The Replaced (ARC Review)

The Taking: The Replaced | Kimberly Derting

Published by: HarperTeen, April 28th 2015

Genre: YA, Science Fiction

Pages: 368

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss

Romantic and action-packed, The Replaced is the gripping second installment in the Taking trilogy.

Kyra hasn't been the same since she returned from her mysterious five-year disappearance. Now, on the run from the NSA, Kyra is forced to hide out with others who, like her, have been Returned. Yet she is determined to find Tyler, the boy she loves who was also abducted—all because of her. When her group intercepts a message that Tyler might still be alive but is in the hands of a shadowy government organization that experiments on the Returned, Kyra knows it's a risk to go after him. What if it's a trap? And worse, what if the returned Tyler isn't the same boy she lost? 

Perfect for fans of The Fifth Wave and the Body Finder series, The Replaced is both chilling and explosive, with creepy, otherworldly elements and twisty, psychological thrills that will have you questioning what exactly it means to be human.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Taking, this book's predecessor. It had a lovely romance, plenty of action, alien abductions, and the CIA. Pretty much all I ask for in a book. The Replaced sort of let it down.

There were some things I loved about this book. I love how the title ties into the book and how I didn't see that twist coming, how we got to see more camps, how the CIA stepped up their game with creepy labs and grudges.

But I just couldn't get over the fact that this book forced a love triangle when it wasn't needed. Kyra and Tyler were set up in book one. They were cute and endearing and a rare healthy relationship. But then this book happened, and with Tyler's (two week!!!) absence, this guy Simon thinks Kyra's fair game. She kisses him one time because the CIA are watching them and they need to blend, and because of that he pursues her. Persistently. She backs away from him, pulls her hand out of his, tries to put distance between him, and he closes it, takes her hand back, dominates her personal space and I really can't stand it. Sure, it's just little things, but the little things speak of aggression and ignoring Kyra's consent and comfort, and they're warning signs that prelude domestic abuse. I am very, very sensitive to this stuff; if I get a single sense that anything is non-consensual I'm straight outta there. If a girl says no, moves away, makes it clear she doesn't want you close to her, fucking listen. I wanted to rip her away from him at every opportunity. Not because I ship Kyra with Tyler (which I do) but because, were I in Kyra's shoes, I would feel threatened, backed into a corner, unsafe.

While the action was great and the world of the Taking expanded brilliantly, the forced love interest in a hostile guy just dragged this book down.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world building ★★★☆☆

Writing ★★★☆☆

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The Taking (ARC Review)

The Taking: The Taking | Kimberly Derting

Published by: HarperTeen, April 29th 2014

Genre: YA, Science fiction (though mostly contemporary/realistic)

Pages: 368

Format: Ebook

Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss

A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing. 

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?

When I started this book, I expected it to be heavier on the sci fi, but what I actually got was much more subtle in execution and unique in itself. The first half of the book focuses on real world stuff - Kyra's family have moved on since her disappearance five years ago and she has a hard time accepting that, her boyfriend is no longer her boyfriend, and she starts to develop feelings for his not-so-younger-anymore brother, Tyler. But while all this normal stuff id happening, Derting carefully and cleverly weaves in signs that hint at the coming fallout.

The romance was sweet and lovely to read. Tyler is a normal guy, polar opposite to these 'swoon-worthy' alpha male types that are abound in YA lately, and he was so refreshing to read .

The sci fi, thriller stuff really kicks into gear around the halfway mark and makes up for the lack in the first half by overwhelming Kyra with problems - threats from the NSA, a mysterious guy who seems to want to help her but insists she was taken by aliens, and her ever-growing otherness. There's something not quite right with Kyra. I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first.

An inventive novel of the aftermath of an alien abduction, with some highly charged moments of danger and a genuine romance, Taken puts an original new spin on a familiar story.

Characters ★★★☆☆

Setting/world building ★★★☆☆

Writing Style ★★★☆☆