A review for Stolen: A Letter to my Captor by Lucy Christopher

Posted by: Jess
Release Date: 4th May 2009
Finish Date: 10th July, 2011
Source: Chicken House Publishing
Format: Paperback
Pages: 300
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Blurb from Goodreads: 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.
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The Review: I only heard good things about Stolen. So naturally I was anxious to read it. So when we contacted Chicken House Publishing and they allowed me to review it, I was ecstatic. Not only did I get a free book, but I got a GOOD book. I was amazed at how much I loved this book. The story was so captivating. I was moved. 

Stolen was written in second person, which was a new narrative to me but one I enjoyed all the same. Lucy Christopher has written this as a letter that Gemma our 16 year old narrator writes to her kidnapper Ty. Being able to read it in this form gave me more of an understanding as to what Gemma was going through, from the time she was 'Stolen' from Bangkok Airport, right through her ordeal with Ty, the relationship that was slowly emerging between them. Both of them are two very different characters, Gemma is surprisingly strong and mature for a 16 year old. Ty, is ultimately not evil but a troubled person who's only love is the vast land of the Australian outback. Gemma has love, she has a family, she has friends. Ty does not. He's a lonely sort, and has been in love with Gemma  for almost 3 years but has been following her for 6. He wants to share his love of the land with Gemma. Not only are Gemma and Ty two major characters (in fact for most of the book, they're the only characters), but the Australian outback is so ripe with description in this book that it almost becomes a character itself. 

My heart and my head were so torn when I read this book. I wanted to hate Ty, for what he did. For everything, but my heart kept saying no, he's not all bad; he's just starved of love and lonely. He's sometimes portrayed as a vulnerable sort of guy, but then scary as well in some scenes at the start of the book. I'm not condoning kidnapping, but when you read this book, you can see why Ty did what he did. I only wish this had a happier ending.  Eventually my heart was won over by Ty, and it was because of a particular scene towards the end of the book in his painting shed. During that scene and after it, was the moment I realised I was in love with Ty. Anyone who has read this book will know the scene I am talking about. If you haven't, well I'll leave it to you to find out. You won't be disappointed. That's the moment you fall in love with Ty, and the moment Gemma realises she does in fact 'need' him, and the land.  

Anyway, I hope this review is sufficient. And I urge everyone to pick up Stolen: A Letter to my captor and read it. Find out for yourself. In the end, I'd just like to say that I'm definitely in love with this book, and I am definitely NOT suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Read it. It's fabulous.

I'd just like to thank Chicken House Publishing for allowing me to review this book. It was wonderful.