99 problems, and a book ain't one

   Not quite sure how I am feeling after reading, Stolen. Maybe like I could be possibly suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Yeah. Confused for sure. My final thoughts are probably as perplexing as Gemma's were by the end. She really said it best herself...
 
  "I know Ty did the wrong thing," I interrupted quietly. And I know that, didn't I? But it was almost as if a part of me didn't want to believe her. A part of me understood why you'd done it, too. And it's hard to hate someone once you understand them. I felt so mixed up."

   The way this book was written, as Gemma's letter to Ty (her captor, was very unique. It was nothing more and nothing less than a walk through of what she felt day by day of her confinement with Ty. The author did a great job, I thought, putting you in Gemma's shoes this way. I found myself having conflicting feelings about Ty pretty much as Lucy did.

   Stolen was also beautifully written. The way she described the threateningly marvelous Australian outback, could have been a love story in itself. I loved the different ways that the setting was repeatedly integrated into the characters themselves. One of my favorite examples of this was the following....

"You told me once of the plants that lie dormant through the drought, that wait, half-dead, deep in the earth. The plants that wait for the rain. You said they'd wait for years, if they had to; that they'd almost kill themselves before they grew again. But as soon as those first drops of water fall, those plants begin to stretch and spread their roots. They travel up through the soil and sand to reach the surface. There's a chance for them again. One day they'll let you out of that dry, empty cell. You'll return to the Separates, and you'll feel the rain once more. And you'll grow straight, this time, toward this sunlight. I know you will."

   I will admit that there are very long drawn out parts of the description of this desolate setting. It did seem like overkill a little, but then again what the hell else out there was there for her to do but take in her surroundings.

   Ty had such a difficult life, it was hard not to sympathize with him. But you still couldn't excuse his actions. That's where the confusion sets in. While you could kind of understand his thinking, you still couldn't justify his actions with Gemma.

  I would have liked to see how Gemma fared later on after her return home. If she still felt about Ty, and her abduction as she did upon her initial return home. It would have been interesting to see both her and Ty later down the road and see if anything had changed. Either way this was definitely a good look into the physiological effects of being abducted and a deeper look into Stockholm Syndrome.