The premise of this book was compelling but I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd hoped. I found it a bit confusing and difficult to follow. Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for providing me with this an advanced copy of this book.

Yes, yes, yes! We have all heard about the Cruise Ships that were quarantined at the beginning of COVID. I will admit I wondered what that experience would be like. The story of the Arcadia and those left stranded make for a thrilling dystopian YA read

The first novel in a two-part series, this was a good read - and I'm really looking forward to the second book. Relatable characters, good pacing, and while it is cliche - it will make a really good series or movie (in the right hands - if they screw up the casting on Enid I will riot!). Two generations after a civil war and virus fracture the U.S., a number of stranded cruise ships have languished off the eastern coast. People live and die on board, under massive surveillance and strict control. The author did such a great job setting the scene that the ship itself becomes a character (or maybe it is my fear of being stuck on a cruise ship)? Really good combination of setting, characters, and contemporary topics like surveillance, social control, a mysterious virus, and yes, hope. Despite everything, the characters never give up. They're not perfect, they make mistakes, and they (and others) pay for them. Looking forward to the second installment!

This was so promising.....but I just found it a bit confusing and hard to follow at times. I am sure others won't have this problem, but for me I stayed pretty confused

I feel that this book had a very timely and interesting premise… In 2051 the cruise ship Arcadia becomes a refuge from a deadly virus that is sweeping through Europe (and most of the world as well). It is now forty years later, and the Arcadia and 15 other cruise ships are near the coast of the Federated States. No one is allowed to leave the ship. The ship is divided by classes, based on the price of the original cruise ship ticket. First class has the best accommodations and the most resources. The stowaways, and third class citizens have few resources and there are gangs and violence in their home in the bottom of the ship. The uneven distribution of power and resources leads to rebellion.

I found this book really confusing and hard to get into. At the beginning, there is no introduction to the plot and it just jumps into action scenes and alternating POV’s between characters. I found this confusing, and honestly not very compelling. I feel that an introduction to the situation and characters before the action would have been less confusing and more interesting. While the last part of the book is quite interesting, I feel that many readers will struggle to get to that point after the confusing and somewhat draggy begging and middle parts of this book.

Overall, while I felt this book was ok, I feel that except for the cruise ship element it wasn’t very original. This book pales in comparison to Snowpiercer and Hunger Games.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for providing me with this eARC to read and review.

I really enjoyed this book. Reminded me a lot of the tv show Snow Piercer. The Stranded takes place on a luxury cruise liner 74 years in the future after a deadly virus has taken over. They are docked in the water near the Federated States and unable to leave. Even though there have been zero cases of the virus in decades, the residents on land do not want it spread. I liked the many different storylines amongst the different Main characters. I am hoping there is a book 2 since it ended with much more story to tell.

The Arcadia, a former luxury cruise ship, has been sitting just offshore of the Federated States. It’s the year 2094 and the scene is post apocalyptic. Generations of families have lived on The Arcadia for years, some waiting for a chance to leave the ship by training in medic or military courses.

Esther (medic trainee) and her sister May (corps trainee) come from a fairly well-off family with a home on the upper decks. Both are nearing their course completions and soon will be graduating to complete their training off-boat. But a rebellion has been brewing in the underbelly of the ship for years and The Arcadia’s captain isn’t in charge of the vessel anymore. It’s being run by a far worse and regimented criminal.

I found <i>The Stranded</i> to hold my attention in some sections, while in others, I just couldn’t get it to make sense. Some of the plot points seemed to be a bit misconfigured; it would have made more sense to explain them more thoroughly before hand.

Like others, I enjoyed the fact that this novel didn’t include any love triangles. I enjoyed the main characters and their perspectives - but felt we could have been given more insight into May’s character and background.

Once a luxurious cruise ship, the Arcadia has now been a floating refugee camp for the last forty years. Driven out into sea from Europe after an apocalyptic war, it now floats off the east coast of the Federated States - a leftover section of what was once the USA.

Ester is a loyal citizen aboard the Arcadia and has been working towards becoming a medic to get the rare chance of getting to the dry land. Nik is a rebel, who has been helping form a plan that will liberate the Arcadia once and for all.

When events on the ship throw their lives together, it changes everything. This novel is told between 3 alternating POVs: Ester, Nik, and Hadley. In true YA style, this novel has action, drama, evil and corrupt governments, social issues, and high stakes.

I was excited about this book - stuck on a cruise ship for decades, what does that even look like? I feel like Sarah Daniels did a wonderful job at teleporting me onto that ship and really experiencing the lives these characters went through. The claustrophobic feeling of never really being able to have your own space and constantly under a watching eye made my head spin.

I’m curious to see where this will end up going, as this is the first book in the series. I will definitely be picking up the next book for sure to see the continued storyline and what happens next. This is a perfect book for those dystopian YA novel readers for sure!

<spoiler> I haven’t been on something as big as a cruise ship, just a few fishing boats here and there. But one of the things that kind of shocked me, that I kind of wished was mentioned, was Ester and her “sea legs” verses on land. For someone who was born and raised on a cruise ship and has never felt solid land under her feet, I was waiting for her to mention it.</spoiler>

*Thank You Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This book sounded amazing however I found it to be a bit boring and hard to follow. The constant character jumps were super confusing. As some of the characters were so similar they almost melded together.

This was a really creative take on the post-pandemic/dystopia trope — esp as we’re catching up on the SNOWPIERCER tv show at home. Daniels did an excellent job of drawing the Arcadia with its various decks and related caste systems. The characters were all familiar and also very much their own people. In particularly, Hadley is the type of baddie you love to hate, generally, but we’re given a lot of great insight into his particular why’s.

While THE STRANDED is the start of a series, it’s also a great standalone story. I want to know what happens next, obviously, but it ends with one part of the tale fully wrapped up so I don’t feel cheated. All in all, an excellent debut.

This is a must-read for any fans of YA dystopian fiction. A massive cruise ship full of isolated passengers has been held hostage just off the coast of the former United States for over 40 years, now housing three generations. They have far outgrown their space, They have developed their own underground societies. And they have a group of young people dedicated to saving the ship and her inhabitants by any means necessary.

This was a difficult book to read, as the distress jumped off the page. The first third or so felt heavy with detail and background explanation. From that point forward, however, I was emotionally invested, and still find myself thinking about the characters weeks later.

Will easily recommend this four-star read.

First, I would like to thank NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire publishers for allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There are so many things I loved in this dystopian world. The characters, the harried plot, and definitely the non-stop action towards the end of this novel. As things were ratcheting up, I literally could not put this down!

The beginning was rocky, I must admit. I felt tossed out at sea, (sorry, I know, ship puns XD ). There's a cast of characters that we get to see from multiple point of views, and at the same time we are learning about this new world about 60 years in the future. It's a lot of information to take in, and I am, unfortunately sometimes, a speedy reader. This may have impacted my reading as it seemed that the world-building wasn't as fleshed out as I'd hoped.

The characters are worth wading into these treacherous waters for. (Okay I'll stop... no promises) Without going into too much detail, there's two sisters, a love interest, an antagonist who's POV we get to read from and it made this book so interesting! There's a slew of a crew (Look I can't help it), that I found I enjoyed learning more about. While there is a class system in place, the wealthy are those who had tickets for the cruise ship when it originally embarked, then the refugees, and below them the actual crew members who were taking care of the ship, we mainly see the bottom fringes of this floating society. I would've liked to see more facets and maybe a little more diversity in regards to the surroundings and characters. Mainly because there is so much that I think could've been accomplished. Right now, today, the largest capacity for passengers on luxury cruise ships is about 7,000 people. That's not including crew members! Take those numbers, add another thousand or so for refugees, and you literally have a melting pot of cultures, languages, you name it! Keep all these people on a that same cruise ship for forty years like in this novel, it's like having your own mini-civilization.

All in all, this was a good read. I enjoyed the fast pace and definitely loved the characters. The ending is left open, so there is more to be explored in Daniels debut.

The Stranded Review!

Thank you so much Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for this gifted copy, in exchange for an honest review! The Stranded comes out January 3rd, 2023!

As soon as I read that this one was similar to The Hunger Games, I had to request it. I definitely disagree with that statement though. This one kind of reads a little like a Mad Maxish apocalyptic titanic? 😄 The Stranded was a 3.25/5 ⭐️ for me! It was fun and I was completely submerged for about 1/2 of it! I loved the futuristic aspect to this one and the whole ship setting. I did have a hard time with the characters though, I felt like I didn’t get to know them as well as I wanted to. Also the ending felt really rushed and I wasn’t the biggest fan of how it turned out, I was shocked to say the least!! I don’t think I’ll be reading the next book, but I think that this one would be such a fun movie!

Synopsis: The ship Arcadia was once a beautiful cruise ship. Fast forward 40 years later and it is now refugee camp forbidden to get to land due to the deadly virus. During those 40 years gangs have been formed, make shift shelters have been built everywhere, and classism is at an all time high. No one is allowed to leave, but that’s about to change.

Forty years after an apocalyptic war, the decedents of the passengers of Arcadia are still on the ship. Some have a plan to get off the ship and onto the mainland, but many know that they are stuck until their last breath because the residents of Arcadia are not allowed to leave. Esther is working hard to better herself, but life is not fair and many obstacles are in her way. Nik wants to liberate the Arcadia and is willing to do anything to break free. When these two lives cross, the lives of everyone around them are also changed.

The Stranded is the first book in the Stranded series and it isn’t really in one genre. I would almost say it is a sci-fi adventure, but that doesn’t do it justice either. The entire time I was reading this book I was thinking about how I would react … how would I behave … what would I do to survive? This is a series, so there isn’t a clean ending, but readers are not left with a cliffhanger. I will definitely be looking for book number two next summer.

The Stranded - Sarah Daniels
Welcome to the Arcadia. Once a luxurious cruise ship, it became a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Now 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. I love a good dystopian novel! And on a defunct cruise ship no less. I was easily drawn in and captivated by this YA novel.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC.

I tried this book out twice. Twice, I wanted to scream bc I found it too boring. The bits I did make it through had me thinking about “The Last Ship” and “Resident Evil”. I loved both. I wanted to love this. Maybe I will try again when it is released in January. Maybe a physical copy will make all the difference.

Please read and form your own opinions!

Synopsis: a catastrophic war occurs, leaving a cruise ship full of stranded civilians. For forty years, they try to survive on this floating metal island. Drugs, gangs, social inequalities, corrupt government; everything found in the trenches on land can be found deep in the ship. We follow three different characters as they journey through their lives on the ship and how they intertwine.

All in all, a decent read. Dystopian YA without any love triangles, as said in previous reviews, gives off Hunger Games and Divergent vibes. Personally I didn’t enjoy the multiple POV, it would get jumbled here and there. Also, while the beginning had lots of action (I loved the disintegrating paper - great idea), I had to read about 20% in to get the backstory. While for most, that might not seem like a big deal, it made it a confusing read in the beginning. Great concept, good story.

I was very intrigued by the story line a ship stranded and those aboard unable to leave. The writing is all in first person and this is a hard format for me to follow so I almost stopped reading right away but I didn't. The story follows multiple characters and so the viewpoints often change which can get a little confusing at times. I think a map of the ship would have helped because sometimes I got lost following where different events took place. The characters were well written but I felt like the middle of the book kept going around in circles and was not moving forward. The last third of the book seems really different to the first third in pacing, plot points (a lot of different directions, etc.) and so I wasn't sure where things were going. Then come to find out this is only the first book of two. I wonder if that is the reason for the change? Some of the book is pretty intense and graphic in parts with descriptions of torture. Overall, not quite what I was expecting. Good idea just didn't quite fully reach it's potential- too scattered.

The Stranded by Sarah Daniels gets 4.5 ⭐️ from me. I believe it’s her debut novel and a book two is definitely coming.
I love a dystopia and I enjoyed this one. The story development was clever and I can’t imagine living in these conditions. I wouldn’t compare this to anything else and just enjoy the ride!
I recommend this if you like dystopias.
Thanks NetGalley.

I saw this book on Netgalley quite a while ago, but I had so many other books to read first. But I finally started it two days ago and I so did not regret it! It's being published by Sourcebooks Fire on the 3rd of January 2023.

A virus spreads across Europe. People who can get a ticket, leave on cruise ships to get to safety in the States. Only, the States won't allow them in so they are stuck in the ships at the shore. They are not allowed to leave the shore nor the ship. After so many years, some people have had enough. They need to act, they need to fight, the need to escape.

I do like dystopian thrillers such as The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner. The book by Sarah Daniels fits perfectly in this list of dystopian novels. It's an absolute exciting story, executed perfectly with an excellent variety of characters. The claustrophobic feel of being stuck on a cruise ship for four decades is described with such a detail and the difference in how the characters respond to being stuck on the ship under a, let's say totalitarian, regime, is exactly the way is would be as I imagine it to be. The fight for survival in the lower parts and the 'easy' way in which the commander can set out new rules makes it all the more interesting and frustrating at the same time.

As you can read, I absolutely loved it. I can't wait to read the second part!

5/5⭐