two protagonists Brandon and Gracie. Coming from different backgrounds, their experiences definitely acted as believable catalysts for their actions and interactions throughout the book; when they finally meet it is surprising how well they compliment each other’s individual strengths, and their ability to reach practical decisions together in stressful situations works in their favour many times. They bicker and have disagreements, but there is an underlying respect on both sides that helps them reach mutual conclusions which are stronger than any of their individual ideas.
My main concern coming into this book was the worry of encountering excessive romance or a pseudo-family relationship between Brandon, Gracie, and the child they are trying to take care of, Jake. However, these elements only surfaced for maybe two or three chapters and I did not feel that they were particularly forced. Unnecessary perhaps, but that’s purely my personal preference.
Often I tend to find myself frustrated with YA fiction written in first person, but the writing in Untaken flows well, capturing the personalities of each of the characters and how they view the world around them. The switch to third person is particularly successful in stumbling you as the reader whilst conveying the battling consciousnesses of Jake, which is a major part of his narrative arc.
I felt the focus of the book was fairly singular when there was clearly a lot going on elsewhere with the military’s efforts to stabilise the remaining population. Whilst this was frustrating, it was understandable as the three needed to stay isolated; by leaving us in the dark it showed how frustrated the characters themselves must be having to live and plan their movements with such little contact with the rest of the world.
However, by omitting the information of what was going elsewhere (and I’m treading lightly here to avoid spoilers), I felt that some extra time could have been spent following Jake and the strange events that were beginning to happen around him. His chapters were fascinating, and it was a shame that Gracie and Brandon’s chapters seemed to be so stuck in denial of what was happening when there was opportunity to really delve deeper and learn more, though I welcomed the challenge of certain things being left open to interpretation.
Overall, a solid book covering a snapshot of a devastating event with characters I could empathise with and a fast-paced story. I only wish it were slightly longer in some areas!