Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Summary Provided by Goodreads:  

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.

My Thoughts:

I found this book really interesting. Stolen is basically a long letter written by Gemma, who, while waiting for her flight, gets a cup of coffee where she is drugged and kidnapped by a young man named Ty. This letter is for him. Ty brings Gemma to the Australian outback and attempts to keep her “safe”, by not allowing her to leave. The difference between Ty and other kidnappers you read about is Ty really doesn’t want to hurt her, he thinks he is helping her. He doesn’t lock her up, he takes care of her when she gets hurt, he gives her freedom, and he doesn’t rape her. He even tells her that her body is her own and he would never take something she didn’t want to give him. He just loves her and thinks he is giving her a better life. Obviously, Ty has issues since he kidnapped her in the first place, but as kidnappers go, he could have been a lot worse.

I have a degree in Psychology and I’m pretty good at figuring out the human brain and what makes people do what they do, but I keep wondering if Gemma came to love Ty because of Stockholm Syndrome, or because she actually loved the person he was.

I wish we could have understood more about Ty. We learn a little bit about his past-orphan, homeless, prostitute, but I would have liked to see more, but then again when people are sick, you never really understand why they do the things that they do. He wants Gemma to love the land and nature as much as he does and teaches her many things about it. Ty does everything in his power to make Gemma comfortable; not understanding the only thing she wants is to go home.

Some parts dragged on for me. But overall, I thought it was a good read that made me think about what it means to be human. 

Love, Kristina