Girl, Stolen by April Henry is the story of Cheyenne, a young girl accidentally kidnapped when someone steals the SUV she's sleeping in. She's sick, (pneumonia) and she's blind.
I can't imagine how terrifying that would be. Being kidnapped would be horrifying enough, but to be blind as well?! I can't imagine. I thought this was handled very well by the author. Cheyenne's emotional state when she realized she was being kidnapped seemed very real. She tried threats, she tried bargaining, and she tried begging. She was scared, but she's also a smart girl, and she thought things through — used her brains.
It was also interesting to watch Griffin's character, and discover more about him. He's the boy that takes the SUV, but right from the beginning, it's pretty obvious that he's not an inherently bad kid. There are outside influences on Griffin that seem to be shaping his behavior, and that broke my heart, just the tiniest bit.
Overall, reading this book I was more impressed with the characters than I was the story itself. Large parts of the story were just a little bit too unbelievable. It was hard to suspend my disbelief long enough to take what was happening to or between the characters seriously. However, I thought this was an interesting look into human characteristics. It's often hard to know who we will be in different situations, and how we would react to them. April Henry has us look into what circumstances might make of us. Griffin doesn't have to be a bad kid, he's just desperate for his father's love and approval. Cheyenne wasn't always blind but once she got over the initial shock and depression, she didn't let it keep her down, and she learned to live around the blindness. It makes me wonder how I'd react to various stimuli.
And, I also have to add that I loved the climax of the story! It was very well done, and the only part of the story I found to be compulsively readable. It was handled wonderfully, and was just realistic enough to have been possible.
Overall, this book was an enjoyable read, but not one I found to be terribly memorable. It's a book I'm not going to remember much about down the road, but it's that book that will come to mind at odd moments and make me stop, to think and contemplate on life.
*Disclaimer: I received this book through We Love YA Tours.