Taken - Tony Talbot

Title: Taken

Author: Tony Talbot

Genre: Mystery, drama

Published: January, 2011

Format: Paperback

This is a story for a boy living wealthy life on a Greek island. Amon Russo lives in a huge villa. His parents are very rich, he doesn't have to go to school, there are tutors for him at home. But that is just the surface.

Under the surface, it's a whole different story. Amon doesn't have any friends. He is not allowed to have friends. His eyes are in different colors, so he is wearing contact lenses. People of the island are afraid of him. According to the local legend, having different color of the eyes is bad luck, he must have something demonic in himself. His parent are weird. Everything has to be so "perfect".

Until one day Amon starts to see cracks in his life. 

He spent his entire life on a Greek island, but he wasn't allowed to learn Greek. The channels on TV in English are off.  No one can see him without his contact lenses. People around his father start to disappear.

His parent are hiding him. Why? And from what?

What is really going on around here?

The story was full of twists. There were turn-overs on every page. There was drama and tension until the last page. You never know what is truth, and what is lie. I was expecting more dramatic end, but that was it. Somehow, it looked unfinished, but that was just my opinion. There were some questions for me left unanswered. I didn't find the answer of the most important one: "Why?" Why his parents did that to him? There was no love. They didn't love him. Why was he taken in the first place, after all?  

What I liked were the vivid descriptions of the island. Olive trees, sea, beach, synonyms  for a perfect life.  Also, I liked the way the feelings of the boy were described. Sixteen-years-old falling in love for the first time, his sexual awakening, it was well written. Overall, I liked the story. 

My opinion: 3 / 5