Switching between the two main characters, Yang gives us a story of ambition, of dreams, of time. The big question: Would you take time from another, and if so, to what lengths would you go? There’s a bleak approach to race, gender, and age that winds up being The Take’s foundation. The first half, pacing-wise, works and flows, but it stalled a bit in the latter half—when I expected it to pick up. The character voices are strong and sound authentic to each character, age and life experience-wise. You aren’t meant to like either of them, but Yang does a great job of making you understand them and their perspectives. One thing I wanted to know more about—and I understand it wasn’t the point, since this was character-driven—is the actual process of the procedure. I wanted to know MORE, even just a little bit. It would have made the act of “taking” that much more captivating. Overall, this spoke volumes about what humans are willing to take in order to get what they want and what prices they’re willing to pay in order to get it all.
The Take by Kelly Yang, (List Price: $30, Berkley, 9780593953372, May 2026)
Reviewed by Tamara, M Judson Booksellers in Greenville, SC