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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
This book was so good. Set in the future. A virus has been let out in europe and ships/cruise ships that are from europe aren't alowed into the USA. Now known as The Fedarated States, which is a part of the former known United States of America, so all these ships are basically stuck in quarentine.
Without saying to much this book is so good I honestly can't wait to purchace a copy once its published and can't wait to read book 2 as I have heard its going to be a duology.
Thanks to netgalley for giving me a ebook copy of this for an honest review. Fans of The Hunger Games, Divergant and The Maze Runner series will love this. Can't wait for book 2.
Without saying to much this book is so good I honestly can't wait to purchace a copy once its published and can't wait to read book 2 as I have heard its going to be a duology.
Thanks to netgalley for giving me a ebook copy of this for an honest review. Fans of The Hunger Games, Divergant and The Maze Runner series will love this. Can't wait for book 2.
4.5 ⭐️
Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for the copy of this ARC!
I haven't read Dystopian YA for awhile, but The Stranded took me right back to my Hunger Games / Divergent days where I just didn't want to put a book down! This book takes place aboard a cruise ship-turned-refugee quarantine ship, The Arcadia, which has glaring classism, a strained good citizen/rebel dynamic, and terrifying enforcement officers. Anxiety levels were HIGH while reading this action-packed piece, and I loved the multiple POVs from characters in various parts of the ship. Everything came together so well, the twists were good, and I can't wait for book two!
Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for the copy of this ARC!
I haven't read Dystopian YA for awhile, but The Stranded took me right back to my Hunger Games / Divergent days where I just didn't want to put a book down! This book takes place aboard a cruise ship-turned-refugee quarantine ship, The Arcadia, which has glaring classism, a strained good citizen/rebel dynamic, and terrifying enforcement officers. Anxiety levels were HIGH while reading this action-packed piece, and I loved the multiple POVs from characters in various parts of the ship. Everything came together so well, the twists were good, and I can't wait for book two!
The premise behind this book was really cool and interesting. You get 3 different POVs in this book (a medic in training, the captain of the police, and a member of one of the rebel factions on the ship). Sometimes the POVs were changed and it didn't make sense to swap them for 2 pages before returning back to another POV. The swap didn't add anything to the storyline or give any other clues away. In fact, I found the new POV would sometimes repeat details from the previous POV. In that way, continuity was staggered. The diverse characters made for a compelling story initially but without any real development, they fell flat. The antagonist of the book, the captain of the police, was almost ridiculously evil. His POV and background almost forced the reader to care about his motives, but he felt small compared to other characters. His POV was also in 3rd person, whereas the other to POVs were in 1st person. I don't know the intent behind that, but it might have been more compelling if they were all in 1st person to make us feel for the antagonist.
The prose was another issue I couldn't get past. There is a time and place for informal speech and maybe that is an insight to the characters, but not every sentence. It reminded me of Cyberpunk 2077 and got to be annoying. For instance, instead of saying "I'm going there in the morning" a character would say "Going there in the morning." You would think it's not that bad as a one-off or every now and then, but it got to be every sentence with one character.
The pacing was my last issue. It was slow in the beginning, revved up towards the middle, slowed down, spiked back up, and then was non-stop until the end. Make a climax a climax or it becomes lackluster. I don't think I'll continue just because of the writer's style even though I'm interested in seeing what happens next.
The prose was another issue I couldn't get past. There is a time and place for informal speech and maybe that is an insight to the characters, but not every sentence. It reminded me of Cyberpunk 2077 and got to be annoying. For instance, instead of saying "I'm going there in the morning" a character would say "Going there in the morning." You would think it's not that bad as a one-off or every now and then, but it got to be every sentence with one character.
The pacing was my last issue. It was slow in the beginning, revved up towards the middle, slowed down, spiked back up, and then was non-stop until the end. Make a climax a climax or it becomes lackluster. I don't think I'll continue just because of the writer's style even though I'm interested in seeing what happens next.
Wow, this book is a stunning debut. I love dystopian novels but have not discovered anything in recent years which can live up to the heavyweights like 'The Hunger Games' and 'Divergent'. Finally, along comes 'The Stranded' by Sarah Daniels which is not only a fantastic premise but more than pulls off the fast-paced, action packed story at its centre.
We view the story through three perspectives, trainee medic Esther, teenage rebel Nikhil and despotic leader of the secret police Hadley. They are all living trapped on the Arcadia, a luxury cruise ship which had been floating off the coast of the US for 40 years, held in purgatory due to a virus ripping through the mainland at their point of origin. There haven't been any cases of the virus for two generations yet cruise ship people are required to stay put, the ship operating under a cloud of corruption, the have and have nots, and the constant threat of the secret police (the coalies). Enter the rebellion who have a mysterious plan to unseat the corrupt in control and free the ship once and for all.
From page one, the reader is plunged into the world of the ship, violence, propaganda and corruption lacing through each narrative plot point. The pace is racing, the different perspectives bringing fresh eyes on each event, particularly impactful being the villainous viewpoint of horrific Hadley. I was gripped by every page, not even wanting to sleep before I found out what the rebel's plot was and how it was going to unfold. This needs to be a film or Netflix show ASAP, plus I need the sequel yesterday. A fantastic read which I will be recommending by shouting from the rooftops!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
We view the story through three perspectives, trainee medic Esther, teenage rebel Nikhil and despotic leader of the secret police Hadley. They are all living trapped on the Arcadia, a luxury cruise ship which had been floating off the coast of the US for 40 years, held in purgatory due to a virus ripping through the mainland at their point of origin. There haven't been any cases of the virus for two generations yet cruise ship people are required to stay put, the ship operating under a cloud of corruption, the have and have nots, and the constant threat of the secret police (the coalies). Enter the rebellion who have a mysterious plan to unseat the corrupt in control and free the ship once and for all.
From page one, the reader is plunged into the world of the ship, violence, propaganda and corruption lacing through each narrative plot point. The pace is racing, the different perspectives bringing fresh eyes on each event, particularly impactful being the villainous viewpoint of horrific Hadley. I was gripped by every page, not even wanting to sleep before I found out what the rebel's plot was and how it was going to unfold. This needs to be a film or Netflix show ASAP, plus I need the sequel yesterday. A fantastic read which I will be recommending by shouting from the rooftops!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher who provided an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
As a lover of dystopian books I was very intrigued as to what this story would bring to the genre. I was not disappointed. The story jumps from one character to the next which, at times, is a bit hard to keep up with. However the characters are all written well, the storyline gripped me right from the start, and the pace of it was good too. The ending leaves it open for a sequel and I can’t wait to read it too.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy
Real Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars
You know, the blurb for this book says something about this book being like if The Hunger Games met 2022’s highly-successful novel Station Eleven, but in my opinion it didn’t remind me of either of those. You know what this book did remind me of, though? The Eleven Trilogy by Jerri Chisolm. Of course, Chisolm’s entertaining YA dystopian novels with similar themes except set underground don’t have the same brand recognition as Katniss Everdeen, but I just want to point out that I never once thought of The Hunger Games while reading The Stranded.
This book was a little above average. It was engaging and readable, with a solid plot (no matter how familiar it feels I’m almost always down for adventures and daring-dos on a ship) and some interesting (even colorful!) characters. The antagonist was deliciously sociopathic and full of hate stemming from a personal incident that he’s turned into a towering inferno of rage and transferred to just about everyone. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even like himself and he just hasn’t realized it yet. I actually found the antagonist’s machinations to be the most entertaining parts of the book.
Sarah Daniels has a solid writing style and a good idea here. Some pages have said this is the first book in a series but others haven’t, so I don’t know if another book is on the way. This book certainly does leave room for more story in this universe, but it also could just stand alone without any follow-up. If Daniels did decide to write another book in this universe she has laid a very solid base in this book for the world she’s writing it in, giving it a solid history, a good current state of affairs, and a good working knowledge of who’s currently on what side and what they’re up to.
I’m not recommending to run out and buy it, but if you are a fan of this genre, it’s a solid enough entry to check it out.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for granting me early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.
File Under: YA Fiction/YA Mystery/YA Thriller/YA Suspense/Dystopian/Speculative Fiction
You know, the blurb for this book says something about this book being like if The Hunger Games met 2022’s highly-successful novel Station Eleven, but in my opinion it didn’t remind me of either of those. You know what this book did remind me of, though? The Eleven Trilogy by Jerri Chisolm. Of course, Chisolm’s entertaining YA dystopian novels with similar themes except set underground don’t have the same brand recognition as Katniss Everdeen, but I just want to point out that I never once thought of The Hunger Games while reading The Stranded.
This book was a little above average. It was engaging and readable, with a solid plot (no matter how familiar it feels I’m almost always down for adventures and daring-dos on a ship) and some interesting (even colorful!) characters. The antagonist was deliciously sociopathic and full of hate stemming from a personal incident that he’s turned into a towering inferno of rage and transferred to just about everyone. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even like himself and he just hasn’t realized it yet. I actually found the antagonist’s machinations to be the most entertaining parts of the book.
Sarah Daniels has a solid writing style and a good idea here. Some pages have said this is the first book in a series but others haven’t, so I don’t know if another book is on the way. This book certainly does leave room for more story in this universe, but it also could just stand alone without any follow-up. If Daniels did decide to write another book in this universe she has laid a very solid base in this book for the world she’s writing it in, giving it a solid history, a good current state of affairs, and a good working knowledge of who’s currently on what side and what they’re up to.
I’m not recommending to run out and buy it, but if you are a fan of this genre, it’s a solid enough entry to check it out.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for granting me early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.
File Under: YA Fiction/YA Mystery/YA Thriller/YA Suspense/Dystopian/Speculative Fiction
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Stranded is going to be the next big hunger games. The story takes place on the Arcadia, a ship outside of the Federated States. Generations have lived on this ship because Europe is a wasteland and the Federated states are worried about a virus that hasn’t been seen in recent history.
Buckle up, it’s a doozy!
Buckle up, it’s a doozy!
Besides fantasies, I am a sucker for dystopian novels, so I was excited to have had the opportunity to read this book as an advanced copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Such a great setting! Literally 97% of the book takes place on this rusted, out of commission cruise ship, The Arcadia. In the belly of the ship, a rebellion grows with the goal to get off the ship and get to land. This is very much a setting driven plot!
What I liked:
- The setting and world creation - The ship's evolution from a ship to a city. The class system, the ‘dictatorship’, the gangs, the desperation created from poverty.
- Some of the characters - Hadley was a great and flawed antagonist. I did like Enid and Corps as well.
- The fast pace final push to the climax.
- The premise of the plot - so much potential and such a creative and fresh storyline with a definite look at social and political structures.
What left me a little disappointed:
- The other characters - While I liked them, I didn’t feel completely invested in them. I wasn’t overly moved when some died or got injured.
- The ending. Conclusions can be a make it or break it element for me. Kudos on a great cliffhanger ending resulting in so many questions. I will definitely be back for book 2, how can I not? I have so many questions. Like a lot, a lot!
- The moments between the peaks of action at times felt a little too long and slow moving.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until January 3, 2023 to read it for yourself, but it is one that you should put on your radar. The world building alone - the market, the neaths, the cafe, all of it drives the plot. I love character driven plots, but here is a very successful setting driven plot.. It’s a fun adventure. If you enjoy a good dystopian book add this one to your list so you don’t forget about it! And let’s begin talking about book 2!
Full Review: https://thebookshelf.substack.com/p/book-review-the-stranded-by-sarah?sd=pf
Such a great setting! Literally 97% of the book takes place on this rusted, out of commission cruise ship, The Arcadia. In the belly of the ship, a rebellion grows with the goal to get off the ship and get to land. This is very much a setting driven plot!
What I liked:
- The setting and world creation - The ship's evolution from a ship to a city. The class system, the ‘dictatorship’, the gangs, the desperation created from poverty.
- Some of the characters - Hadley was a great and flawed antagonist. I did like Enid and Corps as well.
- The fast pace final push to the climax.
- The premise of the plot - so much potential and such a creative and fresh storyline with a definite look at social and political structures.
What left me a little disappointed:
- The other characters - While I liked them, I didn’t feel completely invested in them. I wasn’t overly moved when some died or got injured.
- The ending. Conclusions can be a make it or break it element for me. Kudos on a great cliffhanger ending resulting in so many questions. I will definitely be back for book 2, how can I not? I have so many questions. Like a lot, a lot!
- The moments between the peaks of action at times felt a little too long and slow moving.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait until January 3, 2023 to read it for yourself, but it is one that you should put on your radar. The world building alone - the market, the neaths, the cafe, all of it drives the plot. I love character driven plots, but here is a very successful setting driven plot.. It’s a fun adventure. If you enjoy a good dystopian book add this one to your list so you don’t forget about it! And let’s begin talking about book 2!
Full Review: https://thebookshelf.substack.com/p/book-review-the-stranded-by-sarah?sd=pf
This was an interesting premise and great adventure of a story! Stuck at sea for years, the Arcadia is filled with multiple generations that haven't lived on the land, only at sea. A war and unsafe land has kept them at sea, floating along trying to keep the boat going. Few still remain that once lived on land and remember what it was like.
But you don't get much history or story on the boat at first. You are quickly thrown right in to a rebelion and left, a little, scrambling to understand what's going on. I think, because that confusion, the beginnig is a little slow going. I struggled, at times, to picture the layers of the boat and how each section lived. There were the richer up top but I didn't get a good feel for how their life worked. Those struggling lived lower down, making do with very little and living in danger with gangs and violence. It was all interesting and I liked the adventure of it. The main characters were interesting and I liked learning their motivations and their secrets. There were so slow parts as I struggled to fully flesh out the boat, the lives and the residents, but it was worth it in the end. I enjoyed this one!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
But you don't get much history or story on the boat at first. You are quickly thrown right in to a rebelion and left, a little, scrambling to understand what's going on. I think, because that confusion, the beginnig is a little slow going. I struggled, at times, to picture the layers of the boat and how each section lived. There were the richer up top but I didn't get a good feel for how their life worked. Those struggling lived lower down, making do with very little and living in danger with gangs and violence. It was all interesting and I liked the adventure of it. The main characters were interesting and I liked learning their motivations and their secrets. There were so slow parts as I struggled to fully flesh out the boat, the lives and the residents, but it was worth it in the end. I enjoyed this one!
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.