A ya dystopian thriller where people are left on the Arcadia, a cruise ship that became a refugee camp after a virus and then apocalyptic war has stranded them 40 years prior.

Esther is 16 and a medic trying to get off the boat and into the Federated States - a piece of what was once the United States.

Nik is 16 and trying to help the rebellion that is seeking the truth of why they can’t get off the ship and onto land.

Hadley is the commander of the police and keeps putting more and more restrictions on the people that live on the ship.

Each chapter is in one of their POV. The book has a really interesting premise but it is slow going until the last third of the book. It’s more drawn out than it probably needs to be.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for this eARC. The Stranded is out now.

The Stranded was a good dystopian read that put me in mind of Snowpiercer yet with a ship rather than a train. A familiar premise of a protected teen drawn into a rebellion unwittingly.

Esther has only known of the ship Arcadia as her home - a home that has been afloat and prohibited to make landfall in forty years. She is determined to become a medic and take the narrow odds she'll graduate and be permitted to work on land. Her dreams are changed as her loved ones' secrets and betrayals come to surface, driving her further into a rebellion not of her chosing.

I look forward to continuing Esther's story.

Esther and her sister May have spent their entire lives on what once was a fancy cruise ship. They can see the shore, but their only hope of ever reaching land is by becoming a valuable asset to the government. May has worked hard to be trained in the military, and Esther has spent her time training in the medical field. In just a short time, their years of training should pay off and they should both have their ticket for freedom from their floating prison. Except they both have secrets they keep from each other, and ultimately, those secrets could cost them everything.

When Esther finds herself on the run with the rebellion working to free everyone from the ship, she will start to question everything she has always held to be true. Will risking everything, and losing what she most holds dear, be worth it in the end?

An interesting take on the post-apocalyptic world, this was a little harder to get into than I had hoped, but it did keep things moving along smoothly and there was plenty of action. There are a lot of characters to keep track of, but most of that isn't too hard. A decent addition for those looking to add to their collection in this genre.

I love YA fiction for my 'slouch on the couch' escapist reading. My latest is Sarah Daniels' excellent debut YA novel - The Stranded.

Dystopian and post apocalyptic fiction are some of my favorite genres. Daniels has imagined a world set in 2094. Thousands of people were caught out on the European ship Arcadia and were denied permission to land on the shores of the Federated States when another pandemic hit. So they've been on the cruise ship for over forty years. New generations have no idea what it feels like to be on land. But they have a plan to try and find out....

Daniels' descriptions are detailed and bring the ship to life. The claustrophobic rooms holding more people than they were ever meant to, the rusty and decrepit machinery, gangs in the below decks, broken everything, shortages and more. At the same time, there are 'futuristic' items being used in a number of ways - health and weaponry.

And who's in charge? Not the captain, but a cruel, brutal officer of the Federated States. You're going to love to hate him for sure. And who are you going to be on board with? (Unintended pun, but I like it) The resistance and the teens who have a plan - Esther, her boyfriend Alex, her sister May and friend Nik. Your loyalty to one or more of the teens will change as the plot moves forward. I have to say that May was my favorite. There's some romance, but it's not overdone. There's a large group of supporting character, all with a role to play. Action and danger drive the book forward and kept me rapidly turning pages.

If you've liked the movie/series of Snowpiercer and the Hunger Games books, you'll enjoy The Stranded. I did! This book is listed as Stranded #1 - I will be watching for #2. I'm eager to see what's next - there's more story to be told.

This book was absolutely phenomenal! I enjoyed every single page and finished it in one sitting because I simply could not put it down. I LOVED the ideas and themes presented and found myself absorbed in not only this new world and experience but in the writing in how it flowed and mesmerized me as well. I LOVED this!

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

I'm not sure exactly what drew me to this book, but I'm guessing it was the word "dystopian" in the description. This book felt more realistic than most dystopian novels I've read though. In most of them, society drastically changes and there are only whispers of resemblance to our society now. It wasn't a great leap for me to imagine a completely fractured United States with a portion of it absolutely refusing to take in refugees. And the tactics they use to keep them separate and controlled harken back to a past notable regime from Europe. It's definitely a different world, but not that different.

This story jumped around between a few character's perspectives, giving us a pretty clear view of the whole story. That made some aspects of the story more frustrating for me because I knew more than the character whose head I was in at the time. While I enjoy knowing more than the characters, it's less satisfying when I've been spoon fed the info from someone else in the book.

I feel it's worth noting that the author doesn't pull many punches with the characters, and life on the ships is brutal. The main characters live fairly privileged lives compared to most on the ship, but we get to see the dark underbelly of things as well.

Even with getting to see upcoming plans from a variety of sources, I was still anxious to see how things would play out in the end. I'd say the author set things up really well for at least one sequel, but this part of the story still felt complete.

Overall I give this book 4.1 out of 5 stars.

All in all, a ok read. Dystopian YA without any love triangles, as said in previous reviews, gives off Hunger Games and Divergent vibes. I found the book difficult to follow at times with the multiple POVs. It would tend to get jumbled together. Good concept.

When the world war to end all wars takes place, biological weapons are key. The folks who survive with no virus exposure are people with berths on cruise ships. A whole society is formed with totalitarian leadership that controls everything. The upper decks have it a bit better but the lower decks are rife with crime and gangs. Ester and her sister May have a chance to get off as a medic and military cadet respectively but they get caught up in the rebellion and they have to weigh there own futures with that of the greater good.

Man oh man is this one packed with action. Literally from page one, there is danger and strife, good guys and bad guys. If you like layered characters who are unexpected heroes or villains than this story is for you, although the one baddie is a super baddie that you will love to hate.. The backstory unravels for us slowly throughout as the fight for survival and rebellion take place. At first it's a bit overwhelming to keep straight all of the facets of the ship, the new government and who is really in control of what but if you go with it, everything is revealed in time. My investment in the characters was a bit lacking though, while I was interested to see where things went, I wasn't rooting for the main characters as much as I would have hoped. Check this one out if you liked Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

Living aboard a cruise ship…sounds nice, right? Now what if I told you the ship was well past its glory days, the world had suffered a horrible pandemic, the ship hadn’t been allowed to make landfall in decades, and there is revolution in the air. I know the book is billed as Hunger Games meets Station Eleven, which I can definitely see but also in the same way people often said the movie Speed was Die Hard on a bus, The Stranded is Snowpiercer on a ship. Featuring a solid cast, some cool action, and political intrigue, I really enjoyed The Stranded, and very much wouldn’t mind returning to the fascinating world Sarah Daniels has created. I’d like to thank SOURCEBOOKS Fire and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of The Stranded.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R34WLXTVMJ8N83/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This book about people living on a cruise ship is set in 2094; however, it felt like it could be now (or let's say 2024). A virus has decimated Europe, the United States has split into two countries, there is a border dispute. Sound familiar? Oh, and the people on board the cruise ships aren't being allowed to come ashore because they might be carrying the virus even though they are regularly tested and have been virus free for over 15,000 days. (The captain tracks this and announces it daily.) This all might be what lead to the book feeling familiar, as though I've read it or something very similar to it before. And, while most of the book felt incredibly predictable, it still made for an enjoyable read and only increased my desire never to take a cruise.

A huge Thank You to The author, The publisher and NetGalley for providing the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
The plotline, the setting, the characters, the story ... EVERYTHING was just....mwah

I thought that this was a very good read. A smartly crafted combination of drama, action, intensity and thrills, captures and holds your attention very well. The main characters are appealing and complex. Social and political commentary is current and relevant, which means that this book not only entertains but is thought provoking. At least it definitely had me thinking. I look forward to book 2.

Once a luxury cruise ship, the Arcadia has become home to many people after an apocalyptic war. Secrets have been kept and it takes a cast of well developed characters to find out the truth. Well written dystopian fiction, I will be looking out for the next installment. Recommended.

The Stranded is a great thriller, filled with strong use of multiple POVs (nice use of a villain voice!), solid pacing, and dystopian themes that are well executed. I kind of secretly love YA books that have teens coming into their ow, realizing the word is a messy and scary place but also one they are a part of, one they can have a say in and a word maybe they can take back. I was reminded of my love for the hunger games and also perhaps for the 90s buffy/scream movie type vibes that this evoked in me.
So appreciative of the chance to read this book from Sarah Daniels, I think many dystopian fans will be pleased with the action suspene thriller!

This was book grabbed my attention from page 1, however I did feel like it got a bit boring in the middle of the book. The ending also didn't make a ton of sense but everything leading up to it was page turning. I gave this book 3.75 out of 5 stars.

So…that was fun. And timely.

The world is hit by war. Europe is attacked with a virus that devastates the continent. Some people happened to be embarking on pleasure cruises just as the war broke out. People flooded the ships if they could, just to get out.

Now it is decades later and these ships are still at sea. People have been born and spent their entire lives on board. Anchored off the East coast of was once the US (there have been some changes that I hope are further explored in the series), the virus keeps the people stranded on ships.

Due to the ways people entered the ships, there is a definite cast system. Those who were first class passenger get the best of everything. Those who were paying guests come next. Those who were taken aboard to save their lives just before the ships left are treated the worst.

So a civilization has developed, while on land they argue about letting the people off of the ships. Kind of timely. When rebellions start, things get ugly. Everyone must choose a side.

I can’t wait to see what happens next!

This one took me a while to get in to. I liked hearing the different POV's and I always love a good dystopian novel. I struggled a little bit with all the new terms and information that was given up front, but overall enjoyed the story line. In this novel, an old cruise ship has turned into a refuge for Americans after the US was torn by war and a virus. The members of the ship have been at sea for 40 years. Two of the characters are sisters who are both trying to get off the ship and return to land. Another point of view is from that of the corrupt and evil head of security on the ship. I enjoyed this read but didn't find myself as sucked in to it as I was hoping. Still enjoyable. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book.

Have you been waiting for the next resurgence of YA distopian fiction. Wait no longer, The Stranded is here for you. While a different story all together, The Stranded took me back to the days when I first read The Hunger Games. It has all the plot beats of a good YA distopian story: deeply devoted sisters, a burgeoning love triangle, betrayal, death, despair. Additionally, the setting taking place on a ship drew me in immediately. Suffice it to say, I had a lot of fun reading The Stranded.
Although I was thoroughly entertained, this book does fall into some common pitfalls. If you’ve read YA distopian fiction in the past, you may find some of the plot beats predictable. Even though I could see some of the story developments coming, it didn’t bother me or ruin my enjoyment of the book. Additionally, The Stranded is told from several perspectives, none of which are very distant from another. This wasn’t too much of an issue for me at the beginning of the book, but as the story progressed it got to the point where I had to ensure I read the chapter heading every time to know who’s point of view I was getting. I didn’t particularly enjoy reading Hadley’s perspective. I think his backstory is intended to make him a complexly dark character but he read kind of flat to me. I found it strange that his chapters were the only ones told in 3rd person whereas every other chapter was told in first. As he’s the antagonist, my guess is that this was meant to distance the audience from his character. Unfortunately, I found the transition a bit jarring. I would have preferred to get chapters from Alex’s perspective instead to get a clearer insight into his choices as a character.
Despite some hiccups with the writing, I think this is a really strong first novel by Daniels and I can’t wait for the second book in this duology.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book had so much potential, I thought it was a clever, interesting, engaging story. I do like dystopian novels, so I did like this... but I feel the ending was a little flat and stunted. It was moving along great, then it ust ended; I didn't feel there was enough closure. If it wasn't for that, I would definitely give this book a 4+ rating, maybe even a 5.

Finally, a story so gripping and exhilarating that I was drawn back to the days of the powerful YA dystopian universe the likes of Divergent and the Hunger Games produced. The Stranded is told through the eyes of a teen part of a rebellion, a teen that thinks she will escape the floating prison she was born to, and of course, a villain.

The Arcadia is a cruise ship that was caught out in the Atlantic when missile attacks occurred in Europe, releasing a deadly virus. It is now 40 years later, and we are introduced to Esther and Alex, medics in training that will have the opportunity to leave the ship for University training. That is all Esther has wanted to do; get off the ship. Her older sister, May is graduating and leaving the ship to train on land, where only a select elite live. She has a secret though; one that Nik, a son of the rebellion, helps her keep and vows to keep her family safe.

Hadley had his chance to get off the ship, but when tables were turned against him, he was sentenced to keep the peace onboard for what seems like an eternity. His fury churns and eats him from the inside out. He is determined to end his sentence and get off the ship, no matter the cost.

I did not want to put this down. Sarah Daniels has given us a wonderful world of politics and intrigue in her first novel. This is a tale that will snare not only Young Adults but Adults, as well. Her ability to bring the feels, and I mean all the feels, was extraordinary! When the end drew near, I wanted more! I am definitely looking forward to the next chapter in Esther and Nik's perilous journey.

Thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Fire and NetGalley for the digital ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.