Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Title: Girl, Stolen 

Author: April Henry

Pages:  224

Genre:  YA/ Teen

Source: Purchased

From the moment I read what this book was about I just knew that I would have to read it.  

Sixteen year old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of her stepmother's car when a young man opens the door and takes off with the car with her in it.  Griffin did not mean to kidnap Cheyenne, he just wanted to steal the Cadillac Escalade she was in and impress his father.  But when his father finds out that Cheyenne is the daughter of the president of a very powerful corporation they realize that the car is really only a consolation prize... she is worth a whole lot more.  But what they don't know is that Cheyenne was sleeping in the back of the car because she has pneumonia and even worse than that, she is also blind.  Although she uses her blindness to her advantage, making her captors feel as if she isn't a threat, little do they know that by using her other senses she may be able to get herself out of this dangerous situation.  

Ms. Henry captures Cheyenne and her blindness perfectly.  This is the first book that I read told through the eyes (no pun intended) of a blind person and I think this made it an even more suspenseful read.  I enjoyed the insight we get into the life of someone who is blind.  In her case, Cheyenne was in an accident that caused her to lose her sight, and through flashbacks we get to see how her life has changed since, how she had to accustom herself to a walking stick and the use of a guide dog, etc. 

Told in alternating chapters, you also get to hear Griffin's perspective.  Although he's the one who unintentionally abducted Cheyenne, he's also the only one to look after her.  He makes sure that she's fed and he's even given her some expired aspirin to help with her pneumonia.  Throughout the ordeal the two of them get to know each other and although they form a reluctant friendship - they still understand that they are on opposite teams.

I really enjoyed the way the author captured it all.  I think Ms. Henry does a wonderful and credible job of slowly building the unlikely friendship between Griffin and Cheyenne.  I fought it for a while at first thinking she would fall for her captor, but I found that Cheyenne was a big girl, and she definitely had her big girl pants on and never lost sight of her goal... her freedom.  The suspense was intense and although it did have a slow start towards the end I was at the edge of my seat. All in all, this was a very entertaining read - one that I found scary, tense and, in the end, hopeful.

My Rating: