On her last day of high school, Cassandra Devlin walked out of exams and into a forest. Surrounded by the wrong sort of trees, and animals never featured in any nature documentary, Cass is only sure of one thing: alone, she will be lucky to survive.
The sprawl of abandoned blockish buildings Cass discovers offers her only more puzzles. Where are the people? What is the intoxicating mist which … mist which drifts off the buildings in the moonlight? And why does she feel like she’s being watched?
Increasingly unnerved, Cass is overjoyed at the arrival of the formidable Setari. Whisked to a world as technologically advanced as the first was primitive, where nanotech computers are grown inside people’s skulls, and few have any interest in venturing outside the enormous whitestone cities, Cass finds herself processed as a “stray,” a refugee displaced by the gates torn between worlds. Struggling with an unfamiliar language and culture, she must adapt to virtual classrooms, friends who can teleport, and the ingrained attitude that strays are backward and slow.
Can Cass ever find her way home? And after the people of her new world discover her unexpected value, will they be willing to let her leave?
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If you like sci-fi, this series(3 parts) will hold your attention and paint you great pictures of the world you are reading about, almost making you feel like you’re there. They are quick reads so I naturally read them over a weekend. It’s written as a diary, but really well done. I’ll re-read this series.
When I first started to read this, my thoughts were, “what the heck?” But as I read further, I was hooked. This story is the first of a trilogy and only partway through the first one, I had already purchased the other two so there would be no gap in my reading. The main character, Cassandra, is portrayed in a realistic manner and it’s easy to …
I got this first book free for my Kindle, and I loved it so much that I bought the rest of the series before I even finished it so I could keep on reading Cass’s story.
I’ve now read each book twice, and plan to read them again before long.
I love the story; I love the characters; I love the writing style! This author has amazing talent! What a …
I just finished rereading the series for the second time. The first time there were several typos and style choices that bugged me about the series, but not enough that I quit. In fact, after the first free book, I paid for the other two because I had to find out how it ended. I enjoyed the second read through even more because I could skip the …
The main character is really a very likable girl. She is not obnoxiously “sassy” and too full of herself like many heroines I dislike. It is a interesting premise, a fun read and I will read the others about this #1 lab rat.
When I like a book well enough to immediately purchase and read the rest of the series, that is high praise, coming from me. Though the editing is abysmal, and I’m still not sure I like the “diary” aspect of the style, the storytelling–and the story itself–is simply stellar (no pun intended). The characters are well defined and developed, and …
Different and unusual premise. The storyline reaches a stopping point at the end of the book. Questions remain. Not a real standalone.
Found the initial portal change improbable or there would have been more “Strays” from our leading character’s location. However, the development of various characters, the actions, etcetera are engaging.
this is not working out well , I cant even find a way to read the book
“Stray” is the first book in the Touchstone trilogy by Andrea K Höst. The story centers on an Australian teenager named Cassandra, who steps through an inter-dimensional gateway from Earth to another planet.
What makes this book different is that Cassandra steps into a world once populated with beings that is now empty of people. Cass is …
Great book but you need to read the whole series.
Written in a diary style, this fun YA book relies on good ol’ fashioned story-telling. Rather than rely on the ubiquitous boy-meets-girl-substituting-for-an-actual-plot, Host has a neat story about a teenager, Cass, who somehow accidentally finds herself on the wrong end of some sort of wormhole, which she has no idea how she got through, or how …
I love this book it is the type of book that makes you think what is really out there in our space and what can really happen
I picked this up as a Bookbub freebie notification without an awful lot of hope for it.
But now I know why they give this one away free: you feel like you HAVE to have the other two. It’s so enthralling I couldn’t wait for the others to possibly go on sale and immediately bought them.
I’m on my fourth (fifth?) re-read of this series and it …
I’ve read this five time now and keep finding nuances I missed before. There are many layers of complexities written which are not always obvious. Once my raise comes in, I’m buying the next book in this series!
I rarely buy a series after reading the first free book. This story drew me in and I immediately bought the entire series.
I recommend this and the other 4 books in the series. I read it aloud to my daughter and my husband, and they read the rest as well. Would love another story in the series.
Fun read
This story started out slow, but I recommend giving it a chance! Once the story got going it was hard to put down!
Usually the journal theme would’ve been annoying but the heroine had a great inner voice, also she was so starkly realistic about her possibilities I couldn’t help but like her. No Pollyanna here! She knew her situation wasn’t ideal but dealt with it the best she could. It got a little slow there with the missions and even with the very …
READ THIS ENTIRE SERIES!
So, this book is intriguing from the first diary entry. The beginning is a bit lonely/boring in a Castaway with Tom Hanks sort of way, but that’s the point of the plot line at the beginning. Don’t give up!
Cass is a fantastic heroine. You will weep with and for her, and you’ll hop on Amazon at 2AM when you’ve finished in …