I’m not really someone who has a “favorite” movie, song, or book. Honestly, I don’t really have specific preferences about anything, but if I had to choose a “favorite” book, it would have to be Stolen by Lucy Christopher.

This novel is about a kidnapping, and it’s written as a letter from the captive (Gemma) to the captor (Ty) — telling the reader the story of her kidnapping and how it comes to an end.

It all starts when Gemma is at the airport with her family as they return from a vacation. She’s kidnapped by Ty — a boy who has been obsessed with her for years — and taken deep into the Australian desert.
Stolen drove me crazy when I first read it because I had contradictory feelings about the characters. When you start the book, you hate Ty along with Gemma because he took her away from her world and locked her up in the middle of nowhere.

The thing is, Ty doesn´t behave violently or aggressively toward Gemma. He is quiet and patient, and he even takes care of her. Of course, Gemma is there against her will and, thus, tries to escape whenever she can. However, at some point in the plot, she gets to know Ty on a deeper level, and there is a breakthrough in the story. Gemma finds out that it’s really hard, almost impossible, to hate someone when you get to understand him. This is how the author makes you feel confused about the nature of the male antagonist.  You hate him, but at the same time, you empathize with him. The author deepens Ty’s description as a human being. He isn’t just a kidnapper anymore; he’s someone who has feelings and reasons behind what he does.

Another point worth mentioning is the setting. Lucy Christopher located the action of Stolen in a hostile and dry place: the desert. However, through Ty she manages to show us another aspect of the desert we might not otherwise know. She reveals the true beauty of this place and makes us imagine we are actually there.

So, if I had to decide which book is my favorite, I would choose “Stolen” because Lucy Christopher somehow manages to impressively arouse many different, contradictory feelings in just a few pages.