Taken (The Quest for Truth)

Reviewed by Shawna Williams
Title: Taken (Quest for Truth)
Author: Brock Eastman
Primary Audience/age group: 11+
Genre: Christian Science Fiction
# Of pages: 315
Publisher: A Focus on the Family Resource published by P&R Publishing
Year of Release: 2011
Part of a Series? Yes, 1 of 4
Rating: 5 View Scale
Recommend? Yes

 Description: Seventeen-year-old Oliver Wikk returns home from his Federation training to find his parents being abducted by the menacing Captain Vedrick. Oliver has to put his training to the test as he flies their parent’s spaceship on a long and often dangerous quest to save his three younger siblings and rescue their parents. Along their quest, the Wikk children discover their parents had found an artifact, a book that holds the truth about human origin and may even hold the secrets to eternal life. But, the rogue group Ubel, led by Vedrick, wants to misuse it for their advantage. Will the Wikks survive and save humanity from these evil villians?

Review: Taken by Brock Eastman is an exciting, fast-paced adventure that will keep tweens and teens reading for hours. From the start, Eastman thrusts the Wikks into one dangerous scenario after another as they trek the galaxy unlocking the mysteries of their parent’s quest for truth and meeting a strange tribe of blue-colored people. The illustrated Visual Glossary Eastman included adds even more intrigue to the book with fascinating descriptions of all the futuristic gadgets the Wikk kids wield.

Rating: 5

Positive: Oliver, being the oldest, steps by and takes on the responsibility of keeping his other siblings safe while trying to find their parents. The children are able to work though conflict in order to become a team and focus on the rescue. They learn how to rely on each other with every one doing their parts, and they learn to take responsibility for their own actions.

Spiritual Elements: none

Violence: The violence is very mild. Elliot Wick, the father, is tazered during his abduction. The children are relentlessly chased by Vedrick’s soldiers who mean them harm. During a fast-paced chase scene, a couple of ships crash but the pilots eject and are not killed. The younger teens experience a couple of injuries while fighting with each other and then run into a new tribe of blue people who capture then with spears flying.

Language: none

Sexual Content: none

Other: none

Recommendation: The book is most appropriate for children ages 11 and up. I think the importance of taking responsibility for your own actions and stepping up to be a responsible leader would be some great subjects to discuss with children after they have read the book.