Oh wow did this book surprise me. I could tell from the blurb there was a whole heck of a lot going on but let me tell y'all secrets run DEEP, the old farm well doesn't have anything on Strays. I cannot say much without giving away things but I cannot WAIT to read more in the series.

I was given the opportunity to read an electronic copy of Strays via NetGalley. I was under no obligation to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Lindsey Cane lives in a creepy apartment building all alone, despite only being a senior in high school. Desperate to leave the town where she is judged because of her mother, Lindsey works hard and keeps to herself. When Tyler Stratton, a boy to whom she owes a debt, comes to her after being missing for a year, will Lindsey put herself at risk?

The author tries to build suspense by flipping between the present and the past, but ultimately ruins the continuity of the story. The eventual reveal is out of left field and just did not seem to fit with the rest of the book. I appreciate how the author wanted to provide a unique approach to the story, but I did not find it to be all that successful. Perhaps, now that the secret is revealed, any future books might be more compelling. For these reasons, I would not recommend Strays to other readers.

This so unique and I absolutely loved it! I absolutely cannot wait to read more by this author.

Alrighty. So this didn't end up quite as bad as I thought it would up until 70%.
God, was I annoyed. By the heroine, the plot holes and logic errors, and by the time leaps. Oh, how I loathed those time leaps, the constant back and forth between the past and the present. Every time there was finally something happening... BAM! - time leap, different setting.

And while they didn't cease later on, about three quarters though the book I finally started enjoying it. How some of the loose ends started coming together, how Lindsey's reasoning started making sense, and how the action and pace finally picked up speed.

The biggest surprise, though, is that I can totally see myself reading the sequel because, despite my rather low overall rating, thanks to that cliffy, I'm hooked.

I'm not the biggest fan of YA but the description of this book really intrigued me. The book centres on Lindsey and the book is split between Then and Now chapters which help to keep you interested (and a little confused maybe!). Good character development and the story reminded me a bit of Stolen by Kelley Armstrong which is a favourite of mine.

My only niggle is that I wanted it to last longer, it felt like the action at the end was over too soon and I wanted to see more of the other characters! As the first of hopefully more books, it serves as a great first introduction to Lindsey and the others, now that we understand who they are I'm excited to see where they go next!

Dark and engaging, Strays takes on a world of mystery and danger and throws the readers right into the middle of it. Lindsay has never had an easy life, from her mother abandoning her to having to work all night and go to school all day just to simply survive, but when a missing boy shows up unexpectedly at her apartment things get even harder. Trying to solve the mystery of what happened to him, she will get pulled into a world of mystery and extreme danger.
I found the story telling of this novel to be mildly agitating but I could also see the merits to telling the story in this manner. The novel jumps chapter by chapter from the past to the present, leaving for some disconnected story telling, but allowing for some interesting 'ahha!' moments for the readers. The mystery in the novel was very well done, and it was hard to predict the plot at any point. I found that aspect of the novel made it very hard to put down. Character wise, it had some pretty good character development for Lindsay and one of the male leads, but everybody else was left fairly underdeveloped. There is not much I can say without spoiling anything in the story, but I can definitely say that I did not predict the ending of the novel, I was genuinely surprised by the turn it took in the finally. All in all, I enjoyed Strays and give it the rating of FOUR AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE!!!

Lindsey is a teen living on her own since her father left her one night. Her mother had left her before leaving her a journal and a note. She is doing her best to survive on her own as she wants to graduate from high school and leave this town. Lindsey knows she is an outcast. When she comes home one night, a disappeared classmate surprises her and asks for help. Tyler had done a favor that she will never forget and agrees to help him. What was the favor he did? Johnny is a neighbor in her apartment building. He likes Lindsey -- they even went out on a date once. When Tyler explodes in her apartment, Lindsey is shooked. Johnny takes her to his apartment to take care of her. When she goes back to her apartment to check on Tyler, he is gone. Suddenly, she finds herself strapped to a gurney going down a hall with glass cells. She is deposited in one. She doesn't know why or where she is. They made it so the prisoners can't talk to each other very easily--only to the ones near them and only by yelling. Because they are watched continually be cameras, talk is not something the other prisoners want to do. They managed to escape. How? They are on the run as they don't want to caught. Tyler appears and goes with them from seedy motel to another hoping not to be found. Will they have to be on the run forever?

The novel is written in alternate times. The times are "Now" the present time and "Then" what happen in the past. I thought this added to the story though at times I didn't want to leave one of the times to go to another. I did find myself in suspense as to find out what was going to happen next and wanting to know the mystery of what was happening. It has me hooked. I want to read the next book in this trilogy now! The writing is excellent. Do read it as it will surprise you with what happens!

This book had a good premise and lots of potential with interesting characters. However, the real action started just as the book was ending so it felt that the book ended prematurely; almost like I had been reading a preface before the actual book. I suspect the next book with be a good read just wish the first one had been longer.

I'm not usually one for mysteries. They're normally long, drawn out, tense affairs with a predictable unravelling towards the end.

It is not so in this book.

Hoo boy, this was righteously entertaining and I could not wait for each page to unveil its secrets! I can't believe I've got to wait for the next one, it's not often I say, "wow, I can't wait to find out what happens next!".

I'm not a person who generally does the first book in a series before a second is out, and this is one of the reasons why. Give me more!!

Lindsey thought that she has seen all the spitefulness of the people in her town. It's one thing to know that you're an outcast, it's another to have everyone remind you every single day. Until Tyler, the new guy, talked to her. And then he disappeared. And this is all her fault.

So, when Tyler appeared behind her building, she made a point to help him. She owed him that. And when he disappeared again, she wanted to be the one who finds him, to help him.

This book is an easy and fast read. It is well written, and Lindsey's story is told between the past (then) and the present (now). It builds the suspense, and the mystery of where Lindsey is held.

If you like mystery, suspense and fantasy, this book is for you!

2,5 stars

This book should have been longer. And I don't mean that in a This-book-is-so-good-I-need-more kind of way, I mean it in a There-is-important-stuff-missing kind of way.

I really liked the idea of the book and how it was structured, with the Now and Then chapters, they made the book very intriguing. Those chapters kept me reading because I had to know what happens next. The beginning of the book drags a bit but I still liked the pace of the story and how the plot progresses.

And that's the problem. There's just plot. No character development or character growth. I mean, what do I know about Lindsey? Her parents hate her, the town hates her, Johnny likes her... That's it. I don't really know anything about our main protagonist. To be hated by everybody but one is no character trait. I don't know what makes Lindsey Lindsey. The same goes for everybody else. Let's take Johnny. He's, apparently, a womanizer but in his heart he likes Lindsey very much... Why? I don't see it. What's so special about Lindsey? Absolutely nothing, she's bland just as he is.

I don't know if I want to read the next book. Plotwise yes, I'd be interested but if there's still no character development then why bother? I've got plenty other books to read.