Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Summary:
Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of the car while her stepmom fills a prescription for antibiotics. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, the car is being stolen. Griffin hadn't meant to kidnap Cheyenne, but once his dad finds out that Cheyenne's father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes - now there's a reason to keep her. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare because she's not only sick with pneumonia - she's blind. (Taken from inside flap)

Review:
I thought Girl, Stolen was an amazing novel. I first heard about it from someone's Waiting on Wednesday and thought that it sounded really interesting. It's only the second novel I've read that featured a blind protagonist (the first being a Dear American book, Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Diary of Bess Brennan). I loved so much that Cheyenne was blind - it just added so much to her character. It added a whole other dimension to the story, in that it would be that much harder for Cheyenne to escape her captors. I would be terrified if I were kidnapped, but if I couldn't see? I can't even fathom it. Besides this, Cheyenne was also sick with pneumonia. So Cheyenne is at a significant disadvantage in this situation. However, Cheyenne was so strong and brave and she was able to work through her handicaps.

Besides Cheyenne's amazing characterization, we also have an interesting character in Griffin. He's not that much older than Cheyenne and what makes the story different is that in the beginning he has no intention of kidnapping anyone. But after he brings her to his father, Griffin becomes Cheyenne's protector and wants to make sure she's (relatively) safe in this scary situation, which was very endearing to me. The plot was pretty exciting the entire time, especially at the end. The book was short, and I read it really quick - I just could not put it down! I would definitely recommend Girl, Stolen to anyone who likes an awesome heroine who's a little different from your usual protagonist.

Rating: 9 out of 10.
FTC: I received this book through the Henry Holt InGroup review program.

2010/Henry Holt/224 pages.