Saturday, August 11, 2012

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Goodreads Description: "Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of the car while her stepmom fills a prescription for antibiotics. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, the car is being stolen.

Griffin hadn't meant to kidnap Cheyenne and once he finds out that not only does she have pneumonia, but that she's blind, he really doesn't know what to do. When his dad finds out that Cheyenne's father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes--now there's a reason to keep her. 

How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare?"

My Review: Okay, not to sound like a psycho---but I love books about kidnappings. Why? Because it's something that you would NEVER want happening to you---which is what makes reading about it so thrilling! So when I saw Girl, Stolen, well, I just HAD to get it! And I'm glad I did, because it was a good book. 
          I admit: at first, I did rather compare it to Stolen by Lucy Christopher (my review of that here), because that was A) a really good book about a kidnapping, and B) one of the only other books I've read about kidnapping. However, I quickly realized that this book was way different---and more realistic, to be honest---so I stopped comparing it right away. 
          I liked this book because of the characters, primarily. Admitted, Griffin was a bit strangely nice, for a dude who goes around stealing cars---but I liked that he was kind, because it reminded me that not all people who do bad things...are BAD! (Hello, Aladdin?) That's something I think is important for people in this world to remember, when we are so quick to judge others. His compassion, the way he cared for Cheyenne grudgingly---it was all great. And I really felt for him. His story, with his mysterious mom and uncaring dad, it was all very bitter and heartbreaking. 
          Cheyenne was another great character. The fact that she was BLIND just blew my mind. It made an ordinary book extraordinary. I tried to imagine what I'd do in her shoes, and I just couldn't. It was too scary to think about. She was incredibly brave and composed, in my opinion, and I'm glad. I would've hated it if April Henry made her all shriek-y and cowering, simply because she's blind. People with disabilities can be just as brave as people without disabilities! 
          The plot was a tad predictable---I mean, I didn't REALLY think Cheyenne was gonna have a bad ending---but it was still satisfactory. I'm glad Griffin got on the straight path; I was desperately hoping his life would end well! Also, I was SO, SO, SO glad Cheyenne and Griffin did not fall in love. I would've burned the book if they had. There are too any books where people fall in love in weird or unrealistic situations, and it always irritates me. Girl falling in love with kidnapper? Unlikely. Yet romantic YA authors seem to love the idea. Creepy!
          Overall, a solid effort! 

Cover: Strangely, I really like this! The pose, the dull colors, they all say so much about Cheyenne's situation (the kidnapping...the blindness....). The cover really speaks words. 

Overall Grade: B+

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