Stolen is the debut novel of author Lucy Christopher. It was published in the UK in 2009 and is the story of Gemma Toombs, a 16-year-old girl who is kidnapped by a 25-year-old man named Ty and taken to the middle of the Great Sandy Desert in the Australian Outback. Subtitled A Letter to My Captor, the book is told in second person narrative as a letter from Gemma to Ty.[1]
 Cover of Stolen | |
| Author | Lucy Christopher |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult fiction |
| Published | 2009 The Chicken House |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 304 |
| Awards |
|
| ISBN | 9781906427139 |
| Followed by | Flyaway |
Plot
editWhilst at a Bangkok airport, 16-year-old Gemma is kidnapped by 27-year-old Tyler “Ty” MacFarlane from a coffee shop after he drugs her coffee. He smuggles her away on a plane to Australia and takes her to the middle of the desert, expecting her to fall in love with him. Gemma disapproves of Ty, but after an incident she develops a soft corner for him. Ty has a nightmare about his past and shouts and screams until Gemma gets up and consoles him. Still Gemma has not entirely forgiven Ty and tries to escape by taking his vehicle but does not succeed as the truck gets stuck in the desert. Ty rescues her and takes care of her until her burns have healed. Now Gemma has started to think of Ty in a good way and Ty is happy with that. Ty wants her to realize the importance and beauty of nature which was the main reason he built this house in the middle of the desert. For this purpose he paints his entire outhouse and himself with colors that resemble nature. And this does it. That day Ty and Gemma fall asleep outside the house, on the sand itself. Gemma has now started falling for Ty. The next day Ty leaves to collect snakes as their venom is essential for the anti-venom that he is preparing. He leaves a note for Gemma about his whereabouts and Gemma goes in search of Ty behind the house near the water reserve and there a snake bites her. Ty takes Gemma to the mine site/civilization for her treatment after the anti-venom that he had preserved is out of date. Gemma asked Ty to stay with her in the hospital. He is arrested and whilst receiving treatment for her ordeal she is told that any feelings she had for Ty were due to the Stockholm syndrome.[2][3]
Characters
edit- Gemma Toombs - the 16-year-old protagonist of the novel. Originally from England, she and her parents, with whom she has a strained relationship, are on a trip in Thailand when she is kidnapped by a young man who takes her to one of the most isolated parts of the Outback in Australia.
- Tyler "Ty" MacFarlane - the 27-year-old man who abducts Gemma. Prior to kidnapping her, Ty had been stalking Gemma for years, and decided that the only way to have her would be to drug her and take her to the middle of the Great Sandy Desert in Australia. There, he expects her to not only fall in love with him, but stay with him forever.
Publishing history
editStolen was first published in the UK in 2009 by Chicken House. The first American edition was published by Scholastic in 2010. The book has been subsequently translated into French (as Lettre à mon ravisseur, Gallimard, 2010), Dutch (as Brief aan mijn ontvoerder, The House of Books, 2010), Greek (as Apagōgē, Ekdoseis Psychogios, 2010), Danish (as Stjålet: Et brev til min bortfører, Carlsen, 2011), and German (as Ich wünschte, ich könnte dich hassen, Carlsen, 2011)
Awards
edit| Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Branford Boase Award | Winner | [4] |
| 2010 | Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Shortlist | [5][6] |
| 2010 | Southern Schools Book Award | Winner | [7] |
| 2011 | Michael L. Printz Award | Honor | [8] |
| 2010 | Gold Inky Award | Winner | [9][10] |
| Hull Children's Book Award | [9] |
References
edit- ^ BBC News (25 May 2010). "Branford Boase Award nomination for Bath author's debut" Archived 26 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ^ "Stolen. An award winning thriller by Lucy Christopher". Lucy Christopher. 22 March 2024. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ Ganesan, Janani (17 November 2010). "Too long a letter". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
- ^ Horn, Caroline (15 July 2010). "Christopher steals Branford Boase". The Bookseller. Retrieved 22 March 2012.[dead link]
- ^ Neilan, Catherine (15 July 2010). "Coetzee and Christopher among shortlistees for PM awards". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ^ 2010 Shortlist Archived 6 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Lucy Christopher - winner in 2010 with Stolen". Southern Schools Book Awards. Archived from the original on 12 March 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ^ Staino, Rocco (29 June 2011). "ALA Annual 2011: Bacigalupi Drops F-Bomb at Printz Award Ceremony". School Library Journal. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ^ a b "Author stirs students to storytelling". Berwick Leader. 17 April 2011. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ^ "Stolen, Shiver win the 2010 Inky Awards". Readings. Archived from the original on 8 November 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
External links
edit- Official web site
- Interview: Lucy Christopher on the background to Stolen. The Hindu (15 December 2010).
- Lucy Christopher on WorldCat