Weekly Geeks: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

As there is no specific topic for this weeks' Weekly Geeks, I thought why not post a review? Here I go:

You saw me before I saw you. In the airport, that day you had that look in your eyes, as though you wanted something from me, as though you'd wanted it for a long time time.

~Opening lines of Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Title: Stolen

Author: Lucy Christopher

ISBN: 9781906427139

Publisher: Chicken House/2009

Pages: 301

This book starts with Gemma writing a letter to her captor, Ty. Gemma, a sixteen-year-old, has been stolen from the airport in Bangkok to a place in Australia. It is middle of nowhere and there is only red sand and heat. Ty has build a place for them to live. Ty does not think he has kidnapped her. He thinks he has saved her from a life where she not much appreciated by her family or friends. He expects her to love him, the way he loves her.

In the course of time we learn that, Ty has watched her since she was 10 years old and has planned to take her away for a long time. He wants her for himself. Gemma hates him with all her might, expecting him to attack her or kill her any time. But Ty doesn't do anything remotely like that. He takes care of her the best ways he knows. Gemma does try to escape but she has nowhere to go and is half-dead, when he finds her in that Sandy Desert. Ty loves the land, he can speak to it, know its moods and has all the knowledge about its plants, trees and also creatures like snakes. He does his best to protect her. He is even preparing antivenoms to protect them from snakes, which are rampant there. He knows that they won't be able to survive otherwise..

Who is Ty? Gemma and along with her, we learn something of his past. Gemma thaws a bit towards him but she does want to get back to her family and friends. After a while Ty agrees. He gives her six months. If she doesn't like living there with him, he will take her back. He shows her the beauty of the desert, the beauty of nature, the beauty of quiet, being in the middle of nowhere. WE see the Australian Outback come alive, as if it has a personality, or may be numerous personalities.

Then one day Gemma is bitten by a snake. Ty is scared but doesn't show it to her, doing all that he can do to save her. However, when his antivenom doesn't work he knows, he has to take her where she will be saved. How does he do it? Does he escape the clutches of the law or caught? Gemma has written the letter to him, trying to get all of it out of her system. We see her confused. Her conflicting emotions are to be expected. Her anger and anguish are normal. The ending of Stolen is not most people expect it to be. But the author ended it the way it has to. It can't be any other way.

Stolen is book, which terrified me. Ask any parent. Any teacher. Or any young girl who has been kidnapped. That is because I teach girls around Gemma's age. Disappearance of any girl is very scary, hurting and painful. It made me think of my students in that situation and I didn't like the feeling.

I liked how the desert has been described here, Ty's relation with the desert and the beauty of it, he tries to show to Gemma. A book which is terrifying yet so compelling. A must read for all the young girls, parents and teachers. Stolen steals the reader's heart.

Also reviewed by:

Sassy Brit

Jess
Melody Lee

Lenore

Vanessa

Susan