Girl, Stolen

The novel emphasizes the many ways that Cheyenne turns her disability into advantages. This is partially because those around her underestimate her. Mostly, however, it is because her blindness forces her to develop her other senses, which gives her a heightened awareness of her surroundings. Cheyenne reflects that “there were a few advantages to being blind […] she knew how to use all her other senses in a way that most sighted people never did” because sighted people “let that part of their brain go numb with disuse, so the sensations didn’t register” (23). Cheyenne now “sees” things that sighted individuals do not, emphasizing the importance of alternative perceptions and perspectives over literal sight.

This skill gives Cheyenne power, and throughout the novel she uncovers critical information through smell, sound, and touch. What’s more, she is quick-witted enough to keep many of those discoveries a secret. For example, she uses the fact of her blindness to argue to the kidnappers that they can release her because she will be unable to identify them. Ironically, however, her heightened senses are the reason why she gathers so much information about them. Consequently, she sees through Roy’s disguise (his modified