Audio: Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon

Author: Michelle Gagnon
Narrator:Rebecca Gable
Title: Strangelets
Format: Unabridged Audio Cd
Length: 8 hrs, 46 mins
Publisher: AudioGo
Publication: 2013
Source: Publisher via Audiobookjukebox
~Website

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 Sophie, Declan, Anat, and the rest must decide what to do with a second chance at life—if they can survive to claim it.

Okay, so first off let me say this book is very weird. I still have no idea what in the world was going on. Now, yes everything did tie up nicely for some characters though I feel one character got the short end of the stick. So, the story begins with each character on the brink of death and suddenly they wake up to find themselves in a hospital. They at first think one of the other is responsible for them being trapped there but eventually decide working together may be the best solution. Once they uncover the truth of their situation they realize death may not have too bad an option. 

Let's talk characters. I initially didn't like Anat in the beginning, she comes off as abrasive and unfeeling but eventually she becomes more likeable. Sophie really didn't do much, she's still sickly and weak but she gets stronger towards the end. Declan, I don't have anything to say about him really but there is some romance with him and one of the girls. Some characters not mentioned in the synopsis will play a big part in the revelations of why they are there and what the future is really like in this world. 

Gable does a great job with translating this work to audio format. She breathes life into each of the characters, giving them identity and individuality with differences in her tone and accent. The production paces along steadily. Gables voice and the sound a crisp and clear. I would listen to her again. Overall, though I didn't necessarily love the book it is an okay science fiction, time travel book that readers of these genres make like, especially if they love mind twists.