Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher
Summary: Gemma is at an airport in Bangkok with her parents when a guy starts talking to her. She realizes soon after that he has drugged her. Her memories as hazy as she is stolen away onto a plane bound for Australia. When she wakes up in the middle of the desert, she is at first afraid of Ty, the man who kidnapped her. But he treats her kindly and explains why he did what he did. Though for a long time Gemma dreams of escape, she begins to understand Ty… and perhaps even love him…
Stockholm Syndrome
This fascinating story is told through a letter Gemma writes to Ty. I had heard of Stockholm Syndrome, where a prisoner begins to feel a connection to her captor, and the author captures Gemma’s confusion of feelings toward Ty well. Even as Gemma describes falling in love, she still feels hate and fear toward him. The descriptions of the Australian outback and the wildlife there is fascinating as well and makes for a clean backdrop for Gemma and Ty’s relationship to develop.
Stalker or Love Interest? (aka the Edward dilemma)
I was so torn. I think, if Ty had been described as some nasty fat sweaty middle-aged man, I wouldn’t have been so torn. But Gemma sees Ty as a very physically fit young man – who, while she recognizes later that he is about ten years older than her, is attractive to her. And yes, it’s creepy that Ty first met Gemma when she was 10 and he was 19, and he’s been following her for the past 6 years. But he could also be viewed as a guardian angel of sorts, protecting Gemma from a drunken classmate with less-than-honorable intentions.
I know what Ty did was wrong. Kidnapping is wrong. I think he was both a little mentally unstable and a lot naive, thinking this plan would work. Part of me keeps wondering if somehow it might have worked out between Gemma and Ty if he had played by real-world rules and just tried to have a normal relationship with her. Part of me wants Gemma and Ty to reunite after he serves his years in prison, however sick that is.
This is just like how I felt about Edward: he seemed super sweet and doting, but spent a lot of time watching Bella sleep and taking parts out of her car engine so she couldn’t leave. What is this generation of female characters turned on by stalkers? At least Gemma makes a good decision in the end, and so does Ty.
Work in Progress 