My Thoughts: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Sixteen year old Gemma is kidnapped from Bangkok airport and taken to the Australian Outback. This wild and desolate landscape becomes almost a character in the book, so vividly is it described. Ty, her captor, is no stereotype. He is young, fit and completely gorgeous. This new life in the wilderness has been years in the planning. He loves only her, wants only her. Under the hot glare of the Australian sun, cut off from the world outside, can the force of his love make Gemma love him back? The story takes the form of a letter, written by Gemma to Ty, reflecting on those strange and disturbing months in the outback. Months when the lines between love and obsession, and love and dependency, blur until they don't exist - almost.






After I had read Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma, I saw that is was often compared to Stolen by Lucy Christopher. I wasn't all that sure that there could possibly be another book like Forbidden.  And, although, Stolen was an intense read, full of confusion, misery, and bouts of fear, I don't think it compares to Forbidden at all. Stolen is about a girl (Gemma) who gets kidnapped from an airport in Bangkok, and taken to the back country of Australia. Where she is forced to live with her captor for an extended period of time. Where she ends up experiencing mixed feelings about him.

The whole concept of being kidnapped and taken to a country that isn't your own, from an airport, of knowing that no one had ANY idea where you were. Well, that totally freaks me out. The whole time I was reading this novel I was on the edge of my seat, thinking about how the heck she was going to get away. Gemma was stuck in the outback, and that freaked me out. She didn't handle it to well either. I mean being 16 and stuck in the dessert, I am sure any human being would be a basket case. Christopher did a fabulous job in describing how Gemma was feeling, her fear and panic. I was able to experience everything Gemma did. Christopher did such an amazing job. I even felt Gemma's switch in emotions when it came to her captor,  and her struggle with that switch.  It was a roller coaster for Gemma, and also for the reader.

I have to say, my favourite part of this book was Ty, Gemma's captor. I thought he was a fabulous character. He was clearly insane, however, he was also so passionate about what he believed it. It was incredible. He loved the land that they were living off of, and he really wanted to share that with Gemma, to bad he was also keeping her against his will. The way the Ty felt, and his desire to make Gemma happy was amazing. His insanity was amazing. I was amazed reading about it. 

This story was a good read, and I loved reading it from Gemma's perspective, and in a letter to Ty. I thought that aspect of the novel was interesting. I wasn't sure how I felt about the end, but after thinking about it, I believe Gemma was right in doing what she did.

Although, I did enjoy this novel. I would not compare it, in any way to Tabitha Suzuma's Forbidden. At the end of last year I read Megan Hart's Precious and Fragile Things, and Stolen is very much like that story, but I found Hart to be a much better writer. But Stolen was an enjoyable book.

~Happy Reading Everyone!