Girl, Stolen

Girl Stolen by April Henry is a thriller that really pulls you in. It’s about Cheyenne, a blind teen who gets kidnapped and has to rely on her other senses, but not sight to survive. Her perspective makes the story feel intense, as if you’re right there with her every step of the way. You get a mix of tension and moments that show Cheyenne’s courage and cleverness. Some side characters aren’t expanded on, which would make the book more intriguing if they were, but Cheyenne’s voice and the story’s action make up for it. This is one of those books that’s hard to put down. Cheyenne has alot of character development that happens almost against her will. Getting kidnapped triggered her fight or flight, and she chose to fight. I show more think this shows her courage to stay alive because she can't trust anyone but herself. There is a theme of peer pressure when it comes to Griffin and his need to follow what his abusive family tells him to do, even when he disagrees. Over time, Griffin does listen to his inner voice and goes against his family to help Cheyenne. This story really makes the reader stop and think, "What would I do in this situation?" show less

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time, but every time I see it in the store, I always passed it by. I'm not really sure why. I thought I might not like it, and even at times convinced myself it would be boring! But how could a book about a blind girl being kidnapped be boring? I'm sure it could be, but this was not the case for April Henry's GIRL, STOLEN, and I am so glad this was gifted to me during the Summer Book Exchange.

This book was fantastic. It had so many elements that I love about a book, plus so many more that I had never experienced before. I am a huge fan of suspense and thrillers and Henry absolutely delivered on that front. The fact that this was grounded in reality freaked me out. GIRL, STOLEN also had a show more wonderful cast of colorful characters that made the story seem very real. It was also touching at times, reliving Cheyenne's injuries and recovery and the loss of her mother.


GIRL, STOLEN doesn't pull any punches when it comes to action. Immediately, as soon as the book starts, we are thrown into the story. Within the first pages, Cheyenne is kidnapped. She is also blind. Before reading this book I had always assumed that blindness (and deafness and the like) were to be considered handicaps and disadvantages, but Henry, through Cheyenne, taught me so much more. While Cheyenne couldn't see, she could perceive the world around her very differently from everyone else, and I would say even more usefully. She could tell what direction she was facing, she could hear things better than everyone else, she noticed little things that people who are sighted wouldn't necessarily notice. While her blindness did hinder her a little bit, she didn't let it stop her.


We were also allowed into the head of Cheyenne's kidnapper, Griffin. He had only meant to steal the car, seeing the keys left in the ignition was like a gift from God to him. So when he climbed into the front seat of the Escalade, he had no idea what was in store for him over the next couple days. Griffin grew up in a terrible home environment full of criminals and drunks. His father was an alcoholic and an abusive parent and Griffin's mom had abandoned them ages ago. Griffin became a very sympathetic character at times, even when he had to do terrible things like tie Cheyenne to a bed or threaten her with a weapon.


I also loved the back story we got with Cheyenne. She was injured in a car wreck that killed her mother and caused Cheyenne's blindness. She also suffered massive bodily injuries. We got to follow her on her road to physical and emotional recovery. The scenes with Cheyenne's father was heart wrenching, and I could feel their desolation and hopelessness. I wasn't sure how Cheyenne would be able to climb out of her depression. It was touching.


GIRL, STOLEN was at times a heart-stopping thriller. It was also a story of forgiveness, and recovery, and hope, and family. It is a quick read at about 200 pages, and I would definitely recommend it to those looking for a suspenseful thriller with sympathetic, lovable characters. show less

A strong, compelling read. Henry's prose is clean and uncluttered -- she has faith in her story and she just plain tells it.

We learn on page 3 that the main character is blind. We also learn that she's being kidnapped in a car-theft gone bad. I was very skeptical when I realized this was the premise. Seriously, do all blind characters have to be gorgeous young women? (I've ranted about that in other reviews.)

But Henry manages, seemingly without trying, to make Cheyenne not "the blind girl," but a girl who is blind. Yes, this is a significant part of her life. How could it not be? But so is the fact that her father is incredibly wealthy. So is the fact that her mother was killed in the same car accident that blinded Cheyenne. (Henry show more nails the medical science on this one, which I appreciated.) So is the fact that she's named after the tribe she's descended from, though she doesn't consider herself Native American enough "to really matter." Which of these is most significant? Or do we stop thinking about people as categories, and start accepting them as a messy mix of circumstance and choice?

Henry doesn't just make us care about Cheyenne (and Griffin, her young kidnapper) -- she makes us interested in them, which I think is harder. I have a bad cold and desperately need distracting. This book made me forget my own troubles for a few gripping hours. show less

I loved this book. Really enjoyed both POVs, one a blind person, the other a petty criminal who gets into something way over his head. Highly recommended.

In reading Girl, Stolen, I was reminded of two bits of pop culture: Excess Baggage and Wait Until Dark. The first film, a pretty terrible movie starring Alicia Silverstone and Antonio Banderas, tells the story of a poor little rich girl who, in an effort to get daddy's attention, fakes a kidnapping by locking herself in a car's trunk, only to have that car actually stolen. Then she cooks up a romance and a scheme with her accidental captor. Wait Until Dark, quite differently focuses on a blind woman, played by Audrey Hepburn who some thugs suspect of having a doll stuffed with drugs. She has to try to escape this situation with her life. Put these two together and you've sort of got Girl, Stolen.

Of course, comparing a book to other show more stories really limits it, so I want to stress that there's more going on here; in making these comparisons, I do not intend to imply that Henry's story is entirely derivative by any means. Henry did a marvelous job telling this story, keeping everything suspenseful and scary, but not venturing into melodramatic territory in the slightest. She does not try to make anything more difficult than it already is for the sake of extra drama.

So much YA that I've read, usually in the paranormal genre, centers on a heroine, gifted with supernatural powers that enable her to do absolutely anything, yet she still ends up relying on other people to save her. Your powers or your weaknesses are only what you allow them to be. Cheyenne has been blind since an accident three years ago damaged her brain, leaving her with functioning eyes but a mind unable to read the messages. Now almost entirely blind, she relies on her cane or her seeing eye dog, Phantom.

On the day in question, Cheyenne's step-mom convinced Cheyenne the dog should stay home, since they were not going very far. While her step-mother went into the pharmacy to get the antibiotics to treat Cheyenne's pneumonia, Cheyenne rested in the backseat. Then the car got stolen. Griffin had no idea she was in the car, but, once he got home to his piece of shit father, she becomes even more useful to them than the jacked Escalade. Cheyenne's father runs Nike corporation, and she can be ransomed for a lot of money.

In this situation, I cannot imagine I would be capable of anything other than some snarky comebacks and some seriously menacing death glares. Cheyenne, sick with pneumonia, running a fever, tiny, and blind never stops planning escapes. She is such an incredibly powerful character, able to make the best of any situation, and to use her strengths to best advantage. Where some heroines have endless amounts of power and don't use it, Cheyenne makes the most out of everything she has. I respect her so much, and Henry for writing a heroine with a disability and not making her pitiable, but a figure of strength.

Girl, Stolen weighs in at only 220 pages, but packs an emotional punch. Dark, scary, and investigating whether Griffin is a redeemable figure, I was sucked into this novel and not let go until I finished the last page. If you're tired of young adult fiction focused on romance and whiny heroines, Girl, Stolen is the perfect break. show less

I have been wanting to read this book for a long time, but every time I see it in the store, I always passed it by. I'm not really sure why. I thought I might not like it, and even at times convinced myself it would be boring! But how could a book about a blind girl being kidnapped be boring? I'm sure it could be, but this was not the case for April Henry's GIRL, STOLEN, and I am so glad this was gifted to me during the Summer Book Exchange.

This book was fantastic. It had so many elements that I love about a book, plus so many more that I had never experienced before. I am a huge fan of suspense and thrillers and Henry absolutely delivered on that front. The fact that this was grounded in reality freaked me out. GIRL, STOLEN also had a show more wonderful cast of colorful characters that made the story seem very real. It was also touching at times, reliving Cheyenne's injuries and recovery and the loss of her mother.


GIRL, STOLEN doesn't pull any punches when it comes to action. Immediately, as soon as the book starts, we are thrown into the story. Within the first pages, Cheyenne is kidnapped. She is also blind. Before reading this book I had always assumed that blindness (and deafness and the like) were to be considered handicaps and disadvantages, but Henry, through Cheyenne, taught me so much more. While Cheyenne couldn't see, she could perceive the world around her very differently from everyone else, and I would say even more usefully. She could tell what direction she was facing, she could hear things better than everyone else, she noticed little things that people who are sighted wouldn't necessarily notice. While her blindness did hinder her a little bit, she didn't let it stop her.


We were also allowed into the head of Cheyenne's kidnapper, Griffin. He had only meant to steal the car, seeing the keys left in the ignition was like a gift from God to him. So when he climbed into the front seat of the Escalade, he had no idea what was in store for him over the next couple days. Griffin grew up in a terrible home environment full of criminals and drunks. His father was an alcoholic and an abusive parent and Griffin's mom had abandoned them ages ago. Griffin became a very sympathetic character at times, even when he had to do terrible things like tie Cheyenne to a bed or threaten her with a weapon.


I also loved the back story we got with Cheyenne. She was injured in a car wreck that killed her mother and caused Cheyenne's blindness. She also suffered massive bodily injuries. We got to follow her on her road to physical and emotional recovery. The scenes with Cheyenne's father was heart wrenching, and I could feel their desolation and hopelessness. I wasn't sure how Cheyenne would be able to climb out of her depression. It was touching.


GIRL, STOLEN was at times a heart-stopping thriller. It was also a story of forgiveness, and recovery, and hope, and family. It is a quick read at about 200 pages, and I would definitely recommend it to those looking for a suspenseful thriller with sympathetic, lovable characters. show less

I really adored Girl, Stolen. This is the first book that I've read from April Henry and I had been looking forward to reading it for a while and it did not disappoint. The story is well thought out, smart, fast-paced, with suspense and action, and a twist towards the end. And with the added strain of a teenage girl’s blindness and pneumonia, this accidental kidnapping is unlike any other I’ve read, so it definitely peaked my interest. It is fresh and original.

The characters are believable, with Cheyenne being my favorite. I liked how despite her handicap of being blind and sick, she is not portrayed as weak and helpless. The author focuses more on Cheyenne’s strengths than her weaknesses and utilizes them to the fullest extent. show more Don’t underestimate her. In fact, she is quite an extraordinary, remarkable, and brave young girl. The amount of strength and fight in her to try to survive this ordeal is just incredible and inspiring. Even though this is just a work of fiction, it still gives you a testament of what a blind person is capable of overcoming when faced with obstacles. Cheyenne never gives up hope. Her intelligence as well as her methodical planning and strategic ingenuity make up for her blindness. Cheyenne finds the strongest weapon in the most unlikely place - through communication - which I thought was interesting. But she also uses her handicap to her advantage, trying to evoke sympathy, in hopes of gaining some leverage in her situation. So she really leaves no stone unturned.

Griffin, the teenage boy who accidentally kidnaps Cheyenne when he steals her stepmom’s car, is another character who, while I shouldn’t like him because he is one of the bad guys, kind of grew on me once I got to learn more about him, as his damaged layers were slowly peeled back as you read through the book. He is torn between doing what’s right and doing what his father expects of him, so his vulnerability is easily visible. The book does a great job of detailing the internal conflicts and thoughts of the kidnappers. For me the story was just as much about Griffin as it was about Cheyenne. I felt that it was just as important to try to “free” Griffin as it was to free Cheyenne. There are certain parallels in their lives that allow for them to relate - or seemingly so - which you have to decide, is it a genuine connection or a strategic one? You’ll have to make up your own mind about this if you read this book.

I found myself caring about what happened to the characters. And I was rooting for Cheyenne the whole time. The exciting part about reading this book is that it’s unpredictable - to me at least - because it could go either way, good or bad. I didn’t know what was going to happen next, which made the journey more thrilling and suspenseful.

Money is such a powerful incentive for some of the captors that they are willing to selfishly hold Cheyenne for ransom despite never being kidnappers before. Even though Cheyenne is literally the blind one, for me it felt like her captors were also “blind,” being blinded by money. You get to see the extent to which some people will go for money and how greed can affect some people in a negative way by clouding and overpowering rational reasoning and good judgement in the weak-minded. The book has a lot of underlying depth, dealing with themes and issues of peer pressure, morality, trust, the handicapped, overcoming obstacles, courage, and hope.

While there is definitely some tension throughout the book, I wish there had been a little more conflict between Cheyenne and her captors. But this is understandable as her captors were not natural kidnappers. I also wish the story would have taken place over a longer period of time, as it only spanned a few days. It would have allowed for the story to not feel so rushed towards the end. And the search for Cheyenne isn’t highlighted as much as I would have liked, only briefly mentioned in the book. But overall, I was very impressed and satisfied with the book. The plot is solid from beginning to end. I highly recommend everyone to read this book! show less