Lucy Rebecca Christopher

A Novel Contextualising Research : the Making and Changing of Stolen

Stolen

Lucy Christopher

Gemma, a British city-living teenager, is kidnapped while on holiday with her parents. Her kidnapper, Ty, takes her to the wild land of outback Australia. To Gemma's city-eyes, the landscape is harsh and unforgiving and there are no other signs of human life for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. Here, there is no escape. Gemma must learn to deal with her predicament, or die trying to fight it. Ty, a young man, has other ideas for her. His childhood experience of living in outback Australia has forever changed the way he sees things. But he too has been living in the city; Gemma's city. Unlike Gemma, however, he has had enough. In outback Australia he sees an opportunity for a new kind of life; a life more connected to the earth. He has been watching and learning about Gemma for many years; when he kidnaps her, his plan finally begins to take shape. But Ty is not a stereotypical kidnapper and, over time, Gemma comes to see Ty in a new light, a light in which he is something more sensitive. The mysteries of Ty, and the mystery of her new life, start to take hold. She begins to feel something for her kidnapper when he wakes screaming in the night. Over the time spent with her captor, Gemma's appreciation of him develops into what could be referred to as Stockholm syndrome.

Danielle Annika

i felt uncomfortable just by reading about how hot the desert is. i cried when i read this 4 years ago, but i guess i grew up because i didn't now :D however, i still did feel empty at the end :((

also, WHY WAS I MORE SAD ABOUT THE CAMEL AAAA LIKE *THAT* SCENE JUST MAKE ME FEEL SO BAD JCNDNXS

British city-dweller Gemma is abducted while on vacation and taken to the Australian outback, where she realizes that escape attempts are futile, and in time she learns that her captor is not as despicable as she first believed.

The way Gemma talked about the desert and the stars always intensified the feeling I usually feel when I’m deeply immersed in whatever I’m reading. I’ve always considered this my favorite book ever since I read it years and years back. I definitely do not support any of Ty’s ideologies, though. I think Lucy did a really good job at painting out the scenery and emotions throughout this book. 

Rea 

Danyella Barajas

Nessa Luna

Oh god no. I've been reading people's reviews and people actually like this loser? What the hell? I'll be writing a full review asap.

Idk what “cerebral” means but if it means it changed my brain chemistry then i chose the right word. I READ THIS BOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME THE DAY BEFORE I HAD TO FLY ALONE AS A TEENAGER LMAO. I remember reading it & I felt bad for the kidnapper guy at the end (i’m writing this review as a 22 year old who hasn’t picked up the book in YEARS so i don’t remember names) and then i like thought about it after an hour and i was like “what the FUCK DID I JUST READ????” Like I ALSO HAD STOCKHOLM SYNDROME UNTIL I CAME  TO MY FUCKING SENSES!! So the author fr did a good job with that 1000/10

Christena Alvarez

Alexa M

**3.75/5 stars**
idk about this.... I didn't love it... idk

Anna Bold

It's hard to describe this book. It was very powerful, though not always depressing; there instead was an underlying theme of darkness that shone through even the happy moments. I was so excited to pick up this book - I've never read anything in second person, though I've always wanted to. I love the narration - how it's just Gemma and Ty, but Gemma is I and Ty is you. I felt a different relationship than I may have if it was in first person. 
I loved it, really. The darkness underneath everything still haunts me a little, and I would recommend that everyone read it. It's kind of beautiful.

Jeannette Ordas

Wow, a pretty compelling read for a book told as a letter! The characters are multi-dimensional and it's not often that you're rooting for a bit of romance between a kidnapper and his captive (especially one that is so creepy - yet complex).

Vesselina

I HATE IT!
IT'S GOOD, AMAZING, GREAT!
BUT WHY THE SO FUCKED UP ENDING WHY!?

I hate sad endings. And to me, this is a sad ending. (Here I'm 15 minutes after finishing it still crying.)

But still, it'll stay one of the most memorable books I've ever read.

Sixteen-year-old Gemma, a British city-dweller, is abducted while on vacation with her parents and taken to the Australian outback, where she soon realizes that escape attempts are futile, and in time she learns that her captor is not as despicable as she first believed.

Nicole Dykeman

This book was really honest. Despite the heaviness of the conflict of the book, there was an innocence to both Ty and Gemma that made it even scarier. I felt really in touch with them. The end of the book was very emotional and truthful to what would likely happen in real life. It was a well written book as well, I liked the authors decision to make it as a letter from Gemma to Ty.

Lauren Tabor

Navya 

My eyes are leaking by the time i finish the end .

Jaclyn

4.5
"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."  

Woah. This book was  POWERFUL.  It was chilling,thought provoking, gripping, and so so different from anything I've ever read. It was beautifully written, intense, and so tragic all at once. This story is definitely a case of stolk holm syndrome,or is it?? It's so different because it puts you in the place of someone who has it, but you don't want to believe it. And I still don't know!! 

 "People love what they're used to,I guess." 
"No." You shook your head. "People should love what needs loving. That way they can save it."  

Honestly this story is a screwed up one, but it's told in the best way possible and I loved the voice of Gemma. She was a fighter and wouldn't give up. She was strong and it was very easy to relate to her. Her development to the situation she was in was frightening but we were right there with her.

 "The people we care for aren't always the ones we should."  

Ty. Ty was creepy in the beginning, of course, but like Gemma we started to sympathize for him and I ended up really liking him and found myself rooting for them to be together and find some way out of this situation. And the ending was heart breaking, as it was expected in this situation but the way it happened was very surprising and I loved it. BUT it was frustrating. It was open ended and left a lot of questions. I just needed an epilogue to find out what happened next.
It just felt abrupt. 

 "Let's face it, you did steal me. But you saved my life too. And somewhere in the middle, you showed me a place so different and beautiful, I can never get it out of my mind. And I can't get you out of it either. You're stuck in my brain like my own blood vessels." 

But seriously, this book was fantastic and brilliant. It's a very quick, fast paced read and everyone should read it! It's crazy and different from anything I've ever read it. I had chills reading it, this is definetly one that will stay with you! Hauntingly beautiful. 

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

  But I really want a sequel!

Flavia Louise

4.75 stars
I don't really know what to say...
First of all I see now that it was maybe not the best idea to finish it tonight, on the other hand not finishing it might have been just as bad.
This book has already started and will surely continue to make me think.
It is just so amazingly written that you don't know what to think anymore once you finish, because you find yourself in a conflict that at least I thought I couldn't get into but Lucy Christopher succeeds at transporting the reader into Gemma's perspective in a way that you end up in the same conflict as her, which at least I can't escape even when I am distancing myself, trying to look at it in a more objective way. This is a masterpiece.

chloe mcpherson

Gemma is taken from the Bangkok airport and brought to the Australian outback by a man named Ty. And this book is in form of a letter from Gemma to her captor Ty, she explains what happened and how she felt the time she was held captive. 
This book was so captivating and easy to read, the writing made me feel like I was reading someone’s letter and made me feel like this actually happened. 
If you were to ever sympathise with a villain, this would be the book to make you do so. He is such a sad and tragic character you can’t help but feel sorry for him even though he had kidnaped 16 yo Gemma. And you have to keep reminding yourself that because at one stage you will fall for Ty. 
I also loved Gemma’s character, she understood what was happened, even though she had Stockholm syndrome she still understood that what he did was wrong and she hated him for taking her. But in her own way she loved him. 
The ending actually made me cry, I’m not the one to reread books. But this, this I would definitely reread again.

Kathryn 

This book was not my favorite. It was pretty boring at parts but I did enjoy the writing and the story was still interesting to read about.

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.

Georgia Carr

The amount of times I was reading this book in public and had to look up and say, "This is disturbing / creepy / really freaking me out," is kind of crazy. It's thought-provoking the entire way through, full of beautiful description and real emotion. Gemma is written impeccably and Ty is definitely not your average kidnapper. Stolen is a great novel that really makes you think, even with the copious amounts of creepy lines. I definitely recommend, particularly to those who enjoy something a little different to an angsty love story.

Olivera Mitić

Edit 31/5/17 
After some time, it just didn't stick as much with me, so it's a 4.5 rating now.

This book and me, we have a long history. 
(This sounded way too dramatic, but I always wanted to use this phrase lol.)

I wanted to read Stolen the first time I ever set my eye on it, back in 2013 when I somehow stubmled up on it on Goodreads. It looked like my cup of tea. It had everything I ever wanted in a book and I craved to get my hands on it. I was taking a trip to London that summer and planed on getting it there, but unfortunately, I couldn't find it. This search continued on for 3 years, in every bookstore that had books in English. And I never had luck. Finally, I ordered it from BookDepository (which I was too hesitant to do before), it arrived on my doorstep two days ago and it was glorious!

After such I let my hype build up for THREE YEARS, I was almost afraid to dive into this book. I was scared it won't be as good as I hoped and that maybe it would be a completely different thing than what I wanted it to be. 

BUT IT WASN'T!!!
Oh my God , guys, it everything and so much more!

This whole reading year was just a flop for me. I haven't read many things I truly liked and my criteria jumped sky high for some reason. But this book... This book might be in my top 5 favorite books of all time, if not my favorite. 

I don't even know how to review it properly. All of this has mostly been rambling. 

It's hard to write a book that has only two characters. They have to carry the whole thing and a huge aspect has to be on their emotions and their psychology. Lucy Christopher managed to do this briliantly. Both Ty and Gemma were mesmerizing to read about. I honestly feel like I'd give my left arm for a prolonged version of this book, with more time in the desert, more scenes with these two and a bit more time to see how the relationship between them would develop and deepen. 

That being said, the only problem I had with this book was that it was so short. This isn't necessarily a big deal. The whole story was marvelously made, with no aspect of it that I would want to change or alter. Everything felt believable and it ended the only way it could (and should). But, I crave just a bit more of the middle part. More time in such a unique setting, more time spent with the characters while they try to figure out how things actually stand between them. Just a bit more.
I wish we could have seen how Gemma would deal with her emotions while Ty was there. (view spoiler)[ The moment she truly realizes that the way she sees him has changed, she is brought back to the real world and forced to deal with it in an enviornment that isn't familiar anymore. I wish we could have seen it develop a bit more before it was doomed to end.  (hide spoiler)]

As far as the writing goes, it was beautiful and breathtaking. Gemma's voice felt personal. The fact that she wrote in second person (aka in letter form) was another thing that really made this work as well as it did. We got to experience everything through her eyes, and that was something that helped (me at least) sympathize with Ty the same way Gemma did. 

The descriptions of the desert and wilderness were exquisite and vivid. I found myself brousing through 'desert trips' on travel websites, just to see how much I'll have to save up to go to a similar place myself. Because that is what the book made me feel. To want to experience such a similar endlessness of space, sky and nature, mixed with the feeling of isolation from the actual world, people and manmade gadgets. 

This book changed me and will continue to change me. It will be one close to my heart I will reread for the rest of my life and find myself getting back to every now and then. 

Just beautiful and amazing. 

I'm begging you, pick it up as soon as you can.

Анастасия Розова

2.5/5
I am underwhelmed. I thought it'd be more interesting, and even thought it wasn't the worst, it was actually pretty fast paced (don't mind that I've been listening for it for a month, I do it only in my free time and when I'm in the mood), but I just expected more. After liking Mary Kubica's The Good Girl so much, I thought I'd enjoy this one as well.

I didn't get to attach to the characters at all. I hoped to care more about them and I didn't give a damn. They were plain and boring. They didn't really feel alive. And I didn't really understood the motivation of either of them. I guess I did like that she was hoping to get away and plotting how to do it and actually trying, but near the end (view spoiler)[she suddenly fell in love with him (at least that's what it looked like to me) and it all sorta went downhill. (hide spoiler)] Also she did the right choice at the very end, but I was too bored to care.

Maybe it's because I've seen this book all around and heard so many good things, I expected more of it and now I'm disappointed I didn't get it. I didn't hate it either, just... Meh.

Oh, well. Even though I only listen to slow books, still feel a little bit like I wasted my time. But I'm also glad that it's finished and out of my tbr shelf now.

Jayarna La Bozzetta

I read this when I was a lot younger and it really impacted me. I do not think this is a good book and now a days this would probably be really problematic but since I still think about it today I think for its time and my time it was very impactful.

Emily

Um... I don't have much to say about this one. It was fine. I ended up skimming some of the end. It's like a super long and drawn out episode of Criminal Minds (without the actually entertaining profiling part). I understand what the author was going for surrounding emotion, relationships, and Stockholm Syndrome, but I just found myself bored.

Izzy

You saw me before I saw you.

4 Stars

I seriously can’t describe how i really feel towards this book. This ending sort of killed me in an emotional way.
When I started reading this book I never thought that it would get to me that much but look at me now I can’t stop crying.
Ty…I honestly don’t know what I should think about him. I am more like Gemma in that case. On the other hand I can’t stand him for kidnapping her but on the other side he isn’t a bad person at all. He is protective and endearing to her but like Gemma I simply can’t forget the fact that he is a kidnapper. He stole Gemma from her old life without even asking her. Sigh. It’s really difficult to explain my confused feelings to Ty.
Also I absolutely adored how Lucy Christopher described the beautiful scenery of Australia. Even if it’s in the middle of nowhere I could understand Gemmas thoughts about how wonderful everything looked.

Chaya Vervaecke

Loved it !!! 
Left it me with really confused feelings though<3

Stolen A Novel Contextualising Research : the Making and Changing of Stolen

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