The Taken

Isla and her family are foxes who have always lived in the Graylands, not too far from the furless. She and her brother, Pirie, being young cubs, are slowly learning to survive the many dangers that face them. Suddenly, Isla returns to her family’s home to discover the smell of fire and strange newcomers – and no trace of her family.

Alone and afraid, Isla plunges deep into the world of the furless to search for her family. While dodging danger at every turn, she meets Siffrin, another fox who knows magic and can shapeshift. More importantly, Siffrin is also looking for her brother, but Siffrin won’t explain why. Shrouded in mystery, Isla begins to learn about the world beyond that of the Graylands and seeks to find her brother before the foxes who caused the disappearance find him.

The Taken is the first in the Foxcraft Series and it is an action-packed start to the series. As this is a fantasy world with foxes and other supernatural forces, there are plenty of new terms for readers to take in while reading. For instance, the characters refer to humans as “the furless” and roads as “the deathway.” Fortunately, if readers are confused, there is a glossary of terms at the back and a map of the near the front of the book.

Isla, much like the reader, does not know anything about foxcraft or foxlore, much to Siffrin’s chagrin. The Taken sets up what will follow in the coming books, continuing the mysterious disappearance of Isla’s brother, Pirie. Importantly, it introduces the reader to Isla, whose self-confidence and compassion for others grow as the book progresses. Despite not knowing if her family is alive, she will do anything to get them back and she learns to confront foxes and any other creatures who get in her way. 

Isla, Siffrin, and Pirie are hunted by a dark magical force living in the aptly-named Darklands that can seemingly control foxes that it captures. Iserles is one of the authors from the Warriors Series, and there are similar amounts of fighting in both series. Fans of the Warriors Series will not find the violence upsetting, but some young readers may be upset by the descriptions. For instance, there is a scene in which Isla describes death in gruesome detail, saying, “From where we were perched, I couldn’t see the impact, and the rain distorted the cracking limbs. I was spared the mangle of her broken body.” However, those familiar with other Erin Hunter Series will feel at home in this world and will enjoy the high-octane plot. 

Foxcraft: The Taken is a solid start to this exciting series, which leaves plenty of unanswered questions to stir readers’ excitement for the second book, The Elders. Despite many new terms, it’s relatively easy to fall into the world and understand the various plot points. Isla’s resilience and love for her family drive this book and nicely sets up the character that will lead the rest of this series. Those ready for a fun adventure should absolutely read the Foxcraft Series. 

Sexual Content 

• None

Violence 

• The dangers of cars and roads are always present. Isla’s grandmother says, “The death river claims more foxes than all other assassins.”
• A dog attacks Isla, but at the last second, she manages to free herself from the trap she’s in. Isla “flailed and bucked, desperate to free my trapped foreleg. The creature’s great jaws gaped above me; I felt the dampness of his breath.”
• Some human children throw rocks at Isla. “One of them grabbed a rock and flung it at me. It struck the stone ground by my hind paw, and I sprang back in confusion.”
• A guard dog announces that she “killed a cat the other night.” 
• Ilsa’s grandmother, Greatma, tells how foxes have historically been treated, especially by humans. She says, “Our kind has been hunted, tortured, attacked, and turned into pelts to warm the necks of the furless. They have shot us for fun and chased us as a game –  they do not even eat those they kill. By the death river or their casual cruelty; by gas, or dogs, or simple starvation. The land of the furless is full of deaths and each one whispers a fox’s name.”
• Isla attacks Siffrin, a messenger of the Elders, because he’s been following her. She “bit him hard on his wiry tail. The dog yelped in surprise.”
• Siffrin shapeshifts to fight the foxes that are hunting him and Isla. Isla “heard the scrape of their claws as they scrambled on stone, and I craned to see what was going on. With a snarl, Siffrin broke free, this time in the form of the mongrel dog. He vaulted into the air, at least at full brush-length, slamming down on the fox that was snapping at his paws. He sent her tumbling onto the deathway.” This fight scene lasts for several pages.
• Isla learns how to catch a mouse. Isla pounces on it, and “with a bite and a jerk of [her] head, it was dead.”
• A fot named Karka orders her cronies to capture Isla and Siffrin. Karka says, “Get them or I’ll tear out your filthy throats!”
• One of Karka’s minions (known as The Taken) jumps across the buildings to chase Isla and Siffrin, but misses the building and lands on the street below. Isla describes, “From where we were perched, I couldn’t see the impact, and the rain distorted the cracking limbs. I was spared the mangle of her broken body.” The description lasts for a paragraph.
• Siffrin reveals that he watched Karka kill Isla’s family. “When [Siffrin] arrived, it was almost over. Your ma and fa, they were already dead…Your greatma was courageous. She fought hard. [She] was already falling, was already wounded.” The description lasts for around a page and doesn’t describe the specifics of their deaths.
• Animal control captures Isla and she is scheduled to be euthanized. She talks with another captured fox as they watch an animal be taken to another room by humans. The other fox says, “Another one taken to be killed.” This scene lasts for a chapter.
• The wolf that Isla freed saves her life by attacking Karka and the Taken. “The great wolf opened his jaws. Karka stayed frozen, held in his thrall. He sprang upon her and threw her down, fastening his deadly fangs around her neck. With a brutal snap he shook her and then dropped her, letting her head roll on the graystone. She stared at him with her single gray eye. Would stare like that forever.” This scene lasts for a couple pages.

Drugs and Alcohol 

• None

Language 

• Isla has a confrontation with a wolf. Isla tells the wolf that she eats rats, and the wolf says to Isla, “A thing that eats rats has no right to exist!” He also calls her a “rat-munching coward.”
• Light language is used often. Terms include: idiot and stupid.

Supernatural

• The book details the story of Isla and Pirie, who are foxes who think and talk like humans, as do some other animals in the book. Isla meets a wolf who speaks the same language as her, and she’s surprised. Isla says, “He must have been a cub of Canista –  a creature like me – though I could hardly imagine how we might be related.” Canista is the name for the Fox deity from which they come from.
• Isla has a vision of her brother being captured, being led into the world of the humans. Isla describes her vision, saying, “I was moving with difficulty, my flank throbbing with pain. Up ahead there was a row of tall furless dens. In the front of them was a huge stone yard with a lone furless standing at the center. Her skin was cool gray, her eyes stared blindly, and great wings unfolded from her back. I gazed at her in fear and wonder.” Siffrin explains that this is a rare kind of foxcraft called “gerra-sharm” that can happen between cubs of the same litter.
• Isla meets a small dog who “cast no shadow.” As Isla learns, he is a “messenger of Jana, one of the Elder Foxes from the Wildlands.” When Isla asks why he is a dog, he says, “I am in wa’akkir. I have assumed a disguise.” It is explained later that wa’akkir is an ancient fox magic called foxcraft.
• Siffrin, the magic fox messenger, explains foxlore to Isla. He explains how foxes, wolves, and dogs are “cubs of Canista” and that, “Only Fox had the courage to live without rules, without the hierarchies of others – to hunt and survive in freedom and peace. For while Wolf and Dog are so brutalized that they will gladly kill their own kind, Fox avoids conflict at all costs. She does not yearn to control others –  only to live by her own wits.” The history lesson lasts for several pages, as he explains the magical powers they possess, like imitating other animals (“karak”) and invisibility (“slimmering”). These magic powers are used by Siffrin throughout the book, and he teaches Isla to use them as well.
• Siffrin uses his powers to heal Isla. Siffrin says, “With my touch, I sense you; with my eyes, I heal you. By Canista’s Lights, I share what I have; we are knit together and you are whole.” During this, Isla has a vision of Siffrin as a cub where he was “desperate and starving.” The scene lasts for a page.

Spiritual Content 

• Siffrin heals Isla using his Maa. He describes to Isla that the Maa is the “essence of every fox,” or the spirit.