Author: Lucy Christopher
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: May 4, 2009
Goodreads ♥ Amazon
Review:
I don’t know what it is about books written in letter form
but I love them! Actually, I take that back. I do know why I love them. Reading
them feels like you’re spying on someone else’s life. And honestly, I’m kind of
a nosey person; so I like the opportunity to be a bit of a snoop without
actually digging in to someone’s personal letters.
In books written in letter form I also feel a strong
connection to the narrator, the person writing the letter. Gemma is the
narrator of Stolen. She is kidnapped from a Bangkok airport and taken to a remote house
in the Australian desert. This novel is her letter to her captor, Ty. The
majority of the letter is Gemma’s conflicting feelings about Ty. At first she
hates him. He stole her from her family and forced her to live in a completely
new and dangerous place. I love that Gemma was feisty and constantly looking
for a way to escape. It was also interesting to see how her opinion of Ty
changes as she gets to know him.
The thing that stood out to me the most in Stolen was the
vivid descriptions of the Australian desert. Christopher has a way with words
because as I was reading I could feel the sun beating down on me. I read this
book in December, in South Dakota .
It was impressive that she could transport me so fully to this place.
I also love the way the story dealt with Stockholm Syndrome.
It doesn’t happen all at once. It was a very gradual softening toward Ty, that
lad to sympathy. Ty was a sympathetic character even though he shouldn’t have
been. He stole Gemma and yet even at
the end of the story you can’t help but feel sorry for the guy.
Stolen is a wonderful book. The plot is engrossing, and
heartbreaking. It leaves you feeling confused on your own feelings about Ty and
the entire situation. It also gave me a new understanding of Stockholm
Syndrome. Stolen is my first Lucy Christopher novel but it will definitely not
be my last!
