Bloor (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Tangerine) shows top form with a gripping novel, set 30 years in the future, that works as both a thriller and a commentary on the dangerously growing gap between America's rich and poor. Thirteen-year-old Charity Meyers lives with her father, a dermatologist whose wealth has survived the World Credit Crash, and her stepmother, a noxious “vidscreen” personality. Despite all the precautions within the Meyers' high-security housing development, Charity is kidnapped on New Year's Day 2036—the “taken” of the title, also a chess allusion to a didn't-see-it-coming plot twist. Because child-snatching is a major growth industry in South Florida, Charity has been trained to handle the stress and she knows what should happen. Within 24 hours, her parents will empty their home vault of its currency, and she will be freed. Pacing the narrative so readers can feel the clock ticking, the author fills in Charity's back story—the ironic death of her mother to skin cancer, her days at “satschool,” where education comes beamed in from an elite Manhattan academy, her home run by Albert and Victoria, the butler and maid whose very names are regulated by Royal Domestic Services. Bloor, whose gimlet-eyed view of modern society has occasionally pushed his narratives to extremes, reigns in the satire to concoct a plausible-enough scenario of the not-too-distant future, adding just the right measure of consciousness-raising in the dialogue between Charity and a teenage abductor. Deftly constructed, this is as riveting as it is thought-provoking. Ages 12-up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Oct.)

Bloor sets his latest novel in Florida, 2035, in a world sharply divided by wealth and race. Kidnapping has become a "major growth industry," and everyone knows the rules: pay up within 24 hours, and the child is returned. Thirteen-year-old Charity's rich family lives in the Highlands, a tightly secured gated community; they have a butler who doubles as a heavily armed security guard. Even so, Charity is "taken." But for some reason, the payoff goes tragically wrong, and Charity is forced to step outside the rule book and fight for her life. Although many of the secondary characters are flat, Charity is an appealing observer who looks beyond class and begins to think for herself. Her calm recounting of the kidnapping scenario increases the tension, while interspersed flashbacks provide believable details of her disturbing world. This page-turner will grab readers at the outset, and its unexpected twist at the close will send them back through events to look for embedded clues. Pair this with Caroline Cooney's Code Orange (2005).

As the time allotted to her parents to raise a ransom ticks past, thirteen-year-old Charity alternates between remembering recent episodes from her privileged life and arguing with the angry, impoverished young kidnapper assigned to guard her. Bloor raises significant questions about economic and racial injustice in this futuristic thriller, but the heavy-handed noblesse oblige of the conclusion blunts the message.

The white, elite segment of the population hide behind tall gates while everyone else lives in poverty—and a cottage industry based on kidnapping and ransom demands has become so prevalent that middle-schoolers write papers about it. Charity is one of the privileged few, and when she is kidnapped, she knows exactly how to behave: Be polite, talk to your captors and hope your parents pay up. Interwoven scenes flash back and reveal just how empty her life has been. But Charity's kidnapping is not what it appears; her father has created an elaborate illusion to break them free of their confines and create a new life. Filled with unsubtle commentary about race and wealth, this still manages to be genuinely exciting although astute readers will see the twist early on. Charity's self-possession strains credibility, as does her quick turnaround at the novel's end, but this is competent near-future fiction. (Science fiction. 12+)

Gr 8 Up-Bloor has written another dark thriller, this one set in the year 2036, when kidnapping is an industry in the United States. When Charity Meyers wakes up in the back of an ambulance, all strapped in, she realizes that she's been taken and that she has only about 12 hours left to live if things don't go according to plan. As the hours go by and the kidnappers' Plan A turns into tragedy, the teen discovers that she can't always count on her instincts about whom to trust. Fast paced and suspenseful, and alternating back and forth between a particular day that Charity chooses to focus on instead of what's happening and the present, the story will keep readers totally involved. However, Charity is the only developed character; most of the others are explored only peripherally through her eyes, leaving readers wanting more and not quite understanding all of their connections. A satisfying conclusion and a good story arc make this a quick read. Although it has elements of dystopian science fiction, it is more of a suspense novel than anything else.-Sharon Senser McKellar, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

In the near future, the children of the rich and powerful live in constant danger of being kidnapped. They are trained in proper protocol for dealing with kidnappers-do not antagonize, do not cause trouble-so that they will know what to do while their ransom is being negotiated. Charity Meyers has done everything she can think of to be a good hostage, but her kidnappers might be after something more than mere ransom. Bloor often focuses on the disparity between rich and poor, white and nonwhite in the United States, and his newest book is his least subtle at spreading that message. The rich, mostly white youth in Charity's neighborhood are spoiled and unmotivated, whereas those in the nonwhite, poorer neighborhood are interesting and colorful. Some mention is made that "poor does not equal good," but that statement is not followed through in the plot. Characterization is minimal and often stereotypical, although Charity is an interesting main character. She is clueless about the realities of the world outside her enclave, and savvy readers will realize that she is wrong in many of her assumptions. It is a fast read, even with multiple flashbacks, and there are some real surprises that will keep teens reading. The violence is not graphic, and there is little coarse language, making a good fit for middle school readers. But the effect for which Bloor seems to be striving-opening readers' eyes to the divisions in society-is muted by a heavy-handed tone.-Snow Wildsmith.