stolen

stolen
lucy christopher
ya/thriller
chicken house
published 2012

A girl: Gemma, 16, at the airport, on her way to a family vacation.

A guy: Ty, rugged, tan, too old, oddly familiar, eyes blue as ice.

She steps away. For just a second. He pays for her drink. And drugs it. They talk. Their hands touch. And before Gemma knows what's happening, Ty takes her. Steals her away. To sand and heat. To emptiness and isolation. To nowhere. And expects her to love him.

Wow.  Just wow.

This book sucked me in right from the beginning when I read about it on my library's recommendation page.  It reminded me a bit of Chevy Stevens's Still Missing (a book that I HIGHLY recommend) only because it's the recounting of a kidnapping and the events following.

Of course, it wasn't like Still Missing at all.  Quite different, but engrossing nonetheless.  I spent the time reading feeling claustrophobic for Gemma.  Feeling helpless because she was.  I was creeped out by Ty and constantly felt like bugs were crawling on me.

I must admit that I just couldn't stand the idea of being stuck in this sandy, dusty desert.  I wanted to take a shower everytime I picked up the book!

But it was fascinating.  Gemma's struggle to escape, to not care about Ty and to reconcile her feelings with what the right thing to do was.  Gemma was strong, but compassionate.  I wish that the story followed through a bit longer.  I feel like there was so much more story to tell.  I read a FAQ of Lucy Christopher's in which she's asked if there will be a sequel and now having finished the book I can see why people asked.  There's definitely more.