Five Survive really did surprise me. I love Holly Jackson's previous books, so I was really excited to read her new upcoming book. And, this book definitely surprised me.

I'm not really into the horror genre. It's really not my thing, but I was willing to try because I loved Holly Jackson's previous books. And I have to say that the horror genre or thriller horror is still not my thing. I can't read it. And after finishing Five Survive, I won't read anymore horror or thriller horror genres.

But if you are a fan of any type of thriller or horror genre, then you will enjoy reading this book. It keeps you on your toes. And there are so many secrets unraveling throughout the book.

I'm a huge fan of the Good Girl's Guide to Murder series but found this book not to be as fun. Five Survive starts out with six friends in an RV heading toward a beach for spring break. Red, Maddy, Oliver, Simon, Arthur, and Reyna drive down south for Red, Maddy, Simon and Arthur's spring break. Red is having a difficult time on the trip because she cannot stop thinking about her finances, dad's drinking, and her police captain mom's murder years before. Slowly the group realizes the danger they are in, and things start to get out of hand among the group as they fight to stay alive, even if it means sacrificing each other.

I did not like the mafia plot. Much of the plot sounded cliché down to the last names of the mafia characters. I liked the concept of friends in an RV trying to survive and figure out why someone wants to harm them, but the mafia storyline took away from the original plot details. Because of the use of names from real and well-known crime families, the story became too unbelievable and generic. There were aspects of the story that sometimes overshadowed the mafia story enough that it helped create a more authentic plot. In those moments, I feared for characters and was eager to find out what happened next.

The story doesn't take off until the halfway point when all the friends stop guessing about why someone wants to harm them and realize that they're targets because of something one of them knows. I did not find many of the twists shocking because they follow most mafia story plots. There was one twist near the end about one of the six that surprised me. I really felt invested in the characters' survival during the second half of the book, especially knowing one of them would die.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the author’s Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. This book was very different. I didn’t like it nearly as much. I didn’t find the characters all that likable. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t connect with any of them. The plot was interesting and moved along well. I just felt it was mostly implausible.

A fun adventurous and thrilling thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering who did what and what is going to happen next

—f i v e s u r v i v e—⁣
Tell me about your weekend in 5 words. ⁣
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Five Survive, by Holly Jackson (of Good Girl’s Guide fame) follows six young friends headed to spring break when their RV breaks down, there’s no cell service, AND they are being shot at by a sniper. What follows is a wacky, claustrophobic, and tense night as they fight to survive. ⁣
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Like GGG, the plot is excellently paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. The setting is eerie and works so well. Some of the twists were definitely unexpected (some were more obvious). Unlike GGG unfortunately, the characters were not as likable. Red, the protagonist, is clever but not at Pip levels. Her relationships are less interesting and less dynamic too. ⁣
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That said, this is a quick and thrilling read. A fun, but imperfect YA mystery. ⁣
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Thank you @netgalley, @randomhouse, and @delacourtepress for the free copy! This one is out now and worth checking out! ⁣
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#bookreview

This book had a slow start, but it went dark quickly. I think YA may struggle with the gore. The "twist was perfect" and perfectly placed.. Overall, even though it started slow, once the pace picked up it read easily. This is another good YA mystery by Holly Jackson, although not her strongest novel.

Red and her friends are on a spring break road trip. When their borrowed RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere, they soon realize that it was no accident. There’s a sniper in the trees holding them hostage, and one of them has a secret they’re willing to kill for. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Random House/Delacorte Press. Trigger warnings: character death (on-page, graphic), parent/sibling death, organized crime, gore, guns, severe injury, violence, alcoholism, underage drinking, gaslighting, cheating, threats, poverty.

Usually, I’m able to suspend my disbelief a little better for YA thrillers, but this went into such ridiculous territory that I can’t manage it. I can buy a sniper with a gun and six teenagers trapped in an RV in this age of horror films and mass shootings. In a different story, I could probably buy the organized crime aspect, since it’s just as real, if not as well publicized. Put them together, though, and the story quickly spirals into absurdity.

The first half of the novel is a lot of boring setup and silly, failed escape attempts. The second is better, as the characters finally begin to hone in on what they’ve been told from the beginning: one of them has a secret worth dying for. Most of the secrets, both relevant and not, bring some much-needed dimension to the characters, but the attempts to keep it entertaining are just so far-fetched. I probably could have forgiven a ridiculous plot, since plot isn’t even high on my list of priorities when I’m reading, but the characters are bland, cardboard cutouts. Red is such a vapid narrator, and I can’t tell if I think that because everyone says she is or because Jackson actually wrote her that way.

The writing leaves a lot to be desired, even as an advance copy, and it’s filled with enough comma splices, sentence fragments, and misplaced modifiers to be truly distracting. There are also a lot of pointless repetitions in Red’s train of thought. (We never do find out which character the shape in the curtains reminds her of, despite being told about it a dozen times.) I was looking forward to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder when I’ve caught up on more of my series books, but now I’m not so sure.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

I didn’t think you could top A Good Girls Guide to Murder trilogy but you did! This one was better yet. You kept me guessing at every turn! When I thought I had it figured out another twist and turn would happen!

This was a rip-roaring good read! The story kept me on the edge of my seat, with just the right amount of terror thrown in for good measure.

I went into this one sooo optimistic because "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" is one of my favorite series. However, this one didn't exactly meet my expectations.

My first issue (coming from someone that is a middle school teacher) is it says the "F" word ENTIRELY too many times. This book is marketed as YA. I get so excited for thriller/mystery books that are YA because I feel like there's not that many of them. With that being said, is it really necessary to drop the "f bomb" so many times in a YA book? Normally language doesn't bother me, I'm not a prude, but this was excessive.

My other issue is that it was a bit violent, again, for a book to be labeled as YA. I just think there's a line and this definitely crossed it.

So maybe my issue isn't exactly the book but how it's labeled? I don't know. If you read this, do not go in thinking it'll be anything like or even similar to AGGGTM

I've become a person who just reads anything that Holly Jackson puts out. Her books are so easy to be pulled into and the pacing keeps you in them until you're finished. The concept of this was interesting; I can't say I've heard of many books where the setting is an RV. The sniper aspect was a bit off-putting at first for me--felt weird to incorporate that aspect, though I can't pinpoint why. Just a personal preference, I think. However, I will say that by the end of the book, that feeling was gone. I sped through this--the plot twists, the emotions, the confessions...it was all so interesting to me.

I absolutely love Holly Jackson. She is a brilliant thriller writer and I'm so mad at myself for not reading this sooner. We have been handselling this in my store for a few weeks now, and the biggest sell is that the book takes place over the span of 8 hours. The level of tension and anxiety that can be built in such a short amount of time is insane. I felt like this book would be a great movie. There were many freaky parts where I thought to myself wow! The suspense was just brilliant and the characters were so well done. I'm thrilled that there is more Holly Jackson in the world.

I adored the A Good Girl’s Guide for Murder series, so when I saw that Holly Jackson had a new book coming out I was really excited. So when I got my copy via Netgalley, imagine my surprise and disappointment that his novel just didn’t hit the way AGGGTM did. The writing style is still great, but due to the short time frame of the novel, you don’t really get attached to characters the way you did in AGGGTM so I found it hard to care about the story and the ending felt pretty rushed without enough build up or sense made of all of the plot points.

This book had me S C R E A M I N G.

Holly Jackson always distills seemingly random elements throughout her story but once everything is revealed, everything comes together perfectly. She is truly a master of her craft!
The story sucks you in from the very beginning, so much so, that I read this in one sitting under six hours. It was quite literally unputdownable.

All the characters were so intriguing and deliciously suspicious but I truly LOVED Red, the main character. We are lucky enough to be inside her head as she slowly puts the pieces of the puzzle together. She is a very chaotic but brave and endearing character and I almost wish this were a book series because I would love to read more of her adventures.
It was also fun to see the other five characters shedding their false layers and pretenses, stepping out from their "roles" (the best friend, the leader, the crush, the jokester, the girlfriend) and revealing their true selves or secrets.

The story takes place inside of an RV which acts as the only safe place for the characters. It also traps them from the outside world and help. The RV provided a great terror-inducing, claustrophobic setting that only added to the overall stressful atmosphere of the book.

I don't really read mystery thrillers but Holly Jackson reminds me that maybe I should start because I love every single thing she comes up with and how incredible her reveals are.

To conclude, Five Survive is fast-paced, fascinating, has a lot of reveals and has a very satisfying ending!

Read this for:
🔪 Claustrophobic atmosphere
🔪 Deadly road-trip
🔪Twists you won't see coming
🔪 Secrets and betrayal
🔪Romance crumbs

Red and her friends think that they're on their way to the perfect spring break trip. Sure, Red has been distracted (to say the least) since her mom died in the line of duty a few years ago and couldn't afford to fly, which is why her best friend Maddie arranges for them to drive an RV to Gulf Shores instead. But when the RV gets a flat...and then four more flats and the gas tank blown out, their road trip seems less fun and like a hostage situation. Because it is. Being held at gun point by a sniper in the woods, the friends can only get out by revealing the secret the sniper wants to know. Throughout the course of the night, more secrets come out causing ripples through the group. Will they make it out alive? And as friends?

Holly Jackson does it again by weaving together a cast of characters you want to know more about and keeping readers on the edge of their seats.

This book really delivered on the promise of the premise. I loved the isolation and Rich jerk tropes. I was able to get the twist pretty early on, though… I can’t wait to read another book by this author.

Love love and loved this book! Can't wait to read more from this author!
Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Holly Jackson knows how to write a YA thriller!!! After reading the entire "Good Girls Guide To Murder" series, I was looking forward to her next book! And this one hit all the marks that you want from a thriller! The characters were likable and believable. The plot was fast-paced and driven! Highly recommend!!

The queen of YA thrillers has done it again! Five survive had me at the EDGE of my seat! I love a good whodunit and I was left guessing until the very end!
This book is extremely fast paced and will leave you hooked from the very beginning

There are 6 friends in an RV on their way for spring break.
That is, until their GPS goes haywire and they get stuck in the middle of nowhere with a flat tire
After stopping to change the tire, they notice that all 4 of the tires have been shot at & there is a sniper hidden somewhere in the forest lurking and waiting 😨
Soon the friends discover that the sniper is looking for a secret one of them has
Desperate to escape and frightened for their lives, the group start turning on one another as they try to figure out exactly what the sniper wants
Will they cling to their dangerous secrets or will the truth set them free? *cue dramatic music*

Wow just wow!!! I really enjoyed this!! Being stuck in an RV while there’s a sniper shooting at them is such a brilliant setting
The stakes were SO high! This would make such a fantastic movie
I highly recommend this for thriller fans!

This was quick and intense. Oliver is a piece of shit l. Most of the characters were deep and it being told most through dialogue really kept the pace up.