A near future dystopia, The Stranded sounded like a novel I would thoroughly enjoy. It seemed like the novel was going to have a fast paced plot, but I quickly realized that it wasn't moving along as quickly as I would have liked. I did enjoy how Daniels chose to weave all of the character arcs together. I'm not certain that my older middle school students will be interested in this storyline; it might just be a select few.

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

I wanted to enjoy this but was overly unimpressed with the relationships, the dynamic, and the plot felt convoluted.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!

This was such a fun read! A perfect post-apocalyptic dystopian that had me turning those pages as fast as I could!

I loved the idea of a generation that has grown up on board of a giant cruise ship that has been afloat for the 40 years since an epidemic ravaged Europe. I was a little confused and wished there was more information about where everyone was from. The ship set sail from London but often on Cruise ships there are people from all over the world so I was wanting some diversity? Maybe attention to different languages, accents?

The storyline kept me interested and I mostly liked the characters. I did love that all the characters were able to show different aspects of their personalities. The only one I didn't enjoy was Hadley because he was just all bad. No redeeming qualities whatsoever.

If you love dystopian reads as much as I do, I'd definitely say check this one out!

Out January 3, 2023!

A solid 3.5 stars for The Stranded, by Sarah Daniels! The Stranded is a YA dystopian that is likened to the Hunger Games, and Divergent. It definitely delivers! We have three POV's, and overall the story moves nicely! The synopsis of The Stranded is a society who has been on a cruise ship for 40 + years. It checks off all the goodies of a YA dystopian. Corrupt government, brave MC'S, action, a rebellion, drama, and tension. My only personal issues with this book is the pacing. It does lag a little throughout. However, for a debut novel, it is lovely! I will absolutely be picking up the sequel. Thank you so much Netgalley, and of course Sarah Daniels!

I will start this review off by saying that I love Dystopian books, but truly have not found a lot that I’ve loved lately. That is not the case with The Stranded! I absolutely loved the idea of being on these huge ships and a female protagonist. This book had everything from friendship and romance to adventure and fighting for freedom in a post apocalyptic future. Think Water World meets Hunger Games. This book was so entertaining!

The Stranded felt very reminiscent of the YA dystopian novels that shaped my 2010s reading experience. Despite the familiarity, Sarah Daniels created a unique setting and plot that kept me fully engaged and there were several things I didn't see coming. You learn the backstory of the way the world is throughout several chapters, prompting you to infer before you learn more. I liked this method of exposition, as it left me wanting more, therefore reading more and more. The characters brought very interesting dynamics to the story and I felt like I really got to know them. If you enjoyed reading Hunger Games, 1984, or Divergent, you would like this!

The Arcadia was an elegant cruise ship. Now it is a floating prison to thousands of people. It has not made landfall in 40 years due to an apocalyptic war in Europe .
The Stranded by Sarah Daniels states, ” the ship is their world…to survive they must end it.” Each chapter begins with an ocean report and , “ Daily report, Virus cases: zero. Days at sea: 15,934.”
The ships upper levels are where the refugees are trying to survive daily life. The lower levels are a network of gangs and thieves.
Esther is studying to be a medic. Medics are allowed to live on land , Esther’s dream. Nic however is a rebel who wants to liberate everyone and take the ship to shore.
For me the characters needed more depth. Dialogue exchange sometimes became confusing, not really knowing who was talking to whom.
Highly recommend this young adult story for its intrigue, power struggles, a little romance, a rebellion, armed guards, drones and a sprinkling of science fiction hardware like a digiscreen used to communicate.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this arc. The story was good, it reminded me divergent. It makes you think of what could have happened if people were made stay on ships when covid hit. Kind of a scary thought.

Sooooo… I tried to get into this one. Nope. Couldn’t get into it which is odd since I usually enjoy these types of stories. Some sort of pandemic had happened and now this is what’s been happening since…. I cannot imagine a life like this…

This book felt like a fresh take on OG dystopian. Fans of books like Hunger Games and The Maze Runner will enjoy this new story. It holds the same appeal without feeling like a carbon copy.

For me, the one weakness of this book was character development. I never felt connected to any of the characters, and if their personalities had come with more depth it would have taken this story to the next level.

I read The Stranded by Sarah Damiels courtesy of Net Galley and Penguin Random House, and it was a delightful surprise - original plot, filled with suspense, lots of drama and interesting characters.

The Stranded is a dystopian novel set in the near future. The Arcadia., once a luxurious cruise ship, has become a refugee camp after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. The ship is divided into the haves, the have-nots, and the destitute. It has been forty years since most residents of the Arcadia have been allowed on land.

The Arcadia is a time-bomb waiting to explode.

Daniels does a remarkable job of balancing multiple plots and characters, effectively alternating between the alternating much like a screenwriter, building tension and uneasiness at every turn, with every twist of the plot. until it erupts. It is a terrific and enjoyable read. Sort of. Therein lies my problem with this book. And, I fear it's becoming a trend.

Good stories have a beginning, a middle, and a satisfying end. A 'conclusion', not a 'to be continued'
I don't mind sequels, but I truly dislike being left hanging when the words run out. That is my only hesitancy in recommending this book.

3.5 stars. I was really excited about this book because I thought it might be like Snowpiercer but cruise ships. It’s not. It’s different but somehow I’m indifferent about it. There were a lot of unbelievable or stretched plot points and people miraculously recovering. There was a lot of action but also a lot of descriptive gore. Nik and Esther’s relationship was very strange. I felt like there was supposed to be an attraction, but Nik is supposedly in love with May. I’m not sure the direction of the ‘romance’ of the next book, but in my mind Nik and Ester cannot be together because that is just too weird. Esther finally gets a backbone but it’s a little too late. The story ends with a cliffhanger until second and final book in series. I do think I will read it just because I want to know what happens after all the disaster of the first book. Overall it was an exciting and action packed read. I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving a free copy.

I hope there is a part two? This book feels incomplete and I hope that's because it's part of a duology. Amazing concept (much like Train to Busan, give us something tried and true but in a different location) with cut out characters. Esther is much like Meredith Gray, supremely annoying but with much more interesting people surrounding her to make your time worthwhile. I'm glad the author did not spend the entire book on Esther as she is the least interesting person after Alex.

I loved this book! Its setting is terrifying in how realistic it could be. I love the characters and the depths of their personalities. There were a few bits that had be worried a certain relationship would set sail and I would've absolutely hated it, but I'm so glad we didn't go down that route. We have crazy science and fighting for freedom from two angles. I don't know if there's a plan for a sequel but I would love to see more of the story, while also being totally content with it ending here.

TW: Violence, family death, police violence, injury

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

The Stranded is the story of a cruise ship that many years in the future has been made into a prison ship floating off the Coast of a war-torn and virus-torn USA. It follows two teenagers, Nik and Esther, as they and a rebel group on the ship try to free the passengers trapped on board.

I thought that this book had a lot of potential. Unfortunately, I don’t think it lived up to that potential as well as it could have.

First, three things I liked about this book.

I really liked the basic premise. It was a cool idea to have people trapped on a ship and to have to adapt to life constantly at sea on something that had once been extravagant, but wasn’t anymore.
There was a lot of action and a lot going on.
The writing itself was good and there were a lot of nice turns of phrase.

Second, three things I didn’t like about this book.

It was honestly confusing in places. I think there were parts where there wasn’t enough back story and there wasn’t enough that the reader had been told to actually understand what was going on. This includes the whole rebel plot that wasn’t actually made sense of until the very end.
The first 1/3 of the book was really, really slow and then it seemed like the rest of the book had to hurry to catch up.
The ending. It was a cliffhanger ending which left a lot of stuff unfinished and didn’t give the reader a sense of completion. It was also kind of unrealistic.

All in all this was a book with a lot of potential, but it wasn’t a book for me.

Great atmospheric read. Descriptive writing that makes you feel like you’re on the boat living the experience with the characters. You can feel the salt spray in your face and the harsh weather. Loved this dystopian read and will look for more by this author. So glad I got the chance to read an advanced copy, thank you NetGalley! Highly recommend, suspenseful page turner that draws you in, with multiple points of view and a different take on a dystopian situation for the world I hadn’t seen done before. Cool idea from a book point of view .

Welcome to the Arcadia, what was intended to be a luxury cruise, has ended up becoming home for both the ticketed as well as last minute stowaways. It’s the near distant future and the world is in a state of turmoil. Europe and the Federated States (what’s left of the United States) have been torn apart over a fast spreading virus that caused an apocalyptic world war.

For 40 years the passengers of the Arcadia have been without a real home. Stuck in limbo on a ship, just off the coast of the Federated States, they are reliant upon regular supply shipments and hope each year will be the one they can make landfall. No country wants them for fear that they carry the virus. Life on board rapidly becomes a world of haves and have-nots.

Told in alternating view points we learn about Hadley and his Coalies, a pseudo army, from the States on board to keep order. Nik’s point of view represents the small, but growing contingent of rebels who have had enough of Hadley’s martial law and are preparing to rise up and reclaim their ship. Finally, Esther, who is a bit oblivious of the tension on board. She just wants a chance at a normal life. She is one of the fortune few in a small program of students being trained as medics on the Arcadia, who have a chance to go to the Federated States for medical school.

Fast paced and full of interesting futuristic tech, The Stranded is the type of young adult dystopian fiction that will quickly gain an audience. This was a great debut novel and it set up to be the first in a series. Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Fire, and of course Sarah Daniels for the advanced copy of the book. The Stranded is out January 3, 2023. All opinions are my own.

I am conflicted on this one. It started out slowly, then grabbed me. A cruise ship stuffed with more passengers than it is designed for leaves England just before a pandemic wipes it out along with the rest of Europe. The ship sails to the Federated States (part of the former United States) where it is not allowed to land and sits rusting away for forty years. It’s now 2094 and we learn of a plan by some of the passengers to take over the ship and get it to safety. The plan is revealed slowly and the reader given a glimpse of the main characters in the rebellion so he/she knows more than the main character (Esther.) And we know that those she feels are against her are the very persons who are on her side. All exciting. Then we get down to the wire and the rebellion begins. But that’s where the story falls flat. Too ambiguous, too many inconsistencies. I felt cheated and ticked off that I’d wasted my time. I am assuming this was done purposely and a sequel is on the way but that doesn’t excuse the poor ending and I have no interest in reading any more about these characters. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an advance copy in return for an honest review.

What an action-packed novel! While rebellion against an oppressive force is not new, the tension and intertwining plot lines ensured this book cannot be put down until the end.
Nik, Ester and their allies do their best to support the rebellion cause. Stuck on a ship just outside the Federated States of America, they have never been on land. Their parents have never been on land. Decades have passed and hope seems all but lost that they will get the chance to join the Federated States. Crackdowns continues and stricter laws enacted as the security forces try to maintain control of a ship that’s headed for destruction.

The world building and multiple POVs enhanced this story as each character tries to stay alive under the crushing weight of the Federated States.

Don’t miss out on this one!

ARC kindly provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ooooh. From the moment I saw this premise I was desperate for an ARC and although it wasn't perfect I'm really glad I read it. I love a good pandemic book and this one is dramatized from the cruise ships who were stranded at the start of the pandemic - except this took it to the next level, a new society has formed on the boat after 40 years of being stranded off the coast of the USA.

The book took some risks, especially near the end, which I thought were cool for a YA novel. The characters were a bit frustrating at times, but in a very YA way. The romance was a bit annoying though.

Overall, not a perfect read but definitely worthwhile! 3 stars!