Kara's Book Cravings: The Stranded

 

I got several gift cards for Mother's Day, and of course I chose to spend them at Barnes & Noble. I mean, duh, right?? So, my daughter and I made the drive to the closest one to us -- which is 45 minutes away -- and we spent a while wandering around. 

I typically go straight for the young adult section first, and while there, I stumbled upon THE STRANDED by Sarah Daniels. 

This is another YA thriller / dystopian / romance that takes place on a cruise ship. I've been in a mood lately for settings that are contained like this or for plots that revolve around the characters being somehow trapped. Something about it just really ramps up the stakes, and I like that. 

Anyway, a virus hit the world, and refugees from Europe came to the US on a cruise ship. Due to fear of infection, all the passengers have been stuck on this ship for decades! Some people have even been born on the ship. Due to age and weather, the ship is deteriorating badly, and life isn't all that great. 

Cue the rebellion and the plot to get people off the ship and onto land. There's a lot of political stuff going on, which is to be expected for this type of plot, but it's not overbearing to the point that it makes the story unenjoyable. I like all the characters, though they're not always nice to one another.

The amount of betrayal and deception and morally gray characters is both astounding and impressive. I really didn't think I could be any more surprised, but each chapter left me with my jaw on the ground. There is a character death that sucked big time, and I didn't see it coming. 

The ending is a tad predictable, but what I didn't expect was to get to the last page and find out this is just the first book. Now I have to wait a year or so until the second book drops. I'm not a very patient person when it comes to stuff like this. Haha. I will say, though, that the very last line in this book is chilling!