The Take
The gripping page-turner of 2026 that everyone will be talking about
-
- Pre-Order
-
- Expected 14 Apr 2026
-
- 13,99 €
-
- Pre-Order
-
- 13,99 €
Publisher Description
'The Substance meets Yellowface' PEOPLE
'A juicy, twisty take on aging, success, and race . . . sure to be one of the hottest books of spring' MARIE CLAIRE
----------------
THERE ARE ONLY TWO WAYS TO GET AHEAD IN THIS WORLD -
YOU EITHER MAKE SOMETHING OR TAKE SOMETHING.
Maggie Wang, a broke young Asian American writer, needs a lifeline. Ingrid Parker, a veteran white Hollywood producer with her career on the edge, offers an irresistible deal: $3 million for ten experimental medical sessions to reverse aging, using Maggie as a transfusion partner.
For Ingrid, it's a chance to recapture her youth and save her fading career. For Maggie, it's freedom - money to support her parents and the connections to finally get her novel published.
What starts as a professional transaction, quickly becomes a complex psychological dance. As Maggie gains unprecedented access to Ingrid's hard-earned wisdom, Ingrid sees in Maggie a weapon against an industry that's been trying to sideline her.
As their relationship intensifies, the rules around aging begin to shift. So does the balance of power between the two women, leaving both questioning who holds the upper hand and what they're willing to sacrifice to succeed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A successful Hollywood film producer and a struggling writer take part in an experimental reverse-aging treatment in this clever satire from YA author Yang (Parachutes). Maggie Wang, 23, receives a damning critique of her novella from the head of her MFA program and considers throwing in the towel. Meanwhile, "demanding" movie producer Ingrid Parker, 53, struggles to get a passion project off the ground. After Ingrid's doctor tells her about an experimental procedure in which an aging patient's cells are exchanged with a younger person's to stave off the risk of cancer, she hires Maggie as an assistant and tells her she's willing to pay someone $3 million for the cell swap, knowing the procedure will cause the other person's own aging to accelerate. Maggie volunteers, and as the women begin treatments, Maggie comes to view Ingrid as a mentor who will help her writing career take off. But when Ingrid reclaims her health, she steals ideas from Maggie's novella for a new pitch, and Maggie retaliates by approaching literary agents claiming Ingrid has optioned her work. Yang pokes fun at her characters' unbridled ambition, which causes Maggie to lose her judgment ("Maybe this is the real American dream.... Not caring what anyone else thinks!" she says to Ingrid before the betrayal). It's a hoot.
