Official Review: Taken Away by Patricia Yager Delagrange

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Official Review: Taken Away by Patricia Yager Delagrange

Post by bookowlie »

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Taken Away" by Patricia Yager Delagrange.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Taken Away by Patricia Yager Delagrange is a novel about a man whose wife and 9-month-old daughter go missing. The book is categorized in the Other Fiction genre. Jessee Bradford, a veterinarian, is married to Serena, a free-spirit painter who is the daughter of a wealthy philanthropist. When Jessee comes home one day to find both his wife and daughter gone, the FBI and local police work tirelessly to find them, to no avail. It’s as if they disappeared into thin air. The FBI believe Serena may have left on her own.

After six months, Jessee decides to move to Earlham, Iowa to take over his grandfather’s veterinary practice and try to leave the panic attacks and heartache behind. The FBI continues to stay in touch about the case, while the new environment gives Jessee a positive, calmer outlook on life. He starts dating Laura, a woman who brings in her sick dog for treatment. She also has a “hole in her heart” since her husband was killed in Iraq.

I really enjoyed this book. Jessee is realistically drawn and very likeable. I rooted for him to have closure and find happiness. His grandparents and Laura are also wonderful characters. Jessee’s close relationship with his grandparents is particularly touching. Even Laura’s dog Brewster is quite the scene-stealer! On the other hand, I found Serena too impersonal and self-absorbed; it was difficult to feel a connection to her right from the start. Serena’s parents are particularly one-dimensional characters who mainly care about money.

There is a nice, natural rhythm to the author’s writing style. The storyline moves seamlessly between California and Iowa and the author paints a detailed picture of the lifestyles of both places. I felt like I was right at the beach in California and in the small Iowa town where “everybody knows your name” and is genuinely nice. Grandpa Harper and Grandma Rose’s farmhouse is so wonderfully depicted that I could almost smell the fried chicken cooking.

There were a few things in the book that didn’t seem realistic. I thought it was too contrived that Jessee’s grandfather just happened to run a veterinary office and was ready to retire at the same time that Jessee wanted a fresh start. There is also a plot point that seems too coincidental and unrealistic, but I don’t want to reveal any spoilers. About halfway through the book, there is a secondary storyline about Kerryanne, a young woman who appears in Earlham. Not knowing too much about her background, Jessee gives her a job in the veterinary office and invites her to stay in his grandparents’ home. This seemed a bit far-fetched, although it gave a general sense of Jessee and Grandma Rose’s big hearts. The plot veered off course a bit with Kerryanne’s side story.

There are a few interesting twists that I didn’t see coming, particularly toward the end. The author makes a few errors regarding names and places. The author is incorrect with the first mention of the county that the town of Earlham is in. When Jessee moves to Iowa, it is stated that he reaches Winterset County where Earlham is located. This is incorrect since Earlham is in Madison County. After this initial error, the county is correctly mentioned as Madison County in subsequent sections. In addition, John Wayne’s real name is first stated correctly as Marion Robert Morrison. Then in another passage, his real name is mentioned as Michael Morrison aka John Wayne.

This book deserves 3 out of 4 stars. I cared about Jessee’s struggle to move forward in his life, while hoping his wife and daughter would be found alive. Although I thought the book had a few flaws, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and felt connected to the characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books about starting over, romance, and a touch of mystery. I hope the author considers writing a sequel.

******
Taken Away
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Post by beebee216 »

Great review! Sounds like a much softer version of the Taken franchise ;) lol I'll have to add it to my list.
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Post by bookowlie »

Thanks. This isn't really like the Taken movies that star Liam Neeson. Those are suspense-filled, action movies about Neeson looking for his daughter. This book is about a man trying to start over.
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Post by Ealasaid »

I always enjoy your reviews, bookowlie, and this one is no exception. Thank you for it!
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Post by bookowlie »

Ealasaid wrote:I always enjoy your reviews, bookowlie, and this one is no exception. Thank you for it!
Thanks! I can't say this review was too exciting....more of a reflection of the setting and story. :) Not too much exciting stuff going on in Earlham, Iowa, unless you consider Grandma's yummy home-cooked meals. :lol:
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Post by gali »

Thank you for the lovely review. I am glad you enjoyed the book. :)
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Post by zeldas_lullaby »

Great review! I enjoyed reading about this book. I just noticed it was written by a woman--for some reason, I was picturing the book as being written by a man. Is this book told in the first person, or the third person?
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Post by bookowlie »

Thanks Gali and Zeldas_lullaby for the kind words. The book is told in the first person.

-- 21 May 2015, 01:10 --

I think it's great that she chose to write about a man trying to start over after a tragedy. Novels about this subject matter are usually written about women.
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Post by debo9967 »

Nice, insightful review. It seems like a touching story.
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Post by bluemel4 »

Great review. I really enjoyed reading it. I like the fact that you were able to articulate the books negatives without giving any spoilers away.
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Post by bookowlie »

Thanks for the kind words. Bluemel4, the negatives are relatively minor. It's hard to write a book like this without giving spoilers!

-- 22 May 2015, 12:44 --
bookowlie wrote:Thanks for the kind words. Bluemel4, the negatives are relatively minor. It's hard to write a book like this without giving spoilers!
Oops! I meant to say "...write a review about a book like this".
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Post by zeldas_lullaby »

Yeah, I read a book recently that I wanted to shout about from the mountaintops (we have a lot of mountains here in Louisville... NOT), but I could barely discuss the book's description without giving anything away! That can be frustrating!

Regarding this book, I am curious as to how it ends, and I do have to give props to your review, BookOwlie, that it did not give any clues, still rendering me completely curious.
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Post by bookowlie »

That's one of the reasons I love my in-person book club (the friends I've made are a big plus, too!). We've all read the book so we can freely talk about the twists and turns. There is one woman who attends the meetings once in a while. She says upfront that she didn't read the book yet. We all find her annoying for many reasons, one of which is that she NEVER reads the book. I could tell you the other reasons she is annoying, but that would take too long and just remind me of her "annoyingness". :)
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Post by zeldas_lullaby »

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA. Well, I'd have some fun with that and spend the whole hour discussing spoilers. ;-)

OMG, I have annoying people! Maybe one day she'll be abducted by aliens. :sci-fi-beamup:
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Post by bookowlie »

Funny smilie! The funniest thing is that, at the last meeting, one woman handed "The Annoying One" the book we were discussing, since she said she was unable to get it at the library. Toward the end of the meeting, she announced, "Well, I don't think I am going to read the book". The other woman said, "Then give me back my book so I can give it to someone who will actually read it".
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