'Stockholm, Pennsylvania' Has Familiar Themes

Stockholm, Pennsylvania, starring Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan, began as a Sundance contender, but on Saturday night, you'll be able to watch it in the comfort of your own home on Lifetime. But before Lifetime, and before Sundance, where did the film come from? Is Stockholm, Pennsylvania based on a book, or a real-life kidnapping? Actually, the answer to all of those questions is no. While it is a work of fiction, Stockholm, Pennsylvania is based on a play by Nicole Beckwith, who also directed the movie adaptation. But if you were convinced the movie was based on a book, you had good reason — its themes are very similar to those found in a number of popular books.

In fact, stories about abduction have become prevalent in all forms of media recently. Cleveland Abduction, which just premiered on Lifetime last week; MTV's sophomore drama Finding Carter; and even Netflix comedy Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt are all rooted in kidnappings. Still, Stockholm, Pennsylvania is very different in both tone and story to all of those tales, and I think TV viewers are ready for a fresh take on the genre.

But if you've already seen all of these televised kidnapping stories and Stockholm, Pennsylvania only makes you want to consume more, here are some books that may not have inspired the Lifetime movie, but have similar themes.

The Face On the Milk Carton By Caroline B. Cooney

This is kidnapping from the Young Adult perspective, as the young Janie realizes that the woman she's grown up thinking is her mother is actually her kidnapper. Shades of Finding Carter, right?

Room By Emma Donoghue

This novel, from 2010, follows the thought proccess of a kidnapped woman as she raises her son with her the man who kidnapped her. All told from the perspective of the five-year-old son, Room explores abduction in a unique way.

Asta In the Wings By Jan Elizabeth Watson

In Watson's novel, a seven-year-old who's never seen the outside world is set free from the tiny house where she's been held, and gets the chance to experience the rest of the world through completely new eyes.

Lucky By Alice Sebold

A more tenuous connection than some of the others, this memoir looks back on Sebold's experiences after being sexually assaulted. The policing by everyone around her of what is the right and wrong way to feel sounds reminiscent of the way Ronan's character will feel in Stockholm, Pennsylvania.

Images: Aaron Epstein/Stockholm PA, LLC; Giphy (5)