Six crew members are toughing it out, trying to come together as a team to sail around the world on a grueling challenge for charity. Four are teen military veterans disabled in combat: They're used to being pushed to the limit. But nothing could have prepared them for being kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army. Suddenly, the trip of a lifetime turns into a dark journey into the African jungle. Taken hostage by a notorious warlord and his band of child soldiers, how will Rio, Ash, Marcus, Jen, Charis, and Izzy survive?
David Massey
DAVID MASSEY's experience as an emergency supplies consultant helped inspire his debut novel, TORN, which Booklist called "deeply affecting" in a starred review. The recent Paralympic Games in London helped spark the idea for TAKEN. David lives with his wife in the West Midlands of England. Friend him on Facebook at DRMasseyBooks and follow him on Twitter @DavidRMassey.
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- ! "From TAKEN
Suddenly, the soldiers shriek and trill and scream, firing
shots into the air. The sound sends shivers down my spine. Then the unruly ranks
of boys part like a wave and a tall, thin man strides over the crest of the sandbank.
He is wearing tight, beaded plaits underneath a green military beret, and is much
older than the others. His face is lined and he's got a pistol in his hand. I decide
that it's a statement: It's all he needs...
\tFollowing him is a blank-faced
child soldier -- a girl of about fourteen...She clutches a machine gun that dangles
around her neck on a length of frayed, twisted string, and she wears a necklace
of cream-colored beads. When she gets closer I see that they are teeth. Maybe they
are from her victims...
\tAn awful, expectant hush descends. All I can hear
is the pounding of my heart and the crash of the breakers....I'm out of my mind
with fear, shaking so badly I can barely stay upright...
\t\"You may have heard
of me,\" the man says. \"My name is Moses Mwemba. And you are now prisoners of the
Lord's Resistance Army.\""
