The Taking

After 16-year-old Kyra stalks off one night, there’s a flash of light, and she awakens to discover that five years have passed without her in this engrossing paranormal romance. Kyra’s conversational, occasionally sarcastic first-person voice redeems an otherwise slow first half as Derting dwells on Kyra’s resentment of the changes that occurred in her absence, including the two-year-old half-brother she now has and her former boyfriend’s new relationship. But Kyra finds a stubbornly loyal, supportive partner in her ex’s younger brother, the nerdy, playful Tyler. Meanwhile, she tries to avoid the NSA agent stalking her. Encountering her pursuer, “I stammered, because sometimes when I was intimidated, I was smooth like that.” Tension intensifies when Kyra learns she isn’t the only one who’s been “taken.” Derting (The Pledge) turns a hoary alien-abduction conspiracy theory into an original and intriguing premise. Though it’s difficult to suspend disbelief when no one explains to Kyra why she’s dangerous until it’s too late, any pacing problems disappear as the book hurtles toward a high-stakes finish, and a cliffhanger sets up the next installment of this trilogy. Ages 14–up. Agent: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (Apr.)