Ever wonder what it would be like to suddenly lose your memory with no recollection who or what you are? That is what the girl called Isabelle experiences one day in the book called Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde. Isabelle realizes she is running blindly in the woods with the moon as her only light. She runs but doesn't know why. She begins to question her existence and stops only to hear something behind her. She is suddenly attacked and loses consciousness. She wakes up to be in the care of a friendly family who then helps her recover her missing past. It is not too long before another family claims Isabelle as their own. This so called family has had much past trouble with the old witch, thus justifying their claims and Isabelle's worries. Several …show more content…
With mind bending thoughts only found in a fantasy world. That is a skeptical fantasy world, one which questions the existence and power of witches. Only one witch resides in the small town called Thornstowe, and everyone calls her the old witch of the woods, though that is not really her name. Every clue that hints to who Isabelle really is leads back to the old witch. The mystery of who Isabelle is drives the story and really sets the mood. I really enjoyed reading from her point of view. While reading, I was just as curious as Isabelle to find out who or what she is. Although the story is a bit fast-paced, the main characters are well developed and each contributed to revealing a bit of Isabelle’s personality, yet played a crucial part in the final revelation. The pacing of the story set up each twist and turn and built up to the surprising end. Even when I had guessed part way through whom Isabelle is, I was still quite surprised at the end and the fate of Isabelle’s family. I was expecting a bit more of eerie and ominous events throughout the book, but the ending made up for it. I rate it as 4.5 on a scale from 1 to