3.5 Vibes of Waterworld and Hunger Games. Interesting premise…especially post-pandemic, loads of action, and a potential love triangle/square that may have younger readers choosing Team Nik or Team Alex (ala Twilight and Hunger Games).

Joining a growing list of recent young adult literature set on the high seas, Stranded by Sarah Daniels is a well-paced story that might engage reluctant readers in your high school library.

The year is 2094 and biological warfare has stranded refugees on a once-luxurious cruise ship. After sixty years at sea, the ship is deteriorating and emotions are high as people begin to question the political situation both on land and on the sea. Esther has spent her entire life on the boat and at sixteen, she is worried about a possible future career that would allow her to escape the ship. When faced with a renegade opportunity that would free the passengers from social oppression and poverty, Esther must decide where her allegiance lies.

The setting of a biological threat on a cruise ship is a relevant reality for a young adult audience and the author’s description of life in this scenario is both believable and slightly frightening. There is good tension between characters and limited diversity as well. Stranded is a solid addition to an adventure or realistic fiction shelf in the library.

The Stranded is compelling, there are so many things going on within the book that I know that author Sarah Daniels will connect the dots .This near future dystopian, sci-fi novel set on a huge ship has people stuck on the ship for over 40 years. There's an entire generation that has never lived off the ship now. Esther and Nik are so radically different and want different things from life. Esther gets pulled into a rebellion because she has nursing skills to save Nik when he is hurt. From that moment forward her life is not the same and she discovers that there are more people than she thought that are involved in the rebellion... including someone who is close to her. Feeling betrayed, studying for her final exam which could be her legitimate ticket off the ship, Esther is close to unravelling. She keeps getting pulled into the rebellion and doesn't know what she wants to do.

The emotion packed into this gripping novel is intense at times, but Esther and Nik have destinies to fill....and choices to make about their destinies. What will Esther do next?

I enjoyed this read, very good characters most are like normal everyday people that the reader can connect with. Some have high ambitions and some just want to be safe. Just like us. Definitely recommend this read!

The Stranded is Part One in a new series.

It's one of those books that treat YA readers as though they're idiots, which I'm not a fan of. The world-building is confusing and the characters are basically generic archetypes which makes it hard to care about them. However, props for the relevancy of the world, what with the pandemic and a wall in the US.

I’m grateful that the publishers allowed me the opportunity to read and review this book. I’m a huge fan of YA dystopian novels and this one did not disappoint! While it did take a while to set everything up and really get into the action, the last hour of reading was really exciting and I found I couldn’t put the book down! I appreciated that this book finished without everything in a neat little bow and set the reader up to feel like he or she can pick up the next book because they WANT to, not because they HAVE to, if that makes sense. I’ve never been on a cruise ship, but this book would certainly make me think twice now. 😆

I enjoyed this book. Even set on a ship, I thought the author did a good job of keeping the story intriguing. I liked how there were different narrators and it continued to build the story. I got this e-arc, and then a physical copy at YALL Fest. But I still ended up purchasing the book. lol.

I didn't finish the book, not because of its quality but just because life. I would still recommend this read as a dystopian YA which we need more of in the market.

Oh yes! I loved this book and think that it was a GREAT and fast paced read. If you're on the fence about this book, do it!

The first time I picked this one up, I just couldn't get into it, but then I picked it back up and wondered why I waited. It’s been a while since I read a dystopian novel. Set in the future, the world has a virus that is preventing the Arcadia from making landfall. Chapters begin with how long the Arcadia has been at sea and how long since there was a positive test for this virus to keep reminding the reader, what is at stake. Did I mention the Arcadia is a luxury cruise ship at sea. The residents are lacking in so much and certain professions are promised a chance at making it to land.

This one is really action packed from the first chapter with both good and bad aboard the ship and I was not always able to determine which was which. There was heartache and hope as the war waged. It really drew me into their world and had me rooting for our young heroes and heroines. I can’t wait to see where this series is headed.

This was very good and I would read anything from this Author. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters very much.

Sadly, I had to DNF this book:(

I got about 50% through and it felt like such a chore. I liked the multi pov, except for the pov of the cop type character. I really thought this would give more of a divergent vibe and while the setting was really unique, it felt like the plot was really dragged on.

The premise of this book was very interesting, however, it did not meet my expectations. Perhaps because it is a cruise ship and I should know better because I am already terrified of cruises. It was an interesting read but not really my cup of tea. Others may love it though! Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

I tried to get into the story but it didn’t ended up working out . The writing style was hard too get into, and the characters didn't really mesh for me. The story seemed promising but it just ended up not being my thing.

Everything about the description drew me in and made me so excited to dive in. Unfortunately, this one missed the mark to me. I wanted more… tension I suppose. The first and last 5-10% were the most engaging but I don’t think it was enough for me to read one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I am generally a fan of post-apocalyptic novels as well as an avid YA reader. I also find cruises fairly terrifying, so this book was right up my alley. This debut novel was ambitious and mostly kept my attention. I did think it was a bit drawn out and meandering at parts.

I was really excited for this one, but for some reason, it just fell short for me. The idea of a full society being stranded on a cruise ship fighting for survival seemed like a great concept. For me, the characters just didn't cut it. The main bad guy annoyed me. Arcadia is the ship, and no one is allowed off the ship. A faction of rebels is trying to liberate the Arcadia and our main character Esther finds herself right in the middle of the uprising. Can she survive and make it to land? Again an interesting concept, but the execution just wasn't there for me. 3.5 stars because I was able to finish it. Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC.

The Stranded was a very interesting read! I enjoyed reading it, but do think it will be a while before I take a cruise.

This book is gripping and easy to follow. The world-building is good and expands as the novel progresses. I found some parts a little slow and lagging behind the plot, but there's room for growth as the series continues. I love a good villain who is not redeemable, and our heroine is one you can really get behind. Four stars.

Title: The Stranded
Author: Sarah Daniels
Release Date: January 3rd, 2023
Page Count: 450
Format: Netgalley
Start Date: December 26th, 2022
Finish Date: December 31st, 2022

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

Imagine being on a ship all your life because of a major pandemic that hit and the people in the reformed world think that if you join them that they will be at risk for the pandemic happening again. People are promised that they may be selected to join the island if they sign up for certain jobs and pass certain tests. This book is told in four points of view. Each point of view is just as important as the other. I feel like if it was only told in any of their perspectives that this story just wouldn't make as much sense. The book was intense. I'd love to read it again after a while if I'm being honest. I am curious to read other books by this author. She definitely has a wonderful writing style. Also, this cover is so wonderful! I bought a copy for myself and my mother and then wound up getting a copy from a book subscription box I was trying out. I'm hoping to find someone to give my extra copy a good home to.

The Stranded is the first in a YA Dystopian/Sci-fi/Thriller series that is marketed as The Hunger Games meets Station Eleven.

The book takes place on the Arcadia, a luxurious cruise ship that is now a safe haven/refugee camp for those who have been driven out of Europe due to an apocalyptic war. The Arcadia just happens to float right near the coastline of the Federated States, which is just a fractured and leftover piece of the US. The Arcadia has housed residents for over 40 years and these residents are never allowed to step foot on land. We meet one of our main characters name Esther and Esther is one to never step out of line and is always a law-abiding citizen. However, we have a contrast against Esther's character with another character named Nik who is just planning a rebellion and loves to go against authority. Then, there is Hadley, and he is our villain.

So, let's talk about teenage Kayla. My high school years were from 2009-2013 (it is a seriously ouch year of it being 2023 since that means I graduated 10 years ago) and do you all want to know what the hot genre was during those year? You guessed it, it was dystopian books. They were all the rage with The Hunger Games, The Selection, Delirium (still my fav one to date), Uglies (came out a few years before the boom of dystopian books), Matched, Divergent, Withered and so many other books. I was beyond obsessed with the genre and constantly devouring them when I was on the bus and whenever I finished my classwork. Because of my great love of dystopian novels back when I was a teenager, I was excited to see The Stranded with some hopes of the dystopian trend coming back and maybe with a different take on it compared to a decade or more ago.

The thing that The Stranded has going for it is that it has a good concept and plays apart with a virus and an apocalyptic war that has driven people out to seek refuge onto a ship, which makes the people feel secure and safe when in reality it probably is not no better than anything else/a good thing ends up becoming corrupt in the end with a different gain than what it was supposed to be.

That is all I can possibly say that The Stranded has going for it.

As I was reading this book, I felt like the pacing was all over the place and that it could not choose where it wanted to be and because of that it took me out of the story a lot, which when my mind wanders off a bit when reading a book, then that is not a good sign because that means I am really becoming disengaged a lot. For the characters, they felt pretty one dimensional and not flushed out well. They did feel pretty cookie cutter and did not find their voice to be unique and make the story what it could have been.

Overall, I struggled with this book and wish I could have liked it and it makes teenage Kayla a bit sad, but it is okay. I think Sarah Daniels has potential and could grow as a writer and I would give this author another shot with a future book to see if there was any growth.

3.5 stars

I was so excited for The Stranded because it kind of reminded me of Dead Silence meets The Hunger Games but in reality I was just a little bored. The characters lacked any true depth and instead just felt like archetypes against each other. I also did not realize this was going to be the start of a series and I'm really not interested in more from this.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!