[Blog Tour: Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon. Review, Dream Cast and Giveaway]

I'm excited to be sharing my review as well as my dream cast for the new book Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon!  The tour is hosted by Shane over at Itching For Books Tours!  Let's get to the good stuff shall we?!

"Strangelets"
Author: Michelle Gagnon
Pages: ?
Genre: YA, Paranormal, Sci Fi, Romance
Date Published: April 9th, 2013
Publisher: Soho Teen
Format Read: eARC provided by author in return for an honest review

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Summary:

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.
-Goodreads
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My Thoughts:

Strangelets is a book that you can't really pin point.  It's a ball of random moments and things collected and pulled through a wormhole.  It's a little bit of romance, a lot of sci fi mythology, a ton of mystery and even some touches of horror.  It's a book that will keep you on your toes and book that got better the deeper you got into it!

Sure it started out with a really cool premise and some extremely strong characters, but the pacing was a little slow in the beginning.  Though I did love all three of our main character's near death experiences.  Near death by cancer, gun and bomb.  It sounds exciting, doesn't it?  I'm not saying that it wasn't, but like I said there was just something about the pace in the beginning that didn't click with me.  Even if I was intrigued by what I was reading.

About half way through it picked up for me though.  And Gagnon had me once she was able to surprise me in a way that I never expected.  She managed to pull some really awesome fast ones on me, throwing stuff at me that made me rethink the whole plot line.  Everything is not as it seems, though some of the things are only what they are.  It takes a lot to be able to shock me and Gagnon managed to pull it off!  It also could have done with the fact that I actually said to myself the only thing that would make this better is if there were dinosaurs.  And then in the next paragraph, there were dinosaur like creatures!  Well done Gagnon, well done!

The characters were really interesting.  I found myself really liking Declan, Anat and Sophie.  Sure Sophie tended to whine a lot, but she got tough fast and pulled through for her fellow hospital mates.  Declan was a smart ass and Gagnon was smart to use him as comic relief when she did.  And even though the romance was a little more on the insta-love side, it wasn't so terrible that it made angry.  I have to admit that I would have liked to have seen more of Anat.  I think she could have been so much more than what she was.  Maybe if she hadn't just been the strong military female from Israel she would have been easier to connect with.  I mean I loved her character, I just think we needed to know a little bit more about her.  And I have to tell you that Yosh was a stand out for me.  Her character is perfect! 

The ending seemed to come abruptly.  Yes, it was well thought out and I liked the twist in the end, but it just seemed to be over right when things got really exciting.  I think that this had to do with the beginning being on the slower side of things.  I wanted to know what happened after the big conclusion.  I wanted to know more than the author told us.  Her last chapter wrap up, while well written was kind of a let down.  I especially liked how things ended up for Anat, but once again we didn't really get to see it in action.  We only heard the story through Declan's lips.

So yes, I did like this book.  It was intense and had some awesome things going for it and it's strength grew the closer it got to the end.  The issues I had with the pacing and some of the character focus did bother me though.  But all in all this is a solid novel for anyone who likes a good mind trip and likes to be kept guessing!       

 Rating:

3 Unicorns = I liked it a lot, but it had it's issues!

About 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.

Her Links:

Website: www.michellegagnon.com

Twitter: twitter.com/Michelle_Gagnon 

Dream Cast!
I came up with what I think would be the perfect cast for the movie version of Strangelets and here they are!

Elle Fanning as SOPHIE

Damian McGinty as DECLAN

Analeigh Tiptop as ANAT

Sam Claflin as NICKO

Ellen Wong as YOSH

Giveaway:

And to top everything off there is a tour wide giveaway!  Get yourself entered!
a Rafflecopter giveaway