Author: Michelle Gagnon
Publisher: Soho Teen
Publishing Date: April 9, 2013
17-year-old Sophie lies on her deathbed in California, awaiting the inevitable loss of her battle with cancer…
17-year-old Declan stares down two armed thugs in a back alley in Galway, Ireland…
17-year-old Anat attempts to traverse a booby-trapped tunnel between Israel and Egypt…
All three strangers should have died at the exact same moment, thousands of miles apart. Instead, they awaken together in an abandoned hospital—only to discover that they’re not alone. Three other teens from different places on the globe are trapped with them. Somebody or something seems to be pulling the strings. With their individual clocks ticking, they must band together if they’re to have any hope of surviving.
Soon they discover that they've been trapped in a future that isn't of their making: a deadly, desolate world at once entirely familiar and utterly strange. Each teen harbors a secret, but only one holds the key that could get them home. As the truth comes to light through the eyes of Sophie, Declan, and Anat, the reader is taken on a dark and unforgettable journey into the hearts of teens who must decide what to do with a second chance at life.
Initial Reaction of Book in One Word: Interesting
17-year-old Declan stares down two armed thugs in a back alley in Galway, Ireland…
17-year-old Anat attempts to traverse a booby-trapped tunnel between Israel and Egypt…
All three strangers should have died at the exact same moment, thousands of miles apart. Instead, they awaken together in an abandoned hospital—only to discover that they’re not alone. Three other teens from different places on the globe are trapped with them. Somebody or something seems to be pulling the strings. With their individual clocks ticking, they must band together if they’re to have any hope of surviving.
Soon they discover that they've been trapped in a future that isn't of their making: a deadly, desolate world at once entirely familiar and utterly strange. Each teen harbors a secret, but only one holds the key that could get them home. As the truth comes to light through the eyes of Sophie, Declan, and Anat, the reader is taken on a dark and unforgettable journey into the hearts of teens who must decide what to do with a second chance at life.
Initial Reaction of Book in One Word: Interesting
I'm wondering if I ever read the synopsis for Strangelets before I read the book, because this book was absolutely nothing I expected. It reminded me a bit of a movie I once saw (I don't remember what it's called, and it was one of those low budget films that no one's ever heard of), and the whole thing was just...interesting. And different. And a thriller, of sorts. Really, this is the kind of book that should be made into a movie, because everything that happens would just be quite a scene on the big screen. Sure, this book had things I didn't like, but a part of me really liked it, especially because of the concept (whatever it was) and some of the characters.
Let's get what I didn't like out of the way. There were two main problems that hurt this book for me: pace and understanding. For some reason, almost the entire book just felt slow to me. I was intrigued for almost the entire book and wanted to know what the hell was going, but it almost always felt slow. As for understanding, I was confused. There are terms used and concepts described that are all scientific and for me were kind of gibberish. I'm still not sure why everything was the way it was, and that left me a little disappointed and confuddled.
Overall, the concept of Strangelets is crazy and awesome and thrilling and, well, strange. It's told from the POV of three characters--Sophie, Declan, and Anat--who were about to die, but then found themselves in some hospital ward with three other teenagers. Eventually, they discover they're in some kind of parallel universe where there's no electricity, basically no one existing, everything's covered in mold and moss and dust, and oh, there are these big monster/dinosaur things that like to eat people. So it's basically a few teenagers against the unknown world. Fun, right? Besides the pace, the story went pretty well. I predicted just about nothing (which was nice) and some very interesting things happened. (I'm trying not to mention spoilers.)
I was fond of the characters--or two of them, really: Sophie and Declan. (And mostly because they develop a little romance.) Sophie was about to die from cancer post-whatever happened, and suddenly doesn't have it anymore, but she's still weak. So Declan steps in to help her. Ah, Declan. He was a great character. He added comedy and lightened the mood, and along with his Irish accent and slang, he was really fun to read about, and probably my favorite POV. Anat wasn't a bad character; she was just so serious and not as fun to me. The other characters added to some of the twists that happened, and some surprisingly so. All in all, I think the characters--each of which brought something different to the book, whether it was skill or humor--helped make the book better.
In the end, I liked this book. It was a strange, different thriller that had nothing I expected, which was awesome. It had a great cast of characters, was readable writing-wise, and contained several elements, from fear to romance to humor. I thought there could've been a second book and it could've been dragged out because I wanted more, I wanted this idea to go more in-depth. I won't say much about the ending because of spoilers, but it was interesting, and I'd like to know more. (I want more a lot.) I look forward to reading more from Gagnon, especially if it's anything like Strangelets.
Let's get what I didn't like out of the way. There were two main problems that hurt this book for me: pace and understanding. For some reason, almost the entire book just felt slow to me. I was intrigued for almost the entire book and wanted to know what the hell was going, but it almost always felt slow. As for understanding, I was confused. There are terms used and concepts described that are all scientific and for me were kind of gibberish. I'm still not sure why everything was the way it was, and that left me a little disappointed and confuddled.
Overall, the concept of Strangelets is crazy and awesome and thrilling and, well, strange. It's told from the POV of three characters--Sophie, Declan, and Anat--who were about to die, but then found themselves in some hospital ward with three other teenagers. Eventually, they discover they're in some kind of parallel universe where there's no electricity, basically no one existing, everything's covered in mold and moss and dust, and oh, there are these big monster/dinosaur things that like to eat people. So it's basically a few teenagers against the unknown world. Fun, right? Besides the pace, the story went pretty well. I predicted just about nothing (which was nice) and some very interesting things happened. (I'm trying not to mention spoilers.)
I was fond of the characters--or two of them, really: Sophie and Declan. (And mostly because they develop a little romance.) Sophie was about to die from cancer post-whatever happened, and suddenly doesn't have it anymore, but she's still weak. So Declan steps in to help her. Ah, Declan. He was a great character. He added comedy and lightened the mood, and along with his Irish accent and slang, he was really fun to read about, and probably my favorite POV. Anat wasn't a bad character; she was just so serious and not as fun to me. The other characters added to some of the twists that happened, and some surprisingly so. All in all, I think the characters--each of which brought something different to the book, whether it was skill or humor--helped make the book better.
In the end, I liked this book. It was a strange, different thriller that had nothing I expected, which was awesome. It had a great cast of characters, was readable writing-wise, and contained several elements, from fear to romance to humor. I thought there could've been a second book and it could've been dragged out because I wanted more, I wanted this idea to go more in-depth. I won't say much about the ending because of spoilers, but it was interesting, and I'd like to know more. (I want more a lot.) I look forward to reading more from Gagnon, especially if it's anything like Strangelets.
Did I like it? Yes.
Did I love it? Not really.
Would I reread it? Maybe; I want to try to understand it better.
Would I purchase it? I might.
Would I recommend it? Possibly.
The Author
Michelle Gagnon is a former modern dancer, bartender, dog walker, model, personal trainer, and Russian supper club performer. Her bestselling adult thrillers THE TUNNELS, BONEYARD, THE GATEKEEPER, and KIDNAP & RANSOM have been published in North America, France, Denmark, Spain, Argentina, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Australia. BONEYARD was a finalist for a 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.
The Giveaway
The Author
Michelle Gagnon is a former modern dancer, bartender, dog walker, model, personal trainer, and Russian supper club performer. Her bestselling adult thrillers THE TUNNELS, BONEYARD, THE GATEKEEPER, and KIDNAP & RANSOM have been published in North America, France, Denmark, Spain, Argentina, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Australia. BONEYARD was a finalist for a 2009 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense.The Giveaway
I agree, all the way around! I also gave this one 3 stars. It was good and interesting and read like an Indie movie, but it was also really slow. This was a wonderful review and touched on some of the things I didn't end up talking about.
ReplyDeleteGood review!
ReplyDeleteI had a problem with the terms and understanding as well, I was not a fan of the beginning, I felt a bit lots and confused.
ReplyDeleteAshley @ The Quiet Concert
This does sound incredibly strange. But, if you say it was a good interesting in the end, I think I'll give it a shot.
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