Stolen (299 Pages)

Lucy Christopher is the author of this Printz honor book, and it certainly grabbed me and held fast for the entire read! Gemma has a somewhat rocky relationship with her mother. Like so many teens, her emotions are raw and controlling. Her mom doesn't like the top she's wearing, thinking it to skimpy, so when she leaves her parents at the Bankok airport to get a cup of coffee, the beautiful mezmerizing, blue eyes of the stranger over-shadowed her common sense. He bought the coffee for her, and said he'd bring it to the table for her. She sat down, and he poured a drug(s) into the coffee. Before she knows what is happening, Ty takes her out of the airport, gives her a disguise to wear, and the next thing the reader knows, they are in the desert of Australia. She alternately hates him, is attracted to him, hates him, wonders what he's going to do to her, hates him, is attracted to him.... she attempts to escape, it doesn't work. Only when she is bitten by a poisonous snake does the story turn to Ty getting her help. He has never done anything to her, and it turns out he has been observing her from a distance for years. It is unbelievable, yet the reader is pulled into the story as it becomes more and more believable. Your kids will love this book!