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Saturday, September 26, 2009

A very long letter in the form of a book...



Title: Stolen - a letter to my captor

Author: Lucy Christopher

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Hello again! it's been more than a month since I last posted something here (its not that somebody's counting though >.<) Anyway this time, instead of reviewing on my beloved anime I decided to do a review on a very nice book which I stumbled upon when I went to the bookstore ^^.

So, as described, the book title is Stolen - a letter to my captor written by Lucy Christopher. The genre was mystery/thriller, although I have no idea which part of it was mysterious or even thrilling. Anyway, this story was written in the point of view of Gemma Toombs, a sixteen year old teenager from London who was kidnapped at the airport when she was on vacation with her parents. She was taken from the Bangkok airport to Australia under her consciousness since she was drugged by her abductor, Tyler MacFarlane.

When she woke up, Gemma found out that she was taken to a middle of nowhere in an Australian desert where Ty, (what the guy introduced himself to Gemma earlier at the airport) had built with his own hands a wooden cabin which he had planned to live there with gemma for the rest of their lives. Of course as any other sane person would do is to freak out and struggled to get away from the kidnapper. Gemma tried to escape countless times but was futile.

Gemma was not some random girl to Ty. He had known her since he was ten only Gemma doesn't remember about their encounters. Ty had been there, almost like her guardian angel (or just plain stalker). Until one night, a friend of Gemma who had a crush on her planned to rape her but was scared away by Ty. That was when he decided he needed to save Gemma from all the city dangers and dragged her to the outbacks.

It was hell, trapped in the vast land of nothing but red sand and heat but eventually, Gemma got used to it and she got used to Ty. She got to know him better and the reason of his actions. Still, Gemma preferred being in her usual environment. Tyler agreed that if in four months she still doesn't feel at home he'll take her back. The story takes a turn when one day after Gemma was bitten by a snake and in order to save her life, Ty took her back to civilization risking his own neck to the authorities. She was safe, he turned himself in and Gemma struggled with her feelings. Life without Ty in the city will never be the same.

It was all written in a letter (the whole book to be exact) beginning from the time they met at the airport until the last alphabet that Gemma wrote while waiting for the trial in which she held the power either to help release Ty from the conviction or to return to her old life.

Overall, I think this is a very good book. 90% of the setting was in the Australian Outback. The author took me into the scenery in detail. The red sand, the heat, the desert life and also how feelings developed between the main characters. I like the way it was written in different perspective than most other books usually have.

The author was telling us to broaden our horizon. Sometimes being in our comfort zone is not the best thing and love make people do irrational things. This novel is suitable for teenagers who is looking for their own identity. Gemma will grow up and thank Ty for giving her the opportunity to see the world with better eyes.

A/N: One of the rarest book that able to make me cry.

disclaimer: Credits to the author ^^