This a a fun twist on the teens saving lives at the end of the world genre. The cruise ship Arcadia has been at sea for years, despite many promises of letting the refugees get to land. Esther and May come from a "good" family with a decent cabin, and have a real shot at life on land. There's a sketchy love interest or two, some fascinating technology (bots, drones, and com gloves) and the Neaths, the below decks gangs. For fans of Hunger Games or Maze Runner, this is a fresh and fun take.

This book is perfect for fans of Lian Tanner's Ice Breaker and many of the classic YA dystopian series of my teenage years (Maze Runner, Hunger Games, etc.). Like many other reviewers, I thought that this story was a really interesting way of looking at what happens during pandemics to people on ships, much like beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, the story was well written, but it did seem to drag a little in the middle. The characters were likeable, and showed growth over the course of the story. I'm excited to share this book with teens in my library.

4 1/2 stars

The Stranded was a book that I could easily envision as a movie or miniseries. There was a great deal of buildup - - which did at times feel like it was excessive. However, as the story really kicked in, I could feel the necessity of that world building and the detail the author had gone into to set the groundwork for each of these characters. From my perspective, it enriched the story as a whole.

The premise of this book likely comes from some of the stories we heard during our recent Covid pandemic where people were "stranded" on cruise ships in isolation for weeks because of potential virus exposure. The Stranded takes that image and expands on it. What if that happened and the people were never let off the ships? Instead, it's forty plus years later when this story picks up and the inhabitants of the ship are primarily children and grandchildren of the original passengers. Life on the ship, known as the Acadia, is harsh and closely monitored. Freedoms are few and hope has dwindled. But there is a rebel group with a plan if they can just complete the final steps.

This book is told from three points of view: Ester, Nik and Hadley. Each of them is critical in the building of this story. Esther, a sixteen year old medical student, seems to be weak and easily thrown by the events occurring around her. She's naive and only focused on her immediate "world" and how everything impacts it. Her boyfriend, Alex is pushing for a future that she isn't sure that she wants but she can't bring herself to give him an answer one way or the other. Nik is the son of a man who was taken away years ago as a criminal. He has a role with the rebel resistance and his mother is determined that nothing and no-one will deter him from that path. Nik is driven to fulfill his goals and has an unrelenting crush on Esther's sister, May. Then there's Hadley. He's the definitive villain in this tale. He's harsh, cruel and has no qualms about who he hurts. His only goal is to get off the boat and "redeem" himself to the higher ups in his government. Throughout his story, you learn a bit about his past and come to understand more about why he's so bitter and driven.

The Stranded was a creative storyline that was well-developed and entertaining. I'd have to say it was a unique YA dystopian that wasn't like anything I've read in a while. I'm pleased to see there is another book in the works to be released later this year and eagerly await it. I look forward to seeing what other adventures lay ahead for these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

3.5*

I enjoy post-apocalyptic/dystopian books so I was looking forward to reading this one. It was slow going at first, but once we got to know all the characters the story solidified and I really became engaged. It's a little gritty and tough to take at times, and definitely had a melancholic feel to it. But the story kept me intrigued, until I hit 71%. From there I skipped to the end, and then jumped back and skimmed through the rest. While I understand why the author did what she did, I didn't like it. It gave me that same feeling I had at the end of the Hunger Games and Divergent series. While I couldn't get past those books, and they kind of still haunt me to this day, I will give the next book in this series a try. I'm not sure what's to come for thes characters, but I want to find out.

What I enjoyed about this book: alternating storylines, strong female characters, fast-paced plot, the unique setting.

What I did not like: There were times I felt lost while reading. this could be due to some of the futuristic technology and lack of detail of it or maybe I just wasn't paying close enough attention while reading.

I cruise a lot so I found the cruise ship setting to be intriguing. The thought of being confined to a cruise ship forever due to a pandemic was interesting. The author did a great job of including the different groups that would/could ultimately be formed in a situation such as this.

This book sounded so good from the description but after a few chapters I discovered it's not the YA book for me. It begins slightly clunky without much character development and that carries through during the book. If you like darker YA and apocalypses you might like this read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to honestly review.

Imagine if you had to fight for your freedom when all the rules were meant to suppress you. The Stranded is set in a dystopian culture of norms that obliterate freedom. At what lengths would you go to get it back.

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.