Wranglestone
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-18 08:51:51
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Darren Charlton
- ISBN：1788951212
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 COSTA BOOK AWARDS。
Named one of The Times & The Observer's Best Children's Books of 2020。
The islands of Lake Wranglestone are a safe haven in a world filled with the Restless Dead。 But as the lake freezes over， there’s nothing to stop them from crossing the ice。
Peter’s has never really felt at home in a place where practicality and grit are valued above all else。 He’s nothing like rancher， Cooper， the boy he’s always watched from afar。 But when he’s is ordered to join him out on the mainland to help herd the Dead from their shores， they find more than just each other。
There they unearth a dark secret about Wranglestone’s past。 One that forces the pair to question everything they’ve ever known。
An action-packed and thought-provoking debut， for fans of Patrick Ness， Marcus Sedgwick， DREAD NATION and The Walking Dead。
Named one of The Times & The Observer's Best Children's Books of 2020。
The islands of Lake Wranglestone are a safe haven in a world filled with the Restless Dead。 But as the lake freezes over， there’s nothing to stop them from crossing the ice。
Peter’s has never really felt at home in a place where practicality and grit are valued above all else。 He’s nothing like rancher， Cooper， the boy he’s always watched from afar。 But when he’s is ordered to join him out on the mainland to help herd the Dead from their shores， they find more than just each other。
There they unearth a dark secret about Wranglestone’s past。 One that forces the pair to question everything they’ve ever known。
An action-packed and thought-provoking debut， for fans of Patrick Ness， Marcus Sedgwick， DREAD NATION and The Walking Dead。
Reviews
Adélie :）
，
This book was pretty weird but I liked it！ Like it’s not my kind of book usually but the romance was so cute ！！ I put 4 stars because they had so passages I didn’t understand！ But the romance between Cooper and Peter is just woah they’re so so cute ！ I had tears in my eyes during certain times！ So read this book if u want apocalypse and romance things :））
Aaron
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 3。5A very slow start but I think it picked up a lot in the last section。 This was marketed as a gay romance mixed with a zombie apocalypse story， and it's definitely one of those things。 The plot revolving around the zombie apocalypse was a fun take on the genre， with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader's interest。 The romance， however， was not a romance。 The two characters are already on the cusp of getting romantically involved at the start of the book， even though they've never really 3。5A very slow start but I think it picked up a lot in the last section。 This was marketed as a gay romance mixed with a zombie apocalypse story， and it's definitely one of those things。 The plot revolving around the zombie apocalypse was a fun take on the genre， with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader's interest。 The romance， however， was not a romance。 The two characters are already on the cusp of getting romantically involved at the start of the book， even though they've never really talked， and they actually get together almost immediately。 There's not really any buildup， and we don't see their relationship develop， they just like each other， then they start dating and saying "I love you" within days—which the main character （Peter） seems conflicted about， even though he happily decides that he loves a stranger at one point after meeting him the day prior。 The other character， Cooper， is less conflicted， but chooses the weirdest time to say it。 The pair cause a house full of people to explode at one point， and Cooper does not react at all， instead deciding that it's the perfect moment for his first "I love you"。 Peter is generally more sensitive and does react a bit to the mass death， although he does take a job at one point ferrying people who are about to die to their resting place， and he ignores their last words because he is busy thinking about Cooper。 I thought the writing was okay for the most part， maybe a final edit could have caught a few clunky parts。 My main issue was the way that the characters speak。 They're meant to speak with a southern American drawl， which Charlton writes phonetically in a fairly consistent way， but it can still feel a little unnatural to read。 Whenever we need to be reminded of where the book is set （every few pages） the characters will say a phrase that sounds southern， but it's always formatted the exact same way， like:"I'm skinnier than an aspen mauled by beavers。""The heat was madder than a frog in a sock。""Reckon I smell sweeter than a tub of cotton candy at the Kentucky State Fair。""It's wilder than a whorehouse on rodeo day。""You've been more nervous than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs for years。"The author was probably having fun coming up with these， but there are so many of them that I started rolling my eyes whenever one came up and soon。。。 my eyes were rollin' quicker than a Harley down an icy slope。 It also seems clear that the author is British， not southern American （like at one point he has Cooper put a kiss at the end of a message like British people do， not sure where he picked that up） so maybe that's why he overdid it a little。 My other issue with the writing was that some of the slogans that Charlton used felt a bit clunky or trite。 "Clock it。 Kill it。 Rid the world of it。" felt like a less-snappy version of the British train slogan "See it， say it， and we'll sort it。"， and some of the catchphrases the characters have made me cringe slightly （examples being every time Peter and Becky interact， and when Cooper says Peter's name and then goes "I just wanted to hear your name is all"）。Plot-wise it was a little confusing at times， with a lot happening in the last section but very little description to help it tie together。 I was also confused about a few worldbuilding aspects that didn't seem to add up but maybe they'll be addressed in the sequel。 Overall， although I've had my fun complaining and picking at this book， I did like it。 It's not perfectly written， and the plot is messy and strangely paced， but it was fun to read。 。。。more
Lire-une-passion
，
Bon eh bien c'est une déception。 Si le début me plaisait beaucoup avec des rôdeurs un peu à la walking dead， très vite， l'auteur part dans tous les sens。 Pour moi， ça manquait de structure。 Il parle d'une chose， n'explique pas， passe une autre， n'explique pas。 Quant à la romance。。。 Plus clichée， tu meurs。。。 Elle est tout， sauf réaliste。 Je ne compte pas le nombre de fois où j'ai levé les yeux au ciel。 Pour moi， elle est même inutile et donne une image faussée des romances MM。 Dommage， ça partait Bon eh bien c'est une déception。 Si le début me plaisait beaucoup avec des rôdeurs un peu à la walking dead， très vite， l'auteur part dans tous les sens。 Pour moi， ça manquait de structure。 Il parle d'une chose， n'explique pas， passe une autre， n'explique pas。 Quant à la romance。。。 Plus clichée， tu meurs。。。 Elle est tout， sauf réaliste。 Je ne compte pas le nombre de fois où j'ai levé les yeux au ciel。 Pour moi， elle est même inutile et donne une image faussée des romances MM。 Dommage， ça partait bien mais moi je m'arrête là， je ne lirai pas la suite。 Les idées étaient pourtant bonnes， mais elles manquaient cruellement de structure et d'explications。 。。。more
Luc Reed
，
A zombie book for the gays？ Who knew that’s what I needed in this life？ The storyline was top tier and had me on the edge of my seat， but the love story of Cooper and Peter kinda pissed me off。 One second they didn’t even acknowledge each other， then being in love the next day？ Very confusing and rushed in my opinion。 With that being said， I will be reading the sequel because I need to know what happens。
Murphy
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I really enjoyed reading this， it was a chill read and I especially loved the atmosphere it created。Only issue i had with it， at the beginning， was the catering to stereotypes alot of people have about gay relationships/people，It made me cringe a little at the fast pace their relationship moved in （at the start）， and how Peter was only good at household chores…definitely felt like a weird feminisation of the main gay character。But once i got past that， the book was lovely - and the ending was en I really enjoyed reading this， it was a chill read and I especially loved the atmosphere it created。Only issue i had with it， at the beginning， was the catering to stereotypes alot of people have about gay relationships/people，It made me cringe a little at the fast pace their relationship moved in （at the start）， and how Peter was only good at household chores…definitely felt like a weird feminisation of the main gay character。But once i got past that， the book was lovely - and the ending was enthralling。 。。。more
Angela Diaz
，
Great potential honestly， but it just fell short。 Still not a terrible read， but I was expecting more。
Jake The Doodler
，
A gay zombie apocalypse was a very promising brief for me to get this book。This book had some great horror moments with a superb twist and some great characters but I must say I didn’t really care for the love plot， I didn’t really care and worry about them as much as I have had done other characters in other MLM YA books it felt a bit too rushed I’d of liked to of seen them have more development together？ I hope the writer develops both this and the apocalypse in the sequel as I finished this b A gay zombie apocalypse was a very promising brief for me to get this book。This book had some great horror moments with a superb twist and some great characters but I must say I didn’t really care for the love plot， I didn’t really care and worry about them as much as I have had done other characters in other MLM YA books it felt a bit too rushed I’d of liked to of seen them have more development together？ I hope the writer develops both this and the apocalypse in the sequel as I finished this book feeling a bit lacklustre but if you want a book that’s easy to read with some quality writing I’d say give this a read。 。。。more
Jun
，
3。5La primera parte me gustó mucho， estaba llena de tensión y de estos momentos románticos y soft pero también con zombies pero luego sucede algo que si bien no me esperaba y fue bastante shock， hizo que el libro se fuera hacia otro trama que volvió el libro más lento pero que ya para el final retoma。Estoy interesado en saber cómo continúa todo， solo espero todo termine bien。🥹
Eddie
，
So I saw this book in waterstones， thought the cover was absolutely gorgeous， I read the blurb and I was sold。Zombies？ YesGay love story？ Hell yesI suddenly needed this book more than anything Fast forward a few months until I actually had the motivation to pick it up after seeing there’s going to be a sequel and I finished it in two days。This book has made me cry， laugh and grip my pillow because the moments got so tense。 Charlton’s writing really stuck with me， the way he describes every singl So I saw this book in waterstones， thought the cover was absolutely gorgeous， I read the blurb and I was sold。Zombies？ YesGay love story？ Hell yesI suddenly needed this book more than anything Fast forward a few months until I actually had the motivation to pick it up after seeing there’s going to be a sequel and I finished it in two days。This book has made me cry， laugh and grip my pillow because the moments got so tense。 Charlton’s writing really stuck with me， the way he describes every single emotion Peter lives through is just…beautifully done。 I’m obsessedI’m so excited for Timberdark！！！！ 。。。more
hannah
，
Wranglestone is a book you didn’t know you needed in your life， the author perfectly mixes horror， thriller and zombies with a teenage lgbt romance。 Our main character Peter， grew up in the protected refuge on Lake Wranglestone with his father。 The zombies， known as “restless ones” couldn’t reach this gated community during the warmer months， but winter is a different story。 When the lake freezes the dead come knocking。 As we progress through the story there’s many a plot twist that you don’t ex Wranglestone is a book you didn’t know you needed in your life， the author perfectly mixes horror， thriller and zombies with a teenage lgbt romance。 Our main character Peter， grew up in the protected refuge on Lake Wranglestone with his father。 The zombies， known as “restless ones” couldn’t reach this gated community during the warmer months， but winter is a different story。 When the lake freezes the dead come knocking。 As we progress through the story there’s many a plot twist that you don’t expect as well as a dark secret held by those Peter thought he knew。 。。。more
Tracy Hager
，
Brokeback Mountain meets The Walking Dead。 I really wanted this to work but despite some really great descriptions I found a lot of it just plain confusing。 I bought multiple copies for my reading groups but think I'll have to test it on a couple of people rather than entire groups to see if my view is skewed。 Brokeback Mountain meets The Walking Dead。 I really wanted this to work but despite some really great descriptions I found a lot of it just plain confusing。 I bought multiple copies for my reading groups but think I'll have to test it on a couple of people rather than entire groups to see if my view is skewed。 。。。more
Thomas Edmund
，
Overall I actually have quite a lot to critique about this book， BUT its in that strange way that a decent read might leave you with a lot to say， rather than WrangleStone being a bad book。 Its actually a very solid read with nothing particularly terrible about it！So what was good about Wranglestone？ The story was very vivid， very visually epic。 I genuinely felt like I could see the frozen lake， and feel snow storms hitting me while reading the book。 I also really like that they was a same-sex l Overall I actually have quite a lot to critique about this book， BUT its in that strange way that a decent read might leave you with a lot to say， rather than WrangleStone being a bad book。 Its actually a very solid read with nothing particularly terrible about it！So what was good about Wranglestone？ The story was very vivid， very visually epic。 I genuinely felt like I could see the frozen lake， and feel snow storms hitting me while reading the book。 I also really like that they was a same-sex love story that was just 'there' the story didn't make a big deal about it， nor did the characters either。The plot was very tight， in fact this is sort of a half criticism which I'll explain the negatives in a minute， but the book actually felt very movie-esque， I think it was the way scenes fit together and characterizations happened， often relying on visual descriptions and dialogue。 Storywise the tale was probably more melodramatic than character focused in the sense that it was about the characters dealing with the conflict that the plot threw their way rather than deep character desires etc。 Zombies sort of having had their zenith already its not that easy to pen an original story and I thought Wranglestone did the job。Critiques:Again， just a reminder I did like the book and thought it deserved a high rating， I just had a handful of nitpicks that stood out to me。Back to the comment earlier - the story felt more like a movie to me than a novel which isn't intrinsically a bad thing。 It's just that the emphasis seemed to be on action set-pieces rather than character development or character tensions - there seemed to be any number of scenes where dark shadows appeared out of the darkness， or people got grabbed out of nowhere。 Many of the scenes would have made good cinema but seemed a bit silly or implausible when written down。In terms of tone I found the book a little inconsistent。 Again I think it would have worked on film where pacing is often quicker and you do get cuts between different scenes and moods thereof， but for example often in this story there would be these serious moments with horror movies vibes， then very quickly some jokes about characters BO or having long-johns wedging。 I know that even in bleak moments people do still use humour but it often felt jarring。Characterwise I felt there was a bit of reliance on broad strokes to establish minor characters， and one didn't really feel much connection with anyone except the MCs Peter and Cooper。 For example its suggested that Cooper's father might have been abusive， but this thread doesn't really go anywhere other than just to establish a general sense of who he is （I understand this is book 1 of 2 so perhaps next book？）A final nitpick is that the 'moral of the story' was just a bit forced and cheesy， the suggestion being that the real zombie apocalypse was our behaviour towards each other。 Ok it kinda makes sense but I generally don't like spelt out moral messages！ 。。。more
Izak
，
Pete and Cooper are cute but any zombie book that tries to explain the zombies or has zombies that are ✨different✨is not for me
Samantha Powers
，
Dnf at 50% if you know， you know。
Izzy Linus
，
Loved it so much！ The author has an amazing way with prose and mystery that keeps you hooked！ Not to mention， Peter and Cooper are so cute！😭
Matilda
，
READ IT NOW XXXX
zoe
，
my favourite thing about this book is peter correcting grammatical errors， during a literal zombie apocalypse。 like me too omg
David
，
I’m not even sure how I feel about this book。 I wanted a little more of the Peter/Cooper love story。 The ending left a lot to be desired and the story as a hole felt jumbled。 It felt both rushed and drawn out。 I liked the premise over all， but with all of the hype I expected more。
sofia （kenji’s version）
，
PETER AND COOPER ARE SO INCREDIBLY CUTE but it was sort of 90% dystopian and 10% romance and i think for a book classed as a romance there just wasn't enough of it。 BUT i do love the dystopian/romance cross over since they're my favourite types of books。 3/5。 PETER AND COOPER ARE SO INCREDIBLY CUTE but it was sort of 90% dystopian and 10% romance and i think for a book classed as a romance there just wasn't enough of it。 BUT i do love the dystopian/romance cross over since they're my favourite types of books。 3/5。 。。。more
Meljennedy
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I liked this book but overall it fell a little short for me， it could have been great。Firstly， I felt like I wanted a bit more of a build up of the romance。 It implied that Peter was well known for his yearning and then quite suddenly Cooper really liked him for a long time too。 Like perhaps more of a build up to that。 I liked the opening with the couple in the boat which set things moving very quickly but perhaps the whole book felt a little too quick。 I wasn't sure how many people had been in I liked this book but overall it fell a little short for me， it could have been great。Firstly， I felt like I wanted a bit more of a build up of the romance。 It implied that Peter was well known for his yearning and then quite suddenly Cooper really liked him for a long time too。 Like perhaps more of a build up to that。 I liked the opening with the couple in the boat which set things moving very quickly but perhaps the whole book felt a little too quick。 I wasn't sure how many people had been in their lake because they seemed to lose a lot in a few days so did there used to be loads and they were the tiny remaining amount or was this an unprecedented few days which it seemed to be but not fully explained why。 I thought perhaps the zombies were growing more intelligent which would have been interesting or a storyline more like The Village where they were in isolation and others were now fine。 I really didn't expect Cooper to die so quickly and it did move me a little which I hadn't expected but then I didn't quite understand what was happening with Rider at the beginning etc as I think it was written a little confusingly but perhaps that was the pacing which was relentless。 Unusually I think I would have preferred the book to have been a little slower， for Peter to really have time to think about things and the characters might have been rounded out a little if that was allowed but instead the pacing meant everything happened in a matter of days and the confusion and not knowing who to trust weren't really very well explained and I thought they well should be。 I was interested in the snowflake idea but then again got a little confused when the vampires （they were vampires right） tried to explain everything。 By that point I wanted to know a lot more detail， the history and then the book just seemed to end on a cliffhanger。 If the second book had been out already I'm sure I would have gone straight to it but as it isn't out until September， will I remember this book then？ I'm not sure I will which is a shame。There really was a lot of interesting ideas and a very atmospheric location in the mix but perhaps it would work better as a well done tv series which allows more time for the developments to happen， the romance to evolve a little more naturally and for Peter to really find his place in the community which seems to go from silly boy， love interest， emotional heart of the community taking people to their deaths， the explorer to the revolutionary and then hero in no real time at all and without really seeing to how most of the community react to this other than one hurried meal shoved in。 The pacing of this made it feel young adult to me but I think there could have been some more time for Peter to think and question his life a lot more which wouldn't have negatively affected this。 。。。more
Floris Nys
，
Wow， wow， wow！ I loved this soooo much。 I honestly can't wait on the sequel coming later this year Wow， wow， wow！ I loved this soooo much。 I honestly can't wait on the sequel coming later this year 。。。more
Evie 🍄
，
4。75⭐️
Marie L Somerville
，
"Wranglestone" is such an amazing book with an absolutely amazing story！ It has quickly become one of my favorite books of 2022。 It has drama， romance and an apocalypse， what more can you ask for！The book follows Peter， who lives in a refugee called Wranglestone。 He lives there with his dad in a big community with lots of different families。 But there's one particular person who's caught his eyes。 He's always been looking at Cooper， as long as he's remembered， but Cooper has never looked at him。 "Wranglestone" is such an amazing book with an absolutely amazing story！ It has quickly become one of my favorite books of 2022。 It has drama， romance and an apocalypse， what more can you ask for！The book follows Peter， who lives in a refugee called Wranglestone。 He lives there with his dad in a big community with lots of different families。 But there's one particular person who's caught his eyes。 He's always been looking at Cooper， as long as he's remembered， but Cooper has never looked at him。 But one day， while out cutting wood， a stranger appears on the waters looking to trade， and never would Peter ever think this incident would change his life。I absolutely adore the characters and the character development between the main characters， but also the side characters！ Peter and Cooper is such a nice couple and just made such an iconic duo and I loved how they interacted with eachother， as well as other characters in the story。The story of the book is also amazing and you get swept up into it so quickly。 From the world description to the story， I felt like I was right there with them， following along。This book was amazing and I would absolutely recommend people to go read it right now！ Especially if you enjoyed All that's left in the world by Erik J。 Brown！For more reviews and recommendations from me， you can find more of my socials here: https://linktr。ee/MarieSomerville 。。。more
Jason
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I want to give this book three stars， but it has too much heart for me to do that。 I like the plot and I love Peter and Cooper。 I honestly wasn’t expecting the pale ones plot line but I think it’s my favorite from the whole book。 It has a “happy ending” but it is still tragic if you really sit and think about it。 My only complaints are on characters and continuity。 Though I love Peter and Cooper’s relationship， it felt very instantaneous， which was a little distracting in the beginning。 But we l I want to give this book three stars， but it has too much heart for me to do that。 I like the plot and I love Peter and Cooper。 I honestly wasn’t expecting the pale ones plot line but I think it’s my favorite from the whole book。 It has a “happy ending” but it is still tragic if you really sit and think about it。 My only complaints are on characters and continuity。 Though I love Peter and Cooper’s relationship， it felt very instantaneous， which was a little distracting in the beginning。 But we learn about their characters and who they are through their relationship so it’s fine。 The adults are very questionable， Bud seemingly doesn’t care that he got a whole camp of cliff side survivors killed which felt a bit odd。 Darlene and Essie felt very two dimensional， especially when the reveal came at the end。 I also honestly had forgotten who Henry was when his reveal came at the end。 Honestly， none of these are DNF qualities， they’re just things that stood out to me while reading。 It was a fun read I found myself unable to put it down and I honestly hope to see more or cooper and Peter soon （hopefully in something that fleshes their characters out a bit more） 。。。more
Ian
，
Absolutely loved this book！ Once I started I couldn’t put it down！ Already preordered the next in the series！
ela
，
DNF
BARRY SMITH
，
audiobook
Katie Carter
，
a zombie horror book with a queer romance and some really great twists and turns in the plot？ sign me the heck up。 totally didn't go the direction i was expecting and this kept me up way past my bedtime because i just couldn't stop reading。 like， i just needed to know what happened next and i love when a book does that。really didn't expect some parts of this book but the way everything played out was really cool and i also really enjoyed peter's character development - i've seen some people say a zombie horror book with a queer romance and some really great twists and turns in the plot？ sign me the heck up。 totally didn't go the direction i was expecting and this kept me up way past my bedtime because i just couldn't stop reading。 like， i just needed to know what happened next and i love when a book does that。really didn't expect some parts of this book but the way everything played out was really cool and i also really enjoyed peter's character development - i've seen some people say he didn't change as much as he should have but because the book time frame is only like 3/4 days i think it was really realistic because it takes time for someone to change and i liked how parts of him were different but he's still a 16 year old kid at the end of the day。 highly recommend and i eagerly anticipate the sequel。 。。。more
Miranda
，
I got a lil confused at time but Peter and cooper are cute and it was v easy to read
Sian Lile-Pastore
，
loved the premise for this - a gay zombie YA！ - and thought the writing was good and the love story was cute and sometimes funny - but it let me down a little plot wise and definitely preferred the first half to the second。 the zombie story line was obviously an allegory but i wasn't sure if it was around maybe AIDs， or refugees or Race （although tbh race is pretty much ignored in the book） 。 anyway， i enjoyed it， had a nice feel to it， especially at the beginning， but won't be continuing with t loved the premise for this - a gay zombie YA！ - and thought the writing was good and the love story was cute and sometimes funny - but it let me down a little plot wise and definitely preferred the first half to the second。 the zombie story line was obviously an allegory but i wasn't sure if it was around maybe AIDs， or refugees or Race （although tbh race is pretty much ignored in the book） 。 anyway， i enjoyed it， had a nice feel to it， especially at the beginning， but won't be continuing with the series。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Wranglestone
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Wranglestone&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Wranglestone&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0