What do you think?
Rate this book
Strays
THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS
Lindsey Cane is an outcast, always has been. Even her own parents didn't want her. But after a year on her own, she's finally ready to put her hated hometown behind her for good and track down her wayward mother. She has questions that need answering. But Lindsey isn't the only one with mysteries in her past and when Tyler Stratton, a former classmate who has been gracing milk cartons and missing posters for the past year shows up begging for her help, she does what he asks. She keeps him hidden.
Bruised, beaten and covered in strange swirling tattoos that weren't there before he went missing, Tyler is an enigma and a threat to Lindsey's carefully built facade of normalcy that has kept her safe. But Tyler has secrets of his own, and there are people looking for him. Dangerous people.
Now Lindsey is trapped. Captured and strapped to a gurney. Frog-marched down sterile white hallways. Locked in a ten-by-ten glass cell. Forced to watch, helpless, as one by one the other prisoners are dragged off for testing. Most come back broken.
Some don’t come back at all.
Desperate and scared, Lindsey plots her escape. But there are guards with guns and mysterious men in white lab-coats standing in her way.
And her fellow prisoners are not what they seem.
Lindsey Cane is an outcast, always has been. Even her own parents didn't want her. But after a year on her own, she's finally ready to put her hated hometown behind her for good and track down her wayward mother. She has questions that need answering. But Lindsey isn't the only one with mysteries in her past and when Tyler Stratton, a former classmate who has been gracing milk cartons and missing posters for the past year shows up begging for her help, she does what he asks. She keeps him hidden.
Bruised, beaten and covered in strange swirling tattoos that weren't there before he went missing, Tyler is an enigma and a threat to Lindsey's carefully built facade of normalcy that has kept her safe. But Tyler has secrets of his own, and there are people looking for him. Dangerous people.
Now Lindsey is trapped. Captured and strapped to a gurney. Frog-marched down sterile white hallways. Locked in a ten-by-ten glass cell. Forced to watch, helpless, as one by one the other prisoners are dragged off for testing. Most come back broken.
Some don’t come back at all.
Desperate and scared, Lindsey plots her escape. But there are guards with guns and mysterious men in white lab-coats standing in her way.
And her fellow prisoners are not what they seem.
163 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 17, 2017
1 person is currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Sadie Munroe
2 books28 followersSadie Munroe has been dreaming up stories for as long as she can remember. She is often found staring off into space, brainstorming her next plot, even when she hasn't quite finished the one she's currently working on.
It's a problem.
She lives in Ontario Canada with her family and her dog Trips, as well as what some people would consider far too many books (they're wrong).
ALL IT TAKES is her first novel.
It's a problem.
She lives in Ontario Canada with her family and her dog Trips, as well as what some people would consider far too many books (they're wrong).
ALL IT TAKES is her first novel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 30, 2017
Alrighty. So this didn't end up quite as bad as I thought it would up until 70%.
God, was I annoyed. By the heroine, the plot holes and logic errors, and by the time leaps. Oh, how I loathed those time leaps, the constant back and forth between the past and the present. Every time there was finally something happening... BAM! - time leap, different setting.
And while they didn't cease later on, about three quarters though the book I finally started enjoying it. How some of the loose ends started coming together, how Lindsey's reasoning started making sense, and how the action and pace finally picked up speed.
The biggest surprise, though, is that I can totally see myself reading the sequel because, despite my rather low overall rating, thanks to that cliffy, I'm hooked.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 11, 2018
Check out more reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...
Lindsey is on her own in the tiny factory town she grew up in. Abandoned by her parents she's just trying to make graduation so she can ditch the bad memories. When a boy who was kind to her once and disappeared seeks out her help she finds herself compelled to do everything she can for him. Following the trail of his creepy tattoos, Lindsey relies on Johnny, her neighbor who she's been pushing away. Together they learn of a connection to the medical testing center that saved the town.
I didn't know what to think going into this book, I like tattoos, that's why I read it. I wasn't expecting much. I was a little thrown when the book started with a POV labeled 'Now' that alternated with 'Then.' This continues through the book and while a sort of story gimmick became the motivating force that compelled you to keep reading. It was a touch annoying at first but became quite intriguing the more I read and at the end was stunningly well used. I don't suggest copying this technique for you own stories but it never disappointed in the course of this story.
Lindsey is a strong girl with a rough life who is just putting one foot in front of the other. She's not an especially different character but I felt she occupied her space well. I believed that she was compelled to help Tyler and that she felt staying away from Johnny was a good thing. The way the POVs open up you go along with how things appear to be and fill in the blanks yourself. This was well done as the reader is the one misleading the reader in a way that helps keep us moving forward into the unfolding story. I never thought she was stupid (which I think a lot sometimes...) and I really appreciated that in this instance where the 'Then' part of the story could have gotten way over the top and cheesy fast.
I know it doesn't sound like I'm saying much... the plot was really strong and the writing supported the story well. To know about elements of the story would ruin the techniques used to keep the reader on the edge of your seat. Unlike Alive I felt the technique was success in delivering the story which is a sort of teen drama inter-cut with a sci-fi experiment... This quote from the book may help:
"Even the prisoners themselves didn’t make sense. The people in the cell block were nothing alike, young, old and everywhere in between, and pretty much every imaginable race or mixture. Labcoat said they were sick, but with what? None of them looked ill at all. At least, not in any way Lindsey could tell. It wasn’t like they all had the sniffles or something. None of them had matched in the least. Except for their tattoos they had nothing in common, and the tattoos had come from this place, so that wasn’t it. So if they weren’t sick, then what could they be there for? None of this makes any sense. Goddamn it."
Intriguing, right? This book isn't trying to be an epic adventure, but the twisty little book it is really stood out to me. There's definitely more stories to be found with Lindsey, Tyler, Harrison, Artie, Davis and B at the center. (All great characters that I look forward to learning more about - like Harrison and Davis' backstory!) This is a great first installment of their journey to find a family in each other.
This is really all Lindsey's story though and we see that play out all the way to the end. The premise sounded neat and delivered. The story was suspenseful and delivered.
BOTTOM LINE: Teen drama mixed with a radical sci-fi experiment in the best way!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
______________________
You can find this review and many others on my book blog @ Perspective of a Writer. See my special perspective at the bottom of my reviews under the typewriter...
January 20, 2017
Lindsey awakens in an unfamiliar place, strapped to an unyielding surface. She learns that she is in a research hospital and she is now an unwilling patient. She's locked in a cell and watches, day after day, as the other "patients" are taken away and brought back. She is pretty much left alone, except for the one time she was removed from her cell to be tattooed. She knows her friend Tyler was held in her cell once, but she doesn't know where he is now or what happened to him. She only knows she must escape.
Told in third-person narrative and jumping in time from Now to Then and even to Before, the story is quick-paced and full of tension. It is a quick read and YA readers will find it hard to put down.
Told in third-person narrative and jumping in time from Now to Then and even to Before, the story is quick-paced and full of tension. It is a quick read and YA readers will find it hard to put down.
February 19, 2017
*This book was received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
This was a really intriguing book. The format of the book, which included flashbacks, added to the mystery, causing the full picture to unfold slowly before the reader's eye's. The plot twists were quite shocking and unexpected which added to the appeal of the book; it was like a breath of fresh air when compared to a lot of the stale tropes used. My main concern with the book were some of the character's reactions to shocking events such as death, and the length of the book which was far too short. The author plans on writing a trilogy however I feel like this is more of a novella at 163 pages and the trilogy could have just been condensed into one epic book.
Overall, this was an interesting and intriguing read that left many questions unanswered and me wanting more.
This was a really intriguing book. The format of the book, which included flashbacks, added to the mystery, causing the full picture to unfold slowly before the reader's eye's. The plot twists were quite shocking and unexpected which added to the appeal of the book; it was like a breath of fresh air when compared to a lot of the stale tropes used. My main concern with the book were some of the character's reactions to shocking events such as death, and the length of the book which was far too short. The author plans on writing a trilogy however I feel like this is more of a novella at 163 pages and the trilogy could have just been condensed into one epic book.
Overall, this was an interesting and intriguing read that left many questions unanswered and me wanting more.
July 17, 2017
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.
2,5 stars
This book should have been longer. And I don't mean that in a This-book-is-so-good-I-need-more kind of way, I mean it in a There-is-important-stuff-missing kind of way.
I really liked the idea of the book and how it was structured, with the Now and Then chapters, they made the book very intriguing. Those chapters kept me reading because I had to know what happens next. The beginning of the book drags a bit but I still liked the pace of the story and how the plot progresses.
And that's the problem. There's just plot. No character development or character growth. I mean, what do I know about Lindsey? Her parents hate her, the town hates her, Johnny likes her... That's it. I don't really know anything about our main protagonist. To be hated by everybody but one is no character trait. I don't know what makes Lindsey Lindsey. The same goes for everybody else. Let's take Johnny. He's, apparently, a womanizer but in his heart he likes Lindsey very much... Why? I don't see it. What's so special about Lindsey? Absolutely nothing, she's bland just as he is.
I don't know if I want to read the next book. Plotwise yes, I'd be interested but if there's still no character development then why bother? I've got plenty other books to read.
2,5 stars
This book should have been longer. And I don't mean that in a This-book-is-so-good-I-need-more kind of way, I mean it in a There-is-important-stuff-missing kind of way.
I really liked the idea of the book and how it was structured, with the Now and Then chapters, they made the book very intriguing. Those chapters kept me reading because I had to know what happens next. The beginning of the book drags a bit but I still liked the pace of the story and how the plot progresses.
And that's the problem. There's just plot. No character development or character growth. I mean, what do I know about Lindsey? Her parents hate her, the town hates her, Johnny likes her... That's it. I don't really know anything about our main protagonist. To be hated by everybody but one is no character trait. I don't know what makes Lindsey Lindsey. The same goes for everybody else. Let's take Johnny. He's, apparently, a womanizer but in his heart he likes Lindsey very much... Why? I don't see it. What's so special about Lindsey? Absolutely nothing, she's bland just as he is.
I don't know if I want to read the next book. Plotwise yes, I'd be interested but if there's still no character development then why bother? I've got plenty other books to read.
December 27, 2018
I was so confused with this one up until the last 4 chapters. Lindsey the main character is on her own after her mother leaves, and her father vanishes. She works and goes to school all in hopes to graduate and leave town to find her mother. Pretty much each chapter switches from Then and Now, and you get bits and pieces of the story. Johnny, Lindsey's neighbor is pretty present in the now, and you can tell he has a thing for her, but all she wants is to leave town and she feels that being with him would cause her to be stuck.
Then Lindsey ends up in some sort of facility with others and you slowly learn what sort of facility it is. The ending left off on a major cliff hanger and I really need the next book to hurry up and come out so I know what happens next to the ragtag group who escaped.
Then Lindsey ends up in some sort of facility with others and you slowly learn what sort of facility it is. The ending left off on a major cliff hanger and I really need the next book to hurry up and come out so I know what happens next to the ragtag group who escaped.
February 12, 2017
Lindsey is a teen living on her own since her father left her one night. Her mother had left her before leaving her a journal and a note. She is doing her best to survive on her own as she wants to graduate from high school and leave this town. Lindsey knows she is an outcast. When she comes home one night, a disappeared classmate surprises her and asks for help. Tyler had done a favor that she will never forget and agrees to help him. What was the favor he did? Johnny is a neighbor in her apartment building. He likes Lindsey -- they even went out on a date once. When Tyler explodes in her apartment, Lindsey is shooked. Johnny takes her to his apartment to take care of her. When she goes back to her apartment to check on Tyler, he is gone. Suddenly, she finds herself strapped to a gurney going down a hall with glass cells. She is deposited in one. She doesn't know why or where she is. They made it so the prisoners can't talk to each other very easily--only to the ones near them and only by yelling. Because they are watched continually be cameras, talk is not something the other prisoners want to do. They managed to escape. How? They are on the run as they don't want to caught. Tyler appears and goes with them from seedy motel to another hoping not to be found. Will they have to be on the run forever?
The novel is written in alternate times. The times are "Now" the present time and "Then" what happen in the past. I thought this added to the story though at times I didn't want to leave one of the times to go to another. I did find myself in suspense as to find out what was going to happen next and wanting to know the mystery of what was happening. It has me hooked. I want to read the next book in this trilogy now! The writing is excellent. Do read it as it will surprise you with what happens!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
The novel is written in alternate times. The times are "Now" the present time and "Then" what happen in the past. I thought this added to the story though at times I didn't want to leave one of the times to go to another. I did find myself in suspense as to find out what was going to happen next and wanting to know the mystery of what was happening. It has me hooked. I want to read the next book in this trilogy now! The writing is excellent. Do read it as it will surprise you with what happens!
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book free from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I was not obliged to write a favorable review, or even any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
February 15, 2017
Dark and engaging, Strays takes on a world of mystery and danger and throws the readers right into the middle of it. Lindsay has never had an easy life, from her mother abandoning her to having to work all night and go to school all day just to simply survive, but when a missing boy shows up unexpectedly at her apartment things get even harder. Trying to solve the mystery of what happened to him, she will get pulled into a world of mystery and extreme danger.
I found the story telling of this novel to be mildly agitating but I could also see the merits to telling the story in this manner. The novel jumps chapter by chapter from the past to the present, leaving for some disconnected story telling, but allowing for some interesting 'ahha!' moments for the readers. The mystery in the novel was very well done, and it was hard to predict the plot at any point. I found that aspect of the novel made it very hard to put down. Character wise, it had some pretty good character development for Lindsay and one of the male leads, but everybody else was left fairly underdeveloped. There is not much I can say without spoiling anything in the story, but I can definitely say that I did not predict the ending of the novel, I was genuinely surprised by the turn it took in the finally. All in all, I enjoyed Strays and give it the rating of FOUR AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE!!!
Want more of me? Go to: http://thenotsopubliclibrary.blogspot.ca
February 7, 2017
This was my first book from Netgalley, so I was pretty excited to read this. After reading like a dozen of romance novels I was definitely looking forward to read a book from a different genre, then description of this book caught my eye and I requested it. And I am quite happy that I did.
The narrative of the novel shifts between Then and Now, and that is a different kind of narrative giving the fact that most of the novels that I have read, are generally separated into point of views of two different people. So this was a nice plus point for me. This kind of narrative definitely helped to build up suspense, because some facts were given through Now and then the narrative shifts to Then
The first part of the novel very beautifully describes the emotions of Lindsey, who has always been considered a outcast, who no one loves in this town because they believe that her mother betrayed her father, the golden child of the town. The pain of living a life without her parents, the fact that she can't even live with the only man who made her feel alive, was expressed really well. The first part was quite emotionally, but not overly so.
"She’d been messed up back then. There’d been something wrong with her. It was why her mother had left and why her father had hated her. It was the reason why he was gone."
Right from the beginning of the novel the suspense is well created and the want to know more was build up. But I felt that the last 80 or so pages were the most riveting and engaging part of the novel, because I was not just able to keep down the book. Last part had some really unpredictable and thrilling twist. Last part definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.
"Lindsey found herself panting, her heart a jackrabbit in her chest."
The end disappointed me a bit because there were quite a few unanswered questions. Mostly I made assumptions to answer these unanswered questions. But there was no way of knowing if these assumptions were correct or not. So that kind of annoyed me a bit because, I was quite enjoying the novel and then suddenly an abrupt ending. But like I said that if you read this novel you would be able to make plausible assumptions. So the end might not feel bad.
Overall I would say that I quite liked this novel, it was thrilling and engaging, and unpredictable. So I definitely recommend it.
The narrative of the novel shifts between Then and Now, and that is a different kind of narrative giving the fact that most of the novels that I have read, are generally separated into point of views of two different people. So this was a nice plus point for me. This kind of narrative definitely helped to build up suspense, because some facts were given through Now and then the narrative shifts to Then
The first part of the novel very beautifully describes the emotions of Lindsey, who has always been considered a outcast, who no one loves in this town because they believe that her mother betrayed her father, the golden child of the town. The pain of living a life without her parents, the fact that she can't even live with the only man who made her feel alive, was expressed really well. The first part was quite emotionally, but not overly so.
"She’d been messed up back then. There’d been something wrong with her. It was why her mother had left and why her father had hated her. It was the reason why he was gone."
Right from the beginning of the novel the suspense is well created and the want to know more was build up. But I felt that the last 80 or so pages were the most riveting and engaging part of the novel, because I was not just able to keep down the book. Last part had some really unpredictable and thrilling twist. Last part definitely kept me on the edge of my seat.
"Lindsey found herself panting, her heart a jackrabbit in her chest."
The end disappointed me a bit because there were quite a few unanswered questions. Mostly I made assumptions to answer these unanswered questions. But there was no way of knowing if these assumptions were correct or not. So that kind of annoyed me a bit because, I was quite enjoying the novel and then suddenly an abrupt ending. But like I said that if you read this novel you would be able to make plausible assumptions. So the end might not feel bad.
Overall I would say that I quite liked this novel, it was thrilling and engaging, and unpredictable. So I definitely recommend it.
February 7, 2017
Lindsey thought that she has seen all the spitefulness of the people in her town. It's one thing to know that you're an outcast, it's another to have everyone remind you every single day. Until Tyler, the new guy, talked to her. And then he disappeared. And this is all her fault.
So, when Tyler appeared behind her building, she made a point to help him. She owed him that. And when he disappeared again, she wanted to be the one who finds him, to help him.
This book is an easy and fast read. It is well written, and Lindsey's story is told between the past (then) and the present (now). It builds the suspense, and the mystery of where Lindsey is held.
If you like mystery, suspense and fantasy, this book is for you!
So, when Tyler appeared behind her building, she made a point to help him. She owed him that. And when he disappeared again, she wanted to be the one who finds him, to help him.
This book is an easy and fast read. It is well written, and Lindsey's story is told between the past (then) and the present (now). It builds the suspense, and the mystery of where Lindsey is held.
If you like mystery, suspense and fantasy, this book is for you!
July 1, 2017
I'm not usually one for mysteries. They're normally long, drawn out, tense affairs with a predictable unravelling towards the end.
It is not so in this book.
Hoo boy, this was righteously entertaining and I could not wait for each page to unveil its secrets! I can't believe I've got to wait for the next one, it's not often I say, "wow, I can't wait to find out what happens next!".
I'm not a person who generally does the first book in a series before a second is out, and this is one of the reasons why. Give me more!!
Thanks to Netgalley for the read.
It is not so in this book.
Hoo boy, this was righteously entertaining and I could not wait for each page to unveil its secrets! I can't believe I've got to wait for the next one, it's not often I say, "wow, I can't wait to find out what happens next!".
I'm not a person who generally does the first book in a series before a second is out, and this is one of the reasons why. Give me more!!
Thanks to Netgalley for the read.
February 3, 2017
This book had a good premise and lots of potential with interesting characters. However, the real action started just as the book was ending so it felt that the book ended prematurely; almost like I had been reading a preface before the actual book. I suspect the next book with be a good read just wish the first one had been longer.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews