Two students in Ms Butler’s Year 8 English class are presently making a book trailer for Lucy Christopher’s novel ‘Stolen’. We asked Lucy a couple of questions about her novel. Here are her answers:

What made you choose the Australian outback as your location for ‘Stolen’? 

“I’ve always wanted to write a book set in the Australian Outback. I’ve been obsessed with this landscape for as long as I can remember! I’ve travelled there quite a few times, first on camping trips when I was a young person, then on a camel expedition when I finished school, and later, as an adult when I was researching this book.  I’ve always been simultaneously terrified by this land, but also hopelessly in love with it. These are two powerful emotions to play with in writing – fear and love.  I tried to echo these emotions when I wrote about Gemma’s feelings about Ty too. For me the outback is a ‘charged landscape’, and these things are always good to write about.”

Even though Ty has kidnapped Gemma and we know that is wrong, it’s hard to believe that he’s entirely evil. What do you believe it is that has brought Ty to this point?

“There is no doubt that Ty is a troubled individual. He is not an intrinsically evil person, however, and I believe that it is his life experiences that have caused him to become who he is.  He is essentially a character who yearns for a sense of belonging and connection. I think this stems from his traumatic upbringing of being forcibly removed from his home and in not having any meaningful and loving relationships at an early age.  He is trying to find belonging and meaning in his life in whatever way he can.  The only belonging and meaning he seems to be able to find in his life is in his connection to land.  The desert was the only place he ever felt comfortable, happy and free as a child. The desert is his escape, his safe place … the place that made him feel free instead of confined.  Rather ironically, when he forces Gemma into this place he is trying to impart upon her its sense of freedom and safety that he feels there.”

Watch this space for the book trailer!