Review: The Stranded by Sarah Daniels

The Stranded by Sarah Daniels
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley.  Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for the opportunity to review this book.  As always all opinions expressed are my own.

This was a solid debut in a new dystopian YA series.  I don't think I've ever read a book that takes place on a cruise ship that wasn't a luxurious vacation setting.  The description of Snowpiercer meets Hunger Games caught my attention immediately, as I loved The Hunger Games, and while I've only watched a few episodes of Snowpiercer I find it compelling.  The author does a good job laying out the dystopian world and the dire circumstances that the inhabitants of the Arcadia find themselves in.  Similar to the previously mentioned titles, something bad happened and refugees have found themselves surviving on the Arcadia, some having more privilege and opportunity than others, and everyone is doing their best to make it to the next day.  

This is told from 3 POVs, Ester who is training to be a medic and hoping to attend medical school on dry land.  The top trainees in her class will be sent to school onshore to continue their training as part of the agreement they've made with the Federated States.  Ester is loyal to a fault and trusts everyone to do what they are supposed to and not break the rules.  Nik, is part of the rebellion, he's tied to Ester but she doesn't know it yet.  Then we have Hyland, the ship's head of security and a ranking officer of the Federated States.  He has a personal vendetta against the residents of Arcadia and will do anything to achieve his goals.

This has a solid plot.  I did find the pacing a bit too slow for my tastes, but it does pick up towards the end as things start to happen.  I feel like this would have been better with 2 POVs vs 3, I don't feel like Hadley's POV offered us anything that we didn't learn in conversation with the other characters.  I do feel as if there was a bit of repetition of information that caused the pace to drag here and there, but by the end I was completely invested in the rebellion and what comes next.  I do think the character development lacked a bit.  I'm hoping we get to see more development of the characters and players in the next installment.  

This is a bit on the dark side, but it is dystopian so it is to be expected.  There is violence and mention of blood thought it isn't overly graphic.  I think it would be great for an older teenage audience, I'd let my 14 year old read it.

I'm looking forward to seeing where Ester and Nik and story takes us in the next installment.  I think this story and the author have a  ton of potential and I'm looking forward to what they have instore for us next.

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