Taken

Taken
David Massey
Novel
Friday 7th March

Written by David Massey, “Taken” is a novel that follows a team that sets sail. Rio Cruz joins five other teenagers who shes never met before for a boating trip around the world to raise money for charity. Four of the five of the crew are military veterans who were disabled in combat and the Other named Jen. From the start its clear that majority of the four military veterans don’t want Rio and Jen there but were forced to because sponsors wouldn’t fund them unless there was an able-bodied team onboard. While sailing around africa, Rio and the crew run into a group of young boys that sabotage the boat and take the crew hostage. The crew soon find themselves walking towards the heart of the jungle without the supplies they need to survive as the veterans require medication to keep them alive. Not even the military training of the four veterans could of ever prepared for this and it seems that there is only a matter of time until Rio and the crew die, if not by the African capturers then by lack of medication.

Throughout the book “Taken” by David Massey all characters went through different thoughts and emotions that changed the way they are in the present day. Ash was the character I found most compelling in the book, throughout all his days in the military and even with his lost limb he was able to carry his crew through the rough times that faced them in the african jungle and all the devastating things they saw. Ash is an interesting character because he shy about his inner emotions but on the outside is brave and steps up to all leading occasions and challenges the team faces, which other people would find harder than letting out some emotions.

A message I took from the book was to never give up no matter what the circumstances. “When hope is all you have survival is all you can fight for.” is a quote said by Ash when the crew is on the verge of breaking and giving up. This pushes the team to believe in themselves and have hope so that they can survive. Personally this quote has happened to me recently as I was just about to give up and just forget about one of my internals but someone reminded me how much it would mean to me if I completed it and it gave me a sense of hope so i pushed myself to complete it.

A challenge that some of the characters had to deal with was the hiding/presenting their emotions, before the team set sail and when Ash was in the army him and Jen were engaged and loved each other to bits, while Ash’s loss of a limb he was going to tell Jen that they should end but couldn’t because she visited and cared for him everyday so instead he wrote it on his death note letting his parents know to tell Jen if he was to die. While on the the sail around the world Jen goes into Ash’s room and finds his note, she decides to share the note with Rio as Rio caught her stealing it. Later that day Ash and Rio going swimming with a whale and Ash tries to confess to Rio that he likes her but is unable to because he struggles to express his emotions and is soon interrupted by the kidnappers, adventurely Ash finds out about someone stealing his final words note and Rio decides to take the blame so that Ash wouldn’t hate and ignore Jen as much as he already did. Ash is torn between his love towards Rio and his hatred for her stealing the note. Adventurely Ash admits his love towards Rio after being along her side throughout the kidnapping. “i’ll get over it eventually. i just don’t know if we can stay friends. it will hurt too much” Is a quote said by Jen when she finds out about Rio and Ash being together. Personally I have been in Jens position where you can’t stay friends with someone you use to love because it will hurt too much and it’s just better for you to let go and leave the past behind.

The title of this text is appropriate as it’s about a crew who are trying to sail around the world to show that physically disabled people can do things that able-bodied people can do but get kidnapped and “taken” away from their mission with no connection to any of the world and have to survive.

I would recommend this book to people aged 14+ as there is a lot of action and feelings in the book that people below the age of 14 may not understand. It also may give people above the age of 14 some life advice and help them understand how different people can feel in certain situations.