Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Summary: The start of the plot was at an airport. The main charaters' name is Gemma. She went to get some coffee before the plane took off and at the coffee shop a guy offered to pay for it and he put sugar in it while slipping some drugs in the coffee. He sat down and spoke with her until the drugs kicked it. He kidnapped her and brought her to a stranded desert in Austria. He had built a house there and had plenty of supplies to live on for months. Ty (the kidnapper) tries his best to make gemma feel "at home." Gemma spent most of her time plotting on how to escape and she had mulitple failed attemps. She often cried but also had a little bit of hope for escape. Ty never hurt her or sexually abused her in any way but Gemma still wanted nothing more than to go home. Ty later revealed to her that he had been watching her a while and he wanted to save her from the harsh world outside of the desert and when he took her he believed that he saved her. He just wanted company in the desert. When Gemma finally began to execpt the fact that there was no escape there was an incident. Gemma walked in on ty trying to catch a snake and she ended up getting bitten. Ty tried to cure her but he knew he couldn't so he brought her into the city and stayed with her until the doctor told him to leave. Before he left forever, Gemma, barely concious, pulled to her and kissed him. He then turnrt himself in leaving Gemma filled with emotions. Gemma made it seem like she was never gonna give up hope for escape but things that she said made it seem like the land was already a part of her and Ty was apart of her as well.

Quote: You took me to the sand and the heat, the dirt and isolation. And you expected me to love you. And that's the hardest part. Because I did, or at least, I loved something out there." But I hated you too. I can't forget that. (Christopher, 297)

Reaction: The whole book was a letter to Ty. At the end she was telling him what she was going to say to the judge when they asked her to testify. In the end Gemma was filled with mixed emotions. At times she loved Ty and at times she hated him. At times she was happy to be home and out the dewsret and at times she felt sad that she had to leave it. At times she was thankful to see her parents and at other times she hated them, but there was one thing that she knew: Somewhere in her heart she understood why Ty brought her there and she thank him and loved him one way or the other.

An Afghan girl on the other side of the sky

Summary:  Farah’s’ life was full of sorrow and hard work. Farah had to adapt to her loses and work with what she had. Farah lost her leg at the age of seven when she was in a rush to get to school and stepped on a landmine and spent a good amount of time in a German hospital until her health got better and she was capable of using her prosthetic leg. She lost love for her country and Afghans’ traditions because of the time she spent in Germany. When she decided to accept her culture again she lost her family the same day. A rocket hit her family’s house while she, her brothers and her mother were out shopping. This rocket killed her two sisters and her father. After this incident Farah’s mothers’ asthma got really bad. A couple of weeks have passed and a new power began to rule Farah’s town. These rulers had very strict rules especially against women and if these rules weren’t followed then people were beaten and sometimes killed. The new rulers were losing soldiers and the then demanded that all families in the town were to give up the boys in the family age ten and up. Farah’s mother would not allow this so she met with other neighbors to plan away for their boys to escape. They decided that the boys would need to flee. After this incident Farah never saw her brothers again. Farah and her mother later fled into Pakistan. In Pakistan Farah had to work as a house cleaner and caregiver in order for her and her mother to survive. Farah’s mother was still torn up about losing her family so she wasn’t much help to Farah at this point. In a way her mother was a burden because Farah constantly had to bring her mother to the hospital for her asthma and she had to pay the bill. Farah was about thirteen at this point. Farah was so overwhelmed that at one point she surrendered herself completely to Allah (God of the Muslims). In Pakistan Farah and her mother heard of the World Relief program that would take a thousand Afghans to America. Farah and her mother were accepted and late brought to America. Here is where her life began to turn around. Farah was introduced to a woman named Alice who helped Farah and her mother tremendously and brought them everything they needed and was always there for them. Farah believes that Allah brought Alice to her life. Farah soon learned English fairly well. Farah later became enrolled in school and eventually learned how to drive. Even though her trials and tribulations still haunt her sometimes even now as an adult at least Farah and her mother are free.

Quote: “I wake up with a glad heart then and feel that I am flying in some sense: flying into my future-and yet-the past won't let me go. Not completely. Not yet.”

Reaction:  I think this quote has a lot to do with the theme of the story. I feel as though the author is trying to demonstrate that in order to move on with your life after a traumatic experience, you have to let go of your past and reach out for your future. I did state that Farah and her mother was free and in some ways they are but in less obvious ways Farah is being held captive by her past. She states that she has nightmares ever night and she wakes up screaming and crying. I think that Farah struggles to forgive people who have done her wrong. I believe Farah struggles to forgive the people who had something to do with the war. I also feel that Farah struggles to forgive herself as well which is why she can’t let go of her past. I think this quote was a powerful part of the book. It’s interesting it was found in the first couple of pages.