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."-GoodReads.

Hardcover, 299 pages

Published May 1st 2010 by The Chicken House (first published May 4th 2009)

When I first saw Stolen on GoodReads I knew I had to read it. I have an unhealthy 
love for psychological books. And an even more unhealthy love for Stockholm 
Syndrome stories. Just in case you are not familiar with Stockholm Syndrome, let me
explain it a little bit. Basically it is when "hostages express empathy and have positive 
feelings towards their captors; sometimes to the point of defending them. These feelings are 
generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who 
essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors as an act of kindness."-Wikipedia

That is Stolen in a nutshell. At first Gemma hates Ty, but the longer they are together
and the more stories Ty tells Gemma about watching her grow up from a distance,
she starts to wonder if he is really all that bad. Maybe, he did actually save her by
taking her away from the life she lived before. Before she was with Ty, she was
ignored by her parents and basically just going through the motions, but now
she is the center of Ty's world. The only thing he cares about is her. But are her
feelings for him true? Or just the result him being the only person she has talked to
for months?

Don't pick up this book thinking it is going to be some kind of adventure and that
there is going to be tons of action.
It is much more subtle than that. There is some action, like when Gemma tries to escape
but mostly it is about Gemma and Ty at his home in the middle of nowhere, why he wants
her, and her internal battle of trying to escape of staying there with him.
I absolutely love that Stolen is written in the form of a letter. At first I wasn't too sure
about that but it really makes this book stand out.


The ending really took me by surprise. I was expecting something completely different to 
happen. When I read the last page, closed the book and set it down, I actually said "Wow."
It was pretty mind blowing. So if you like books that deal with psychological issues and
has some tough decisions in it, this would be the book for you. It does get a bit graphic
in a few scenes with Ty and how wild he is from being on his own for so long, but I 
would recommend giving this one a shot. It was fantastic.


Also, I would love to know if you know of any books like this one that you would recommend
me reading as I have had a bit of a hard time searching for them. I already have Forbidden by
Tabitha Suzuma on my list to read, so let me know if you of any more!