Stolen

While waiting in the Bangkok airport for a flight to Vietnam with her parents, Gemma is stolen.  While Gemma hasn't necessarily been thrilled with her parents' role in her life - they're rather absent and pushy, but she's well, a teenager - she never wanted to be kidnapped and taken to the remote Australian Outback.  The story is Gemma's remembered story written as a letter to her kidnapper, Ty, which you know from both the front flap and the verb tense.  Ty has been planning the kidnapping for years, carefully watching Gemma at her London home and building the small compound of buildings that he takes her to in the Outback.

Wow - what a premise for a book, huh?  I wanted so badly for this book to be awesome, but I was not impressed.  Gemma's halfhearted attempts to escape only come across as frustrating, instead of heart-pounding.  Having not been kidnapped myself, but having watched & read the news stories of high profile kidnapping cases in recent years, I'll go out on a limb here and say that Gemma's story is probably close to a realistic situation.  But good gracious, it makes for a very boring YA book.  Nothing happens, ever.  The story goes absolutely nowhere.  Most of the book is taken up with endless descriptions of how hot Gemma is and her being in a haze because she can't be bothered to eat anything so she can build up her strength, stay mentally alert, and foil all of Ty's plans to keep her there. Then suddenly it's over.

So yeah, not going to recommend this as a must-have in your collection. Sorry Lucy Christopher!  I'm not trying to hate on you so please try again with another book!