I was very excited when this book came in. Being new to Goodreads' giveaways, this was the first one I won and received. Opening the package, I pulled out a short, 224 page book with the cover art as seen above. The teaser for the book is that 16 year old Cheyenne Wilder, blind for three years, is kidnapped after begging her stepmother to leave the keys in the ignition of their high-end SUV while she goes into the pharmacy to pick up Cheyenne's prescription for pneumonia.

This is the epitome of a comedy of errors. Griffin, the kidnapper, doesn't realize that she's in the back until he's driving the SUV out of the parking lot. He also doesn't realize that she's blind until it is too late. His father, Roy, along with his two sidekicks Jimbo and TJ, want to keep her for ransom, while all Griffin wants to do is hit the delete button on the day.

Fortunately, there is no unrealistic friendship or romantic development between Cheyenne and Griffin; while predictable in some moments, this was not one of them. Both Cheyenne's and Griffin's point of views are told in such a way that is not distracting, and Henry's writing style is interesting and will keep you wanting more.

There were a few problems: One, there are some editing mistakes--the publisher needs to proof one more time, though I think this is normal as an advance copy. Second, you will find that you do not really care about the characters. It's a wonderful read, I found it immensely entertaining, but I do not want to necessarily read a sequel to it. I think that had there been a little more substance to the character development, this would have been a five-star book.

All in all, however, this was an excellent book and I recommend it to all lovers of Young Adult fiction. ( )

Cheyenne Wilder is sick with pneumonia. Asleep in the back of her step-mom's car she is awakened when the door is slammed. She knows it is not her step-mom. She had run into the pharmacy to pick up Cheyenne's Medicine. Now she is the victim of a car-jacking. To make things more terrifying, she is blind.
Griffin is looking for easy things to steal. It is just luck when he sees the keys to the car in the ignition. He jumps in and takes off. Imagine his surprise to find a girl in the back seat. Not sure what to do he takes the car to his dad's chop shop sure his dad can help him figure it out. What Griffin wasn't counting on was his father's decision to hold Cheyenne for ransom.
Both of these characters were believable and had the ability to make you feel sorry for them in the situation they are in. I loved this book and just couldn't put it down. I am sure my students will love this book. ( )

Interesting characters, unusual premise, riveting suspense! Couldn't figure out how Cheyenne was going to get herself out of such an impossible situation! Couldn't put this book down. ( )

Girl, Stolen is a short yet gripping story of a blind girl who gets mistakenly kidnapped and held for ransom. Completely helpless without a cane or service dog and fighting off pneumonia, MC Cheyenne has to escape from her captors. I got this book at a Scholastic book fair in middle school, and I still have it to this day because of how much I loved this book. So suspenseful and fast-paced and designed for middle grade students, this book is a perfect addition to any classroom bookshelf, especially with its representation of students with disabilities to build empathy and understanding among students. ( )

Conflicted

review to come :) ( )