Perfect Strangers?

Kayla Hernandez

Stolen
By: Lucy Christopher

Gemma, 16-year-old teen, has a life of adventure and travel. At an airport she goes off to get some coffee before her flight. She leaves her parents at the gate to wait for her. At the coffee shop she isn't able to buy her coffee because of her money, and then this mysterious guy offers to pay for her. He asks to sit with her and talk to get to know each other. They sit down and he introduces himself, as Ty.
Gemma wakes up at the back of a building next to a dumpster and Ty is taking her clothes off, but she's all too drugged up to try to figure out where she is and how to stop Ty when she doesn't have the strength. Ty then covers her mouth with a cloth and Gemma slowly goes back to sleep. Next, "All I remember after that is the numbed-out jolt and sway of being in a car. The engine grumbled on, forever"(12). Then Gemma wakes up on a bed, feeling sore and sweaty, but still not aware of her surroundings. She eventually is able to make out a, "'Where am I?'" and the response is, "'You're safe'". This makes her more anxious and full of rage that she begins to yell at him for what he has done with her.
Gemma comes to find out that she is in the middle of a desert in Australia, where all she's surrounded by is red sand and an abandoned building. No signal, no one else to call for help, only Ty. As the days go by, she asks him why he brought her here, he tells her "'That's easy.' ... 'Company.''(30).
Ty treats her like she is a doll, a toy he wants to play with and free him of boredom. Trying to escape could put her in a lot of danger, so for now she has to go along with his plan until she familiarizes herself. I believe after having to spend so much time with this man and being the only way of communication, Gemma's feelings could changed from hatred to heart felt feelings, maybe love.

This is a scary topic of discussion, but unfortunately it's something some people on this world have had to go through. It brings some of that reality into a book to make readers aware of what could happen. I don't personally connect with the book, but it does make me aware of how things could change in the matter of minutes and what occurs in the outside world. How this world is full of evil and we always have to acknowledge our surroundings and make sure to be careful, because we can't trust anyone now a days.