"Stolen" by Lucy Christopher Review

Date Published: May 4, 2009

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Number of Pages: 299

Publisher: Chicken House Ltd.

First Thoughts:

I’ve been meaning to read this book for a couple of years now but I just never got around to until now and I wish I had of read this book sooner! This book really surprised me in the amount of depth and detail that went into this book. The emotions and thoughts I had with this book were so different than I had anticipated and I really enjoyed the way the whole story was built and completed. And I was a little unsure on how I was going to like a book written solely as one long letter but I think it really was the best way to tell this story. Wish there were more books like this out there!

Plot:

I really enjoyed the set-up of this book’s world. The way the author chose to pace the book and the certain conflict added really built up the impact this book had on the reader. I found that though not a lot of action took place in this book the story of what was happening to Gemma was enough to keep my attention. Most of us have never been kidnapped, much less to another country and to be able to really experience that and to see what was going through the characters mind at every moment was just as intense as a fight scene. And the line of events that took place really followed the traditional plotline and didn’t disappoint me at all. The ending was just right; I didn’t have any lingering questions or disappointment…I mean how the author chose to end this book both impressed me and satisfied me. As for the surprise aspect to the book, I really didn’t see anything coming; all the little events that took place within this plot were a surprise to me and allowed me to really enjoy this book…it really allowed me to get that experience of the character. As for any sub-plots there were a few but they mainly consisted of the two main characters, we got to know them both very well and intimately. The pace of this book was pretty quick, it really depends on the reader and what they would find stimulating, but overall it was a quick read for me. So I enjoyed this aspect of the book and loved how this story played out.

Romance:

There wasn’t really any romance in this book, there was a hint of it but really I don’t think it was really there. But I kind of liked that there wasn’t any, it can get old after a while, reading about the characters finding love and then having to suffer through the conflicts and consequences, which then become a part of the plot…yeah I liked that this story left this aspect out, made it more enjoyable for the reader.

Characters:

Absolutely loved the characters, I thought the author did a fantastic job on building each character and creating a whole person; someone with personality, a life, and conflicts. I really liked the clashing of Gemma and her captor, they seemed to react in just the right way to create a bond that was really fun to read about and experience right alongside Gemma. And as for the more minor characters they were good but none of them came close to impacting me than Gemma and Ty (her captor). And as far as connecting with the character it was easy and fun. So overall the characters definitely made this book worth reading, without them this book just wouldn’t be the same.

Transformation of the Character:

There were definitely transformations in this book, there was no way there couldn’t be. Anyone who went through what Gemma did would have to change in some way and if she didn’t this book just would have fallen flat. Now I don’t really want to go into a lot of detail about how she transformed but just now she changed gradually throughout this book and became a new Gemma. And as for Ty he changed a little but I’ll just leave it at that. So overall this was a good aspect for the book.

Description:

The description was fantastic in this book! I mean the attention to the landscape and the emotions of the character were amazing. I never had a problem with picturing any of the scenes, the author made sure to draw from the location of where they were at and also from the situation itself. There was definitely some symbolism for how the character was feeling at the moment…really awesome to see. I will never forget a few of the scenes in this book where the description was just so great and pure…it really opened up my eyes to what was happening and to the landscape. As for the amount of description there was too much in my opinion, other readers may think so but in the end I thought it was needed to really paint the picture of what is happening and how the characters are feeling. As for the dialogue, there wasn’t a lot of it but the amount that it did have was just perfect for this story and each one seemed true to their character. So overall I really enjoyed this aspect of the book.

Style:

This was written in one POV and in first person which allowed the reader to become more intimate with Gemma. But in this book it was a little different because it was writing the letter to Ty and so there was a lot of “You” doing this and that…it was really both addressing another character but also the reader, really hard to do but this author was able to pull it off. And as for the author’s writing I thought it was easy and fun to read, I really didn’t have a problem with it; it seemed mature and properly edited. So overall this was a good aspect also to the book.

Quote of the Book:

“You saw me before I saw you. You had that look in your eyes, as if you wanted something. Wanted it for a long time.”

Goodreads Summary:

It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and heat, dirt and danger. And he expected me to love him. This is my story. A letter from nowhere.

Told in a letter to her captor by 16-year-old Gemma, Stolen explores the influence that a really wild and remote space can have on the inner development of a young woman.

Gemma, a British city-living teenager, is kidnapped while on holiday with her parents. Her kidnapper, Ty, takes her to the wild land of outback Australia. To Gemma’s city-eyes, the landscape is harsh and unforgiving and there are no other signs of human life for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. Here, there is no escape. Gemma must learn to deal with her predicament, or die trying to fight it.

Ty, a young man, has other ideas for her. His childhood experience of living in outback Australia has forever changed the way he sees things. But he too has been living in the city; Gemma’s city. Unlike Gemma, however, he has had enough. In outback Australia he sees an opportunity for a new kind of life; a life more connected to the earth. He has been watching and learning about Gemma for many years; when he kidnaps her, his plan finally begins to take shape.

But Ty is not a stereotypical kidnapper and, over time, Gemma comes to see Ty in a new light, a light in which he is something more sensitive. The mysteries of Ty, and the mystery of her new life, start to take hold. She begins to feel something for her kidnapper when he wakes screaming in the night. Over the time spent with her captor, Gemma’s appreciation of him develops …but is this real love, or Stockholm Syndrome?

Last Thoughts:

I would recommend this to YA readers and to any teen, it really is a book that can open up your eyes to a situation like this one. I really enjoyed this book and glad that I finally read it. And seeing how this author put a book like this together makes me excited to check out the other books she’s written! So overall I enjoyed this book and look forward to future books just like this one.

My Rating: