Stolen

Let me start off by saying that this book is never as spooky as the cover would suggest. There may be an old witch, and there is certainly rampant speculation about said witch and what she might do out there all alone in the forest, but this book isn't about her. It's about Isabelle. Also, there is someone a lot more scary than a witch, but that person is scary in a much different way than what the cover advertises. This person inspires a slow build of scary rather than a jump out and grab you scary. I say this because I certainly wouldn't have picked this book up when I was in late elementary/early middle school (I was kind of a wimp), but I probably would have really loved the story inside.

The girl who might be Isabelle gets thrown show more into a lot of drama, right from the get-go. She's bitten by a hunting dog that is looking for a witch. When she begins to recover from that, she has to tell the family that took her in that she remembers nothing about her own life. Just when she starts to come to terms with that, the folks who might be her family come to claim her. The newly stolen baby was their daughter as well. Their joy at having Isabelle back is tempered by worry about the baby. There is so much pain in this family; Isabelle wants to be their missing daughter, if only to allow them to avoid the pain of losing a daughter all over again. Then Isabelle meets Honey, possibly her older sister, and she can tell that whether Isabelle is the "real" Isabelle or not, Honey wants her family to have nothing to do with her.

Isabelle has some memory; she knows how to spin wool and she knows she was never a princess, for example. She can still navigate the world she's found herself in, even if she has no idea what her place is in it. Maybe because, at least in her head, she has no history with the people around her, she sees things about them that the rest of the village may not. She feels sorry for the mother and father (hers?) who have love two daughters to the witch, but she can see, where others do not, that this desperation to have Isabelle back isn't just the grasping hope of grieving parents. She can see that the rich aunt after whom Isabelle was named is lonely and desperate to have her namesake back. She sees that Honey isn't just suspicious of her, never believing her to be the true Isabelle, but that she doesn't believe that the "real" Isabelle is capable of coming back at all. And she sees that Avis, the woman who initially took her in, doesn't trust the lot of them. These insights don't always seem to help Isabelle figure things out as quickly as she should, but they are more interesting than simple, wide-eyed wonder at that is new around her.

There's a lot of intrigue in this little village that Isabelle must decipher if she's going to figure out who she really is. When it does finally come back to her, it all comes back in a rush (I mean for her. The writing isn't rushed). The ending is unbelievably clever. I had to rush back and reread the prologue to make sure it all fits together, because it is certainly not what I was expecting. It's awesome; I highly recommend it.

Book source: Philly Free Library show less

Last fall a publisher sent me a review copy of Stolen, a middle-grade novel by Vivian Vande Velde. I would probably have picked up the book sooner but for the cover: the spooky-scary black-and-white image of wickedly clawed witch’s hands looked like something out of The Blair Witch Project and gave me the impression this was a creepy horror novel. It isn’t. It’s actually a kind of cross between fairy tale and mystery, and I enjoyed it a great deal once I finally stopped judging it by its cover.

The novel opens with a bang: a group of villagers are burning down the house of the “old witch” who lives in the woods at the edge of the village. She is believed to have stolen a baby, and indeed she takes a baby with her when she makes show more a hurried escape out a back window. The house burns to the ground, and there is no sign of either witch or infant. But on the same day, a twelve-year-old girl appears in the woods, lost and disoriented. She does not know who she is, not even her own name. Kindly villagers take her in and tend to her wounds—she was attacked by a hunting dog, but the injury is not severe—and the old couple’s six-year-old granddaughter is convinced that this lost girl must be another of the witch’s kidnapping victims who managed to escape in the confusion. Indeed, another young girl disappeared some years back, and this lost girl is exactly the right age to be the long-lost Isabelle.

Isabelle’s parents come to claim her, but her re-entry to home life is not easy. She remembers nothing; neither her mother’s tearful embraces nor her older sister’s sharp tongue sparks any hint of memory. That older sister, Honey, seems suspicious and hostile toward Isabelle. Isabelle searches for some kind of connection to her old life and wonders if there is really anything left of “Isabelle” at all, since she can’t remember any of the people around her or the stories they tell. If you don’t remember anything about yourself, are you really you?

The narrative moves quickly, and even though I thought I’d figured out the mystery, there were twists I didn’t expect.

(originally posted at http://melissawiley.com/blog/2009/03/08/booknotes-stolen/ ) show less

A twelve-year-old girl with no memory of who she is appears in a village on the same day as the villagers burn down a witch's cottage because they believe she has been stealing babies. The family who recently lost a baby had also lost a six-year-old girl six years ago, so they claim the girl as their long-lost child. However, not everyone is as welcoming. Interesting story with some good twists, though some characters are poorly developed.

Great middle grade story. Wonderful twist. I never saw it coming. It all made perfect sense to me and was a wonderful mix of fantasy and reality.

I was pulled into this book right away. I couldn't read it fast enough. I just wanted to know who the little girl was and her story. The book was easy to read and kept me interested in what happened to the missing girls.

Honey
I honestly didn't like Honey. She was a spoiled, rotten brat. She certainly didn't act like an 18 year old ready to move on with her life.

Ravyn
Ravyn was so adorable that you couldn't help but like her. She was so happy and fun. I couldn't help but smile at all her constant barrage of questions.

Mady & Frayne
It could be because they have lost 2 children but they seem a bit odd. They also seem to let Honey get away with too much. They treat her like a two year old instead of the 18 year old that she is supposed to show more be.

the ending
Boy was I surprised! There was no way I would have guessed who the little girl was. I don't want to give the ending away but things are certainly not what they seem in this book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the little twists and turns that the author threw in. show less

I'm so used to reading adult literature that it was a bit jarring for me to step backwards into a middle-school level book. With that being said, I'm going to do my best to review this book based on its own merits, and not based on my unfamiliarity with books at that reading level.

The basic story follows a young girl who suddenly appears at the edge of the woods neighboring her village. She has no memory of her past or her identity, but everyone in town believes her to be Isabelle, the young girl who was apparently kidnapped by a local witch six years previously. Everyone seems to believe this statement, but Isabelle isn't sure...and neither is her older sister, who vehemently claims that Isabelle is an imposter sent to ruin their show more family from the inside.

I originally picked up this book because I love creepy woods/creepy witch stories, forgetting that the types of stories I'm used to are written for a much more mature audience with a much more advanced reading level. But is this book creepy enough for a middle-school reader? Definitely. There's an undercurrent of suspicion that runs through the entire novel - the idea that something is not quite right, but the reader (and Isabelle) aren't entirely sure what it is. This is very effective and should keep the reader turning the pages.

As a main character, Isabelle is portrayed realistically as a confused twelve-year-old girl who starts wondering about identity and how memories create a whole person. I actually expected her to be more confused and more out-of-sorts once she was rescued from the woods, but again, this might be a result of my high expectations, as opposed to a flaw in the book.

The setting and time period is a little hazy, although the story definitely takes place in a rural, historical setting - maybe 18th-19th century. But regardless of the time period, the atmospheric setting is definitely effective.

This is an extremely short book (it only took me a couple hours to finish it), and would probably make for a good suggestion for a reluctant reader. In the future, however, I plan to read teen novels written for an older audience, since I get more of those requests in Adult Services.

Recommended for: middle school readers looking for a light horror/fantasy novel. show less

I thought this book was good! I was expecting something different the book to be with more paranormal qualities. The cover was a bit deceiving in that aspect. However! I think the book is still worth the read!

The plot has all the makings of a great fairy tale and there is a good amount of mystery and intrigue to keep you guessing. There is a neat little twist in the end of the book which I wasn’t expecting and I enjoyed the ending.

The characters are all right and Honey happens to be a downright dirty villain. She wasn’t such a nice person to begin with anyway but what she reveals just makes her look awful and nasty. I’d have to say most of the characters have the making of a fairy tale, not one of the “classic” ones. It’ll show more be a tale similar to the ones in the Grimm’s fairy tales. It’s darker, and the violent content is there, but enough to not make it overwhelming.

Pick this book up for a quick light read, the story is good and will keep you guessing until the end. It’s a perfect book for all ages. Don’t let the cover fool you and if it’s not what you expect, keep reading it anyway. You’ll find it’s worth the time. show less