Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy with school, but I caught up on my reading (a little bit). I have a lot to review now so expect some reviews!

Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon

4.5 stars

Sophie is lying in a hospital bed in California. She knows she’s going to die, but instead of being scared she’s embracing it. Declan is a typical bad boy. The one time he decides to do something without thieving to buy something for his girlfriend he ends up in a situation where he’s gunned down in an alley in Ireland. Anat is trying to escape her life and be with the man she loves. Doing so involves her crossing through a booby-trapped tunnel between Israel and Egypt. These three strangers should’ve died at the same time, a thousand miles apart, and the same age of 17. But they didn’t. They awaken in an abandoned hospital and discover they aren’t alone. Three other teens are with them and they are from different countries. As they band together to find away to escape they encounter things that aren’t from this planet and a desolate Long Island. One teen harbors a secret that could get them home, but what will they risk to be home again? Wow… this book is so different. It’s absolutely thrilling. I was completely engrossed in this book and it’s just so freaking good. This book has a lot of everything. There’s a lot of science talk and concepts that tie in to the big secret of what’s going on, but it was really intriguing. I’m terrible at science and I hate learning about, but I actually enjoyed the science that Gagnon introduced. I would talk about more things involved that make this book so awesome and unique, but it would ruin the experience of reading. Trust me this is one experience that you don’t want to miss.


The main female characters are Sophie and Anat. I really liked Sophie. She was real and probably the easiest for me to connect to. Sophie was interesting, but I feel like we didn’t really get to know her. We didn’t know her hobbies or friends before she was sick and I feel like it’s kind of a key trait in writing a book with a cancer patient. A person is always different before they are sick and we would get slight glimpses of it, but they were small. Anat definitely knows how to kick ass and I was very intimidated by her character even though I wasn’t even in the book. It’s refreshing to see a heroine take the lead in a journey, but Anat is too hard and expects too much out of people. She realizes that Sophie is recovering and doesn’t have much strength or have military background but she still treats her as though she should be in tip-top-shape. I don’t think that’s a very fair judgment. I also found it annoying how she always seemed to want to hit somebody for moving too slow. I liked her more as the book went on, but she was really hard for me to like at first.The main female characters are Sophie and Anat. I really liked Sophie. She was real and probably the easiest for me to connect to. Sophie was interesting, but I feel like we didn’t really get to know her. We didn’t know her hobbies or friends before she was sick and I feel like it’s kind of a key trait in writing a book with a cancer patient. A person is always different before they are sick and we would get slight glimpses of it, but they were small. Anat definitely knows how to kick ass and I was very intimidated by her character even though I wasn’t even in the book. It’s refreshing to see a heroine take the lead in a journey, but Anat is too hard and expects too much out of people. She realizes that Sophie is recovering and doesn’t have much strength or have military background but she still treats her as though she should be in tip-top-shape. I don’t think that’s a very fair judgment. I also found it annoying how she always seemed to want to hit somebody for moving too slow. I liked her more as the book went on, but she was really hard for me to like at first.

Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: Sophie-8.5 Anat-8

The main male character is Declan. Declan isn’t a bad character. In fact, he’s a pretty interesting one. I don’t get why he needed to have such a ‘bad boy’ stereotype. I like, OK love, bad boys but that doesn’t mean I need one in every story. Declan being stereotyped as a bad boy didn’t make me like him any more as I would’ve thought. He wasn’t bad character in the least. He had good qualities and I enjoyed his POV. I’ve been noticing that YA is starting to have a lot more male POV or maybe it’s just the books I’m reading. I like having a male POV along with female ones. It makes the story more interesting. I think I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed the story if it was just one POV. Why I’m talking about POVs when I should be talking about Declan is something I have no answer for. I need to get back on task. Declan isn’t a remarkable character, at least not for me. He was pretty stereotypical and not even in the way that I would find myself loving. *cough* Damon Black *cough cough*I guess what I’m trying to say is Declan is a pretty normal guy that’s only memorable traits are getting himself into trouble, picking locks, and fighting his feelings for Sophie. Things I did really like about him are his intelligence and caring for Sophie. I guess getting into trouble a lot made him have a quick mind. He also helped Sophie a lot. There is a lot of walking in this book. I mean a lot and Sophie is recovery from cancer and he helps her walk. That’s a pretty admirable trait.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 8

The Villain- This is something I really liked. I won’t spoil anything except that you will be surprised where this book goes. 

Villain Scale: 8.5

The three other members of there are Nico, Zane and Yosh. Nico isn’t an incredibly likable character. For a while I couldn’t stand him, but he eventually grows on you. Zane was nice enough. Yosh is hard to trust because something always seemed off about her. I have spoilers in this section, but my spoiler tags aren't working on my blog and I'm not sure how to do the highlighter spoiler. So if you want to see spoilers you can go here.


Character Scale: 9

This book was really cool (probably not the best choice of words, but I think of anything else). I never felt bored reading Strangelets. I was sucked into the journey, even with all the walking or running. This book blew my mind. I wasn’t expecting anything that I was thrown (well a few basic things, but not the paranormal twists). This book is full of surprises and I don’t think it’s one that should be missed.


Cover Thoughts: I really like the cover. I don’t love it, but it has a creepy feel. Kind of similar to the book and it also fits the book. So yay! Plus the cover is what drew me in and made me curious.

A copy was provided by Netgalley and Soho Press in exchange for an honest review.