In 2051, the luxury cruise ship Arcadia set sail right before biological warfare started up and a deadly virus decimated Europe. Their only hope of reaching dry land is what's left of the USA, now called the Federated States. But for 40 years the passengers have been prohibited from leaving the ship... the fear of the virus re-emerging too strong.
The story has the distinct POV: Hadley, the leader on the ship, doling out harsh punishment to anyone that steps out of line, Esther, a 16-year-old medic in training hoping to live a normal life on land, and Nik, the Rebel determined to get everyone to land and end the Arcadia.
I found the concept of a whole generation of people of all different classes being born and living their lives aboard this ship to be really fascinating. I think some of the characters could have been given a little more background, but I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Forty years after a war and deadly epidemic, the Arcadia—a former cruise ship turned refugee camp—is still refused a landing in the Federated States. This floating colony of wealthy passengers, military, underprivileged, and gangs have been living together, carving out their version of society within the increasingly cramped confines of the Arcadia, just waiting until the day they are deemed “safe” to go ashore. But even though it’s been decades since the virus was last detected, they remain onboard with increasingly limited resources.

The Stranded follows the alternating points of view of several young characters including a medic in training, a commander in the military-esque heads of the Arcadia, and a rebel. As a result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Ester (the medic) finds herself drawn into the wave of a rising rebellion. The result is a dystopian thriller with high stakes and a fight against oppressors at every step.

I was very excited with the premise of The Stranded—I mean, why have I never read a dystopian book with a cruise ship as the new colony? It’s also timely given recent worldwide topics (i.e.- a pandemic, escalating tensions, and a wall). Unfortunately, I wasn’t as drawn into this story as I’d hoped I would be. I didn’t really feel a connection with any of the characters, so it was difficult to be swept away in their stories. It was a slow build, and I didn’t feel like my emotions were engaged by the writing. Sarah Daniels did do a tremendous job in setting the scene onboard the Arcadia. She describes this world with such clarity that it’s not hard to imagine you’re standing on the upper level or down in the lower decks with the characters.

One of the things I did like was the captain’s updates throughout the book that let the reader (and passengers!) know just how long it’s been since they boarded the Arcadia (in thousands of days!). For old-school Trekkies, it’s reminiscent of “Captain’s Log, Star date…”.

I’m bummed that I didn’t enjoy this book more, but there is likely a lot for others to enjoy. It just wasn’t for me.

The Stranded comes out January 3, 2023.

*I received a copy of The Stranded from Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is a good YA Dystopian Sci/Fi Thriller set on the Arcadia, a luxury liner that set sail 40 years ago after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Since that time, it's been a refugee camp anchored off the coast of the Federated States. The story centers on Esther a loyal citizen, working to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land, and Nik, a rebel planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and the oppressors of the refugees acts despicably toward them, requiring the rebels to alter their plans.

This is a pretty long YA dystopian book (464 pages) and while there were a few slow places, the author did a pretty good job in worldbuilding life on the Arcadia and moving the story along. What the author left a mystery was how the European war started and why, and almost everything about the fractured U.S. The book ended on a cliffhanger, so I'm guessing we'll learn more about all of that in book 2.

I really liked Esther. She is smart, determined and prickly. She's got a chip on her shoulder and doesn't have a problem speaking her mind. She is loyal to her family and friends, much to her detriment on occasion. Nik is clever, loyal and a smart-aleck. I loved the relationship he and Esther developed after they got unceremoniously shoved together. The duo had more bravery than smarts at times, but they'd do anything for their loved ones. The book has plenty of action and for the most part was well paced. It's an easy read and I think it hits almost all the notes we look for in a YA Dystopian book.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire. All opinions are my own.

Great book, engaging and fast paced. I saw somewhere someone else had likened this book to the Hunger Games in it's dystopian-ness, and they were not wrong. I enjoyed the closed atmosphere of the boat, but it was also somewhat confining and gave me a sense of the claustrophobia of being on board the need to "end the boat:" basically. I loved the differing viewpoints from people - I enjoy when a book has insight from various characters because it helps develop the story and the author here did a great job of making the story come to life in that way. However, it hit a little close to home for me because of the unsettled nature of our future as a planet at this point. Perhaps that is the entire point of reading a post-apocalyptic book, in which case, this young adult novel is perfect to help young people understand the ramifications of the actions of our global governments going forward. A great read, and I would highly recommend!

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When war ravaged Europe, those traveling on the cruise ship Arcadia were left without a home. Generations later, people still inhabit the cruise ships, desperate to find refuge in the Federated States. Esther is training as a medic, if she passes her tests, she will have a chance to leave the ship and train on dry land. Nik, a member of the rebel underground, launches a leaflet campaign with Ester's sister. Hadley is the security commander of the ship. Desperate to have the ship decommissioned, he will do anything to maintain law and order.

I really enjoyed this book. The world was well developed and nuanced. The characters were fascinating and realistic. The plot moved forward and a nice pace, keeping me interested and engaging. I look forward to reading more from this author. Highly recommended!

Imagine living your whole life on a cruise ship. One that very much mimics life on land. The poorest live (if you can call it living) in the dark and dangerous bottom of the ship, while those with money and power live on the upper decks. Hard to imagine that this is the only life some of these passengers have ever known. For 40 years they have been denied the right to dock and leave the ship and try to make a life on land.
There are several POV‘s and characters that tell the story. Esther who wants to be a medic, Nick who is very involved in the rebellion that’s brewing on board, and Hadley the commander of the Arcadia(and not a good guy). Each perspective provides necessary facts regarding life on this once luxury ship.
If you enjoy dystopian books, this might work for you. My only small complaint was at times it felt a bit too long. I was invested in Esther and Nick’s chapters and found myself yelling at my Kindle during Hadley‘s chapters. Don’t ask me why, I mean I knew this wasn’t a happily ever after story. When is dystopian ever sunshine and kittens? I was however sucked into the very descriptive life on the Arcadia and how sadly even in this type of environment, the haves versus the have nots still exist. I thought it ended abruptly but then I read that a second book is planned. I wish I had paid attention and saw that little factoid first as I would not have expected everything to wrapped up neatly.

OK ultimately it’s the people in the ship against the people on land the people on the ship or basically treated like Spanish people and Black people are treated in America but on the ship it’s also divided into the kind of have’s and the definite have Nots. Esther is a kind of halves and she’s also training to be a medic and hopes to go on land her sister may is a part of security but secretly she is also a part of the resistance and those are mostly the have Nots. One day the resistance throws propaganda pamphlets and Nick who is a part of the resistance gets shot. This is win a big-time jerk name Silas and nicks mom kidnap Esther to get her to help Nick so he doesn’t die. Because in this world they put poison on bullets and even if the gun shot doesn’t kill you the poison will but there’s an antidote and Esther knows what it is. At first Esther and Silas fight because Silas being an ego driven jerk thinks he’s just going to throw around 16 Esther an boss her around and chill do what he says but he quickly learns different. Although his pride is hurt Nick‘s mom puts her foot down and Silas step‘s back . Esther does agree to help though after looking at Nick and seeing his poisonous wounds but when she goes above deck to get the medicine needed for the antidote, her best friend notices her and tell her she’s late for class and not wanting to give the resistance away she must ignore her Guard‘s and promises to come back with the needed medicine. Everyone is angry at Nick for throwing the pamphlets. They had a bigger plan in place until he may have ruined it. When Hadley who is like the worst conservative Republican you can think of and he runs things on land and implement rules on the ship. The captain is like a Democrat but one who knows what he’s doing and thinks Hadley is Bing too old the bearing and too happy to implement more restrictions on the ships population. They must reduce daily calories they can no longer read on deck and should he change any more rules He will let the captain know. “ oh yes” and now the captain must start going around with a tiny bot that will Play back in real time everything he does.. So it’s not just the people on the ship feeling The jerk Hadleys bootheel and the captain isn’t happy about it. There is a rumor going around that another ship carrying other refugees sunk but he tells the captain when he needs to know he’ll tell him. All these things are important and remember Silas well he’s put a hit out on Esther. This makes Nick very angry and Maye doesn’t even know yet that her sister is the one who helped him. Everything will come to an explosive conclusion and I can only hope there’s going to be another book not because this was a cliffhanger, but because this was so OMG awesome! Please forgive this lame review there is so much more to this story than what I stated but I would have to write a booklet Novela myself to explain the whole story to you just know if you love science fiction alternate universe is great world building with likable and even lovable characters then you need to read “the stranded“ by Sarah Daniels you will not be disappointed this isn’t even one of my favorite genres and I absolutely cannot wait to read more from this world.. I received this book from net galley and source of books fire but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

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

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital arc of this title.

As a high school librarian, I am always on the hunt for books that will appeal to students. As such, I'm often looking for variety of types of stories. This title is YA dystopian--which is not as popular as mystery, romance, and fantasy books for my students. However, I do have dystopian readers--and I am trying to bolster the collection in that section.

Set in the future in a world where deadly viruses rampage, wars were fought, and groups of refugees just float off coast in abandoned cruise ships, this title seems to be the first in a series.I will be adding this book to the collection in the near future. It's multiple points-of-view, world building, and action mean that it will appeal to some students. Like all dystopians, there is a rebel groups planning to liberate themselves and others.

From a personal standpoint, I felt like the book needed a bit of tightening up as it ran a bit long, but I felt the positives (action, love triangles, drama, agony) outweighed that negative.

I’m a fan of both the Snowpiercer movie and series, and The Hunger Games is always a favorite. These comp titles together was like a dream come true.

In the year 2094 decades after an apocalyptic war, several cruise ships are still at sea due to the possibility of the passengers spreading the virus to those on land. But after nearly 16,000 days at sea, the Arcadia has remained virus free for the majority of that time. The Federated States, most on the eastern seaboard, have split from the US and don’t want the ships to dock. They send supplies and very limited food rations, but life aboard isn’t easy. The Arcadia consists of fourteen levels, the lowest controlled by gangs and the top tiers for the wealthy. With a couple generations never having set foot on land, most staterooms are passed down within families. The world-building is well-crafted and fascinated me.

Opportunities for a future off the ship are almost nonexistent, but Esther and her sister May are both fortunate to have them – Esther as a medic and May as a soldier. Esther has kept her head down and worked hard so she and her boyfriend, also a medic, can leave the Arcadia and have a normal life. She just didn’t account for Nik and the rebel group. And then everything changes.

I certainly understood Esther’s motives, but I wasn’t her biggest fan at the beginning. She can’t see what’s right in front of her and pays the price for it. By the end, she redeems herself in my book. Nik is my favorite character and he’s prepared to give his all for the resistance, but suffers a significant loss along the way. Chapters alternate between Esther, Nik, and Hadley’s (a despicable villain) POVs. Pacing is a little uneven, but the last twenty percent is thrilling and moves at warp speed, almost like a domino effect.

The Stranded is a phenomenal debut novel, and I’m anxious to see what happens in the conclusion of this duology. I’d highly recommend it to dystopia/postapocalyptic YA and adult fans.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

DNF 11%. Overall I found the writing very smooth and it definitely felt YA. I was just getting kind of bored.

Once a luxurious cruise ship, the Arcadia is now a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. It floats near the coastline of the Federated States—a leftover piece of a fractured USA. For forty years, residents of the Arcadia have been prohibited from making landfall. It is a world of extreme haves and have nots, gangs, and make-shift shelters. Esther is a loyal citizen, studying to have the rare chance to live life as a medic on dry land. Nik is a rebel, planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all. When events throw them both together, their lives, and the lives of everyone on the ship, will change forever...
I was initially drawn in by the premise of the book and the cover. It made me think of the cruise ships that were unable to dock during the worst of the Covid outbreak, and what it would be like being stuck on a ship for a prolonged time due to unforseen circumstances. Unfortunately, the book fell short of my expectations. The book seemed to drag in a lot of places, and the book itself was pretty long. I am not saying it was a bad book, just not the book for me.

I am in awe that this is a debut. It is pretty damn good guys! I felt like this one gripped me from the beginning and I was on a rollercoaster the entire time. How Daniels created a post-apocalyptic world, added some swash buckling antics and some dangerous situations all within 480 pages is beyond me. The imagination she must have?! Wow! How clever.

This is told in multiple rotating POVs and primarily takes place on a cruise ship. I loved that we got a POV from our villain and that he had his own backstory. The setting really helps to add to the claustrophobia and horror of the situation and the new world in 2094. The social divides and socioeconomic issues that play out in this are terrifyingly real.

This is the perfect blend of YA action, drama, social issues and a nasty government wrapped up in a tense and suspenseful story. Our characters are perfect for the genre and minus a few “bad words” this is pretty PG. If you enjoy Hunger Games, Divergent or Snow Piercer you will really enjoy this!

Thank you Netgalley for my advance copy!

This had a slow start, and Alex made me so angry the reading sped up so that I could find out what his fate was.. In the end though I wanted more. I wanted to know what happened, it felt incomplete. I enjoyed the premise, and the characters drew me in. But i hate ambiguous endings, and it pulled the rating down as a result. This was still a solid read and I would recommend to those who like ambiguous endings.

*I received this book as an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) through NetGalley. I received this copy free in exchange for my honest review.

I didn’t know what to expect from this book, but it grabbed me from the start. The fact that this is just the first book in the series fills my heart with such joy. I loved watching Esther come into her own and figure out the truth behind the fate of the passengers of the Arcadia. I also love that Esther and Nik don’t have a love connection, but by the end of the story they have found something they agree enough on to fight for. I can’t wait to see what happens. Teens will eat this book up. It has suspense, technology and just such a horrid bad guy. Dystopian books are always hit or miss for me, but I will not be missing out on what happens next. I am so looking forward to recommending this book to patrons.
Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

This original and exciting novel leaves you on the edge of your seat! Perfectly primed for a sequel, you’ll be rooting for the characters and want to know what happens next. The plot is handled in an original way and the storyline is interesting. The characters are well developed and the author deftly provides enough background for each so we understand their motivations.

Two kids who have never seen land. One, a studious citizen is working hard to earn a rare opportunity to work as a medic on land. Another is rebellious, and planning something for liberation from the floating prison.
For reader's who love the "Hunger Games" or "Station Eleven" this will be their next favourite book. The two characters from different backgrounds make for fantastic dialogue. It also makes it easy for all readers to relate to someone in the story. Set in a future that doesn't feel real, but with just enough of the familiar for the lessons of the story to strike home.
This book will absolutely be finding a home on a shelf in the middle school library. Students will fall in love with the story and adventure.

✨ The Stranded ✨⁣
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⁣Imagine you are on a luxury cruise ship when an apocalyptic war breaks out in Europe. The ship quickly becomes a floating refugee camp with citizens who can no longer return home. For forty years, the Arcadia has floated of the coast of the Federated States- a fractured part of the US- that refused to let the ship or it’s residents to make landfall. Now there is a rebelling brewing and the people on the ship are about to rise up and fight. ⁣
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⁣This was a unique premise that I really enjoyed. Unlike many dystopian books, it felt almost realistic. I enjoyed imagining how it would feel to be born on a cruise ship and never experience life on solid ground. ⁣
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⁣The plot did seem to crawl a little bit near the beginning and some of the characters seemed a little basic. I wanted more character development!⁣
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⁣All in all, I enjoyed the YA read and will totally pick up the sequel! Four stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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⁣Thank you to @Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of The Stranded. It will be out on January 3, 2023.

Not my cup of tea. I got about halfway through before setting it aside, I can see the appeal and I definitely think that people would enjoy this novel. However, it’s not what I was after right now and with it being as long as it is, will not be picking it up anytime soon.

Will not be leaving a review on any social media, as I didn’t finish.

After an apocalyptic war, the once luxurious cruise ship the Arcadia is now a refugee ship. For forty years the residents of this ship have been prevented from reaching land. The ship floats near the Federal States, what used to be part of the U.S. Esther follows the rules and is working hard. Nik goes against authority and is planning something big. When the two meet things will never be the same.

I wanted to like this but it was so boring. Maybe it was the writing style but I couldn’t get into the story at all.


Thank you netgalley and sourcebooks for this arc in exchange for my honest review.