Book Review: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Publisher: Chicken House

Series: Standalone 

Website: http://www.lucychristopher.com/stolen

Source: Borrowed

Gemma was supposed to go to Vietnam with her parents. Instead, she finds herself drinking a coffee a stranger bought for her minutes before her flight is set to leave. What Gemma doesn't know is that the coffee is drugged. When she wakes up, she's in the middle of the desert (her captor, Ty, says it's somewhere in Australia) with no hopes of escape. 

Stolen is Gemma's letter to Ty.

This book left me feeling exceedingly conflicted. I really, really like it, but I don't know how much I like it. I don't know if I agree or disagree with all of Gemma's sentiments, either, but I think that was Christopher's intention. Stolen is everything from disturbing to enchanting, miserable and touching. The whole novel is a jumble of emotion, which means any clear-cut, tied with a little bow ending isn't going to happen.

Christopher does a fantastic job of capturing Gemma's emotions, from being kidnapped to living in the wilderness and so on. The only real complaint I have is with the first 90 pages. While it's very realistic and all that, it's mostly consists of endless streams of misery. I realize that Gemma is being kidnapped and that's extremely traumatic, but it would have been nice if a little dark humor had been thrown in there to break up all of the distress. There were a few other small parts of the book that irked me, but nothing too great that it took away from the reading experience. As I said, I think Christopher wants the reader to feel a little conflicted.

The character building in Stolen is fantastic. Along with Gemma's own growth, the reader gets to see all sides of Ty. He's rough, possibly misguided, sometimes out of control, but there's also a gentle tenderness to him. Even the characters who aren't human are still really well done. Let's just say that I never imagined a camel could give me cause to get choked up.

And the setting. I hate heat and I'm not even a huge fan of the beach because of the sand, but after reading Stolen I desperately want to go to the Australian desert. Sure, some parts of it are wretched, but the openness and the beauty of it sound incredible. As you read the book it really feels like you're there, almost more so than any other novel I've read. Honestly, I would recommend Stolen just for the amazing imagery the author provides.

*3.7 stars*

Other Books by this Author: Flyaway

Do you think you'll be giving Stolen a try?