While this is listed as a YA title it will likely appeal to adults that enjoyed Divergent and Hunger Games. It took a while for me to enjoy this as it started slow trying to understand the different groups of people. The ending was rather abrupt and it seems like there should be more to tell in this story. I enjoyed the two sisters stories.

I was honestly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this book! These types of dystopian novels can be pretty hit or miss, but I was pulled into the story almost immediately.

For a debut novel, I was impressed with the strength of the writing and the distinct voice that came through for each of the three POV characters; I really enjoyed that each character had a different view of the Federated States/rebellion, and I loved seeing the antagonist's (Hadley) POV as well.

My only complaint with this book is that I think the beginning was more drawn out than it needed to be. I would say the last 30% of the book was definitely the strongest part, and I wish we would've gotten to that sooner, rather than spending so much time establishing who our players were and what was going on.

That being said, the worldbuilding was very well done; I was enraptured with every new piece of information we got about the past. There was no info-dumping; everything was revealed with a purpose, which I appreciated.

In all, I was pleasantly surprised with this book, and I will be keeping an eye out for the sequel to see how this story wraps up!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for this novel.

I love a good dystopia, I have read them for years. The concept of this ne and the closed proximity setting on the ship drew me in. Loved the POVs and the storyline.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m almost caught up on my backlog of ARCs and have been looking forward to this one! It did not disappoint! I really found the whole plot intriguing, especially in our post pandemic world, about a whole city stranded for 40+ years on a cruise ship and denied entry into the US when a virus broke out. Even though not a single passenger on the ship was affected, they were left having to survive on the boat and being heavily monitored and controlled by the Federated States. I really enjoyed this dystopian tale and all the characters are well developed! I hope the author plans to make this a series with more books to follow, as I’ll definitely be reading and recommending them!

I love a good dystopian/post-apocalyptic story, and this one didn't disappoint. The premise of being stuck/quarantined on a ship and never having set foot on land was very unique in this type of story. It made for some interesting story-telling opportunities. Definitely recommend for a great YA dystopian twist!

Oo definitely a fantastic suspense novel! If you want to be guessing the whole way through, read this book! I really liked the writing style and was impressed with how the characters seem to come alive on the page.

This book had such an interesting premise! Quite a different dystopian/post-apocalyptic take. It was an enjoyable read for the most part. Some of it dragged a bit, but overall the plot was strong enough to carry it. I would read more from this author.

The Arcadia. Once a luxurious cruise ship, now it is a refugee camp after a devastating virus. After forty years, the residents of the Arcadia have developed a world of their own. Some are loyal citizens, like Esther, determined to earn the chance of life on land. Others, like Nik, are rebels planning to reveal the truth. When this pair collides, both of their worlds are changed forever.
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This one left me conflicted. On the one hand, I could see a scenario like this playing out. Fear makes people do crazy things. So that part of the story was interesting. However, this was more violent than I was expecting. Many people are killed through the story. I did not need to see the villain breaking someone’s fingers, and I almost stopped reading at that point.

The story was told between three people: Esther, Nik, and the villain, Hadley. I don’t think the point of view of Hadley was necessary and the story would have been stronger. I would have liked to see more growth in the main characters.

I’m not entirely sure I would continue the story into the next book. This is definitely not for the faint of heart. I received a free copy via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.

Really, really cool premise for a dystopian YA novel. I haven’t come across moving part of the population onto a cruise ship before.

The rest of the book fell a little flat for me, though. The characters felt very typically YA and didn’t stand out.

2.5 stars

This was… fine… a bit boring and underwhelming, I found myself skimming large parts of the book. It had a cool premise, but didn’t scratch the itch I was hoping it would. The character development or nuance didn’t really exist, and Hadley read more like a cartoon villain than a real person. It reads a bit young, despite the dark content, which is fine, as older tweens and young teens may enjoy it a lot more than I did, or perhaps with a slightly less critical eye.

This book shows another view of how a virus can attack our Earth. This book has an interesting concept in living on a cruise ship (without going anywhere) and the States not knowing all that is going on. I loved the underbelly of the ship and all the different characters that we got to know. I wish we could have learned more about this virus that had infected so many years ago and why it took so long for this world to 'wake up'.
The alternating view points made the book read faster than if we only had one view for the entire story. I can't wait to see where the rebellion heads next!

Stranded is a new take on post-apocalyptic fiction. Instead of being stuck o an island, bare lands, or wild forest, the characters are trapped on an old cruise ship. Due to a virus, the ship was not allowed the land in Europe for quarantine reasons. But the surprise? It's been decades since the boat left Europe and there are people that were born on the ship and never seen land. They show no signs of virus but no hope of being allowed on land.
Sarah Daniels uses several twists to tighten an already taunt story that is life and death to the characters. The idea that safety is just yards away but denied echoes modern-day situations. Teh Stranded is a unique and great start to a new series.

The Stranded reminded me so much of the cancelled TV show The 100! A luxurious cruise ship is now a refugee camp after the world is fractured by an apocalyptic war. Two people true to their character-a rebel and a loyal citizen are thrown in the same situation to save the lives of everyone on the ship. The story is more concentrated on the lives of people rather than the reason for their current status, which I liked and isn’t something that is often seen in dystopian / post-apocalyptic fiction. Although categorised as YA, I feel adults will enjoy this more. The characterisation and writing is rich and top notch!!

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire for the gifted arc!

This was a really fascinating idea and while I mostly enjoyed the book it felt a little too drawn out. A few parts were too slow and I ended up skimming them. I wish there had been more world building to explain how life on the ship actually worked. I had a lot of questions that went unanswered. The book ended on a cliffhanger but I'm not sure that I cared enough to read the sequel.

I could not get into this book. The writing and overall story was meh for me. Dnf. I had hear a lot of hype around this book so that may have made my expectations higher than what they should have been

The Stranded
by Sarah Daniels
Pub Date: 03 Jan 2023
Interesting take on the apocalyptic genre. In this dystopian society, those who were on a cruise ship when an infection shut down the world had to stay on the ship (with a few thousand extras that jumped on for safety as it departed). The government sends them supplies but only just arely and over the years the ship has become its own terrifying world with a military, crime bosses, and those working their way to be able to leave the ship if they are deemed "worthy" by the government, something that is becoming harder and harder to do.
The story follows rule-follower and land hopeful Ester who studies hard at being a medic to get off this God forsaken ship. Her knowledge is exactly what the rebels need to save one of their top rebels from a gun wound. This puts her and her family's lives in danger and changes her future forever.
#thestranded #sarahdaniels #netgalley

The Stranded wasn't bad but it's not super engaging. I thought the concept was fascinating and saw some reviews comparing it to the Hunger Games with the dystopian theme but unfortunately I couldn't care about the characters or where the story was going. Maybe I'll pick it up again in the future. DNF'd at 40%

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Sixteen-year-old Esther is in medical school on the Arcadia, a cruise ship quarantined off the shore of the Federated States for 40 years after a virus decimated Europe. Becoming a medic is ship-born Esther's way to dry land. When an illegal leaflet with forbidden information is dropped in Esther's vicinity, a hidden side of her sister May comes to light and sets in motion events that drastically change Esther's trajectory.

The world-building in this novel is exquisite! I felt like I was on the ship and could picture every detail of Esther's surroundings. The atmosphere of ever-present danger kept the tension strong, and the pacing was spot on. The narration alternated among the main characters and helped to paint a complete picture while building suspense with the anticipation of how other characters would react to new information.

This one is a winner if you love YA dystopian novels. In terms of quality of writing, creativity, and plot, I would place it in the same circle as The Hunger Games and The Enemy, and I can't wait to read the second book in this duology.

The Stranded is a dystopian novel set in 2094 after a world war has destroyed much of Europe. To get away from the plague that was sent in contaminated missles, people were sent to quarantine on cruise ships docked just off land of the Federated States. To get off the ships, kids must train as medics and soldiers for the Federated States. Otherwise, generations live and die on the ships. As with any city, neighborhoods pop up, complete with gangs, theft, bribes, and government corruption. The main story follows sisters Esther and May. Esther is top of her medic training class. Her life is turned upside down when she is kidnapped one night to tend to a boy that was shot. May is part of an uprising rebellion group that is planning to hopefully get people off the ship. Although the sisters don’t know about each other’s plans, their lives are about to be changed forever.

Although I was hesitant at first to read this books because of some bad reviews, I ended up being more invested in the characters than I thought. It is a bit long, but the story development is good and the characters are well developed. I ended up liking (or hating) characters and want to read the next book to find out what happens to them. If you like dystopian novels, this is a great story. And a bit different since it is set on a ship.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of The Stranded! This was the first book I read on my tropical Mexican vacation back at the beginning of January, and man, it was the perfect read by the pool!
The Stranded 4/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads: A gripping, near-future thriller - The Hunger Games meets Station Eleven, for fans of pacey, disruptive TV, such as the Noughts and Crosses adaptation
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.
Esther is a loyal citizen, working flat-out to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land. Ben 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 really liked the premise of The Stranded and I liked Nik and Esther as characters. Hadley was not my favorite, but somehow his over the top evil-ness seemed to work. The Arcadia is such a cool ship- every time I see a cruise ship, I think about how it really is like a little city, so it was so interesting to see how that played out over 40 years and evolved. I wish we had seen more of the actual virus, because it seemed to be this looming thing in the background that we didn’t have too much information about, but that’s ok because we got so many other things happening- at times it was almost too much, but I love action, so I was always super engaged and ready to see what happened next! Overall, I really enjoyed The Stranded and I can’t wait to see what comes next! Pick this book up today.

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