Monday, October 27, 2014

Stolen my heart and brain

Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher

Rating: 5 out of 5 hearts
301 pages
Released: May 2009
Buy it @ book depository

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. 


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.



Review


How can I write a review when I feel as confused as the character. This isn't a simple kidnapping story, it has so many layers and feelings you won't know what to think when you finish.

Gemma took me along with her through her ordeal and I was completely stolen by this book. It stole my whole day and I didn't want to let it go.

The backdrop of the Australian outback was perfect in setting the feeling of isolation, the power of silence and showing us it's utter beauty and danger. 

You want to think of Ty as this wild psychopathic murderer but he shows compassion and charm, he blurs the image you hold in your head.

"And it's hard to hate someone once you understand them"

I wanted so badly for there to be a happy ending for Gemma and Ty, but because of the circumstances there was no way that could happen. Lucy Christopher chose the perfect way to end it, even though it left me feeling a little empty. 

This book is meant to be experienced, I think people need to experience this for themselves as it is hard to explain in words what to feel or what really happened. It shared the wearing down of two helpless souls, showing us how Stockholm Syndrome is something that happens over time, without the sufferer from even knowing. I feel like I have shared in Gemma's disorientation.

There are so many moments to remember, which I will be thinking about for a long time. It truly amazes me how an author can write so exquisitely and simply, to take me away and leave me feeling this way.

"You've kidnapped me, put my life in danger...but I loved you too. Or thought I did. None of it made sense"



On the cover

What can't be seen in this picture is the butterfly shimmers. I'm immediately drawn to this cover because of the butterfly. I love butterflies and with the black cover it helps make it pop! 

What I'm reading next: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell



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