Stolen: A Book Review (+Music That Moves Me)

"You saw me before I saw you.
A girl: Gemma, at the airport,
on her way to a family vacation.
You had that look in your eyes.
A guy: Ty, rugged, tan, too old,
oddly familiar, eyes blue as ice.
Like you wanted me.
She steps away. For just a second.
He pays for her drink. And drugs it.
Wanted me for a long time.
He takes her, before she
even knows what's happening.
To sand and heat.
To emptiness and isolation.
To nowhere.
And expects her to love him.

Written as a letter from a victim to her captor, this is Gemma's desperate story of survival. Ty has Stolen her body. Against every instinct screaming inside her, will he also steal Gemma's heart?" -taken from the jacket-Stolen, by Lucy Christopher

Gemma, Ty, and the beautiful land Ty takes Gemma to, are truly the three main characters. The descriptions of the desert bring it to life again and again, and Ty's relationship with the land is something truly beautiful. Gemma's first view of the desert transports you to that other world:

"I brought my hand up to shield my eyes and tried to stop squinting. I was blinded by all that whiteness. It was like I'd stepped out into an afterlife. Only there were no angels…
I made a sort of choking noise. As far as I could see, there was nothing. There was only flat, continuous brown land leading out to the horizon. Sand and more sand, with tussocks of small scrubby bushes standing up like surprises and the occasional leafless tree. The land was dead and thirsty. I was in nowhere… Just emptiness. Just heat and horizon. I dug my fingernails into the palm of my hand, and waited for the pain that told me I wasn't in a nightmare. I knew as soon as I set off that it was hopeless. Where would I run to? Everywhere looked the same. I could see why you hadn't locked the doors, why you hadn't tied me up. There was nothing and no one out there.
Only us."

The situation that Gemma finds herself in is horrible-kidnapped, taken from all she knows, by a man who seems too familiar, into a place with no hope of escape… Stolen. Her terror in scenes made me want to scream, and the humor in others made me laugh aloud. Yes, humor… this is not a horror story, it is almost a poetic character sketch, one which slowly shows you the complicated natures of the two hearts at play. But beyond learning of the hearts of the characters, it is fascinating to peer into their minds. A much more appropriate label for this book is psychological thriller-and that label tells me why I love Stolen so much.

Many people have used the term Stockholm syndrome in reference to this book, partly because of the captor-captive relationship and the use of the term within the book itself, but I don't believe it fits. Stockholm syndrome is defined as "an emotional attachment to a captor formed by a hostage as a result of continuous stress, dependence, and a need to cooperate for survival." Yes, Gemma begins to develop an emotional attachment to Ty, and yes she is dependent on him and needs to cooperate to survive in the desert-but a correlation in this case does not mean causality. Gemma beginning to fall for Ty, I believe, is not because he is her captor or a survival tactic-and she fights him repeatedly attempting to escape. Her beginning to fall for him is because of who he is, and I admit I came to love Ty's character much sooner than Gemma did.

Objectionable Content: One complaint I've heard in regard to this book is that it glorifies the nature of kidnapping-that young women will romanticize the horrible situation-that they will only see Ty as a hot Australian guy and hope they get kidnapped by one themselves. As a young woman, I can say that what makes this book work for me is that there is conflict, that things are not black and white at all. Yes, I grew to love Ty's character-but he still drugged a teenage girl in an airport, still took her against her will and refused to let her go. That is WRONG, no matter what his reasons. As long as the individual reading the book has the maturity to look beyond the surface, which I would find difficult NOT to do in a book that delves so deep beyond it, that should not be an issue. The only objectionable elements are some language (not very often, but it is the f-bomb-I hate the use of that word, but understood its use within context) and nudity (as in 'I'm walking in the desert about to die of heatstroke when I take my clothes off'-not in a sexual context). Gemma believes she is brought there for him to take advantage of, and expresses her fear of rape, but that subject is handled expertly-her fears are clear, but not described in graphic detail or dwelt upon. All in all, I thought that Stolen struck its balance extremely well, and the way that certain elements were handled was delicate and mature.

Bottom Line: Stolen is hauntingly beautiful, and one of the best books I've read in a very long time. I recommend it without hesitation to mature readers-if you love a quiet psychological thriller, it'll steal your heart. My rating:

5/5 Stolen Butterflies

I've decided to combine this review with music, because I was listening to a mix while reading and a couple songs played that couldn't have been more perfectly timed. Three which fit the story and characters all too well…

Always-This one reminds me of Gemma's feelings about Ty, and some of the lines seem more like his perspective… almost like the song is a conversation. From Stolen:

"I lashed out, catching your chin. I used all my strength to push you away.
"I hate you!" I screamed. "I...hate you!"
You moved your hand away immediately, as if I'd suddenly burned it.
"Maybe that'll change," you said quietly.
You took the lantern with you, leaving me huddled against a bookshelf in the dark."

Say You'll Haunt Me-I cannot hear this song without thinking of Ty. I've loved it for a while, but even more so now. Every word in every verse relates to him-the soft pulses in the dead of his beloved desert, the little souvenirs he once gave her… and of course he wants Gemma to stay with him forever. Completely and utterly perfect-the song which best embodies him.

Stockholm Syndrome-This song played as the book was coming to an end, and made me cry like an even bigger baby. If you've read it-you'd have cried too, right? Regardless of whether or not you've read it, this song is AMAZING (well, I think so ;) ).

Thanks for reading and listening-drop me a comment and let me know you think! Thanks a million,

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