I loved the message behind this audiobook. I definitely think it is a great book for the YA and educating on SA. I will say, from a readers/listeners perspective, it did take a bit to get into anything thrilling and get going, but when it did it held the pace. It was a quick listen, and I definitely enjoyed it!

4 star book 5 star narrator
-YA Thriller - 7 teen - Desert Island - one has a sercet revenge.
This book is narrated by Justis Bolding though she reads like a full cast with each character having their own distinct sound, made easier by how fleshed out the author Laura Bates wrote each and every characters personality, what they were thinking and feeling. All of which I feel allowed the narrator to give the preformance of her life and suck me into the audiobook, which I listened to start -End in one day. One of my favorite aspects of the narration was how clear and well paced she read. For exsample: as the characters thought process or speech sped up so did her narration. I definitely recommend this book in the audio form even if you are new to audiobooks though any format will be a great read.
Laura Bates wrote a very detailed picture of the world and the people in it. Their personality quirks and emotions will have you on the edge of your seat feeling as you were right there with them. In this heartbreaking, who done it. Where everyone is a suspect.
I personally feel that the Author's Note is just as important to the storyline. It explains alot about why this story was written and the importance of understanding a females reality vs a male's.
The book was given 4 stars only because the first half was a little to much of a slow burn for my personal taste.

As someone that typically thinks YA thrillers don’t “hit” this one nailed it on the pacing and engagement. I finished this over a couple of days, and was always finding myself itching to get back into it when I could! I loved the reveal at the end having a greater social Justice lesson and I think it was done in good taste while packing a punch.

No Accident by Laura Bates

This is an interesting story we have seven teens that get stranded on an island after there plane crashed coming back from a tournament. The teens have to learn to survive on the island with little supplies they need to use every piece of knowledge they have to keep themselves alive. The night before the plane crash they all attended a party an event occurred there that also needs to be dealt with on the island.

Some strange things begin to happen to the teens. Is there someone else on the island? Or do they have someone in their group trying to harm them all? Or will the island itself do them all in? Will they ever be rescued? This fast pace read will keep you engaged from beginning to end. There is a topic that can be triggering being discussed in the book so be mindful of that. Beyond that I loved the messages at the end of the book.

Narrated by Justis Bolding did a fantastic job giving voice to each character. They each had their own voice. I would recommend this book if you like YA and island survival. This was a solid four star read for me. I took a star away because I felt towards the end it felt a little preachy though the discussion was important. I understand why everyone behaved like they did but ultimately the one responsible should be punished. I do believe the discussion is important and so glad that some strides are being made.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for a free audio copy of No Accident for an honest review. All thoughts and ideas in this review are my own.

Does anyone remember the tv-show Flight 29 Down? Because this book remind me so much of that show! A bunch of teens get stranded on a deserted island after their plane crash and have to try and survive while they are waiting for help. A solid plot albeit a little disappointing ending in my opinion.

I really enjoyed the world building (them getting used to living on the island), which was basically more than half of the book. But the 'secondary plot' could have been incorporated better. Nevertheless I would rate No Accident a solid four stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and RB Media (Recorded Books) for giving me a chance to review the audiobook. I have nothing negative to say about the audiobook or narrator (Justis Bolding) in question, it was excellent!

Thank you Netgalley, RB Media and Laura Bates for the audio ARC of this book.

This was such a good listen. The narrators were great and the story was really gripping so I found I was sucked into listening to almost the whole thing in one listen.

The suspense is great and the book is written in a way that you question who is behind what Is happening constantly.

The book itself touches on some heavy issues but is done in a thrilling YA novel and I think is a great read overall.

Can't wait to read more by Laura!

This seems like a thriller about a group of teenagers surviving on a deserted island, but it's really more of a social commentary and the survival part kind of takes a backseat about halfway through. I did like the author's message, I just wanted the plot to be more intense and scary.

Hayley is the outsider of the group, not really popular and not friends with the others. She sees things a bit differently because of this and when things start to go wrong, she's suspicious of everyone. I liked the way she observed and put clues together to figure out what was going on. She also stayed strong in her beliefs that if there isn't explicit consent, it's assault. I admired her for sticking up for other girls and fighting back against the guys' sexist remarks.

The ending was kind of lackluster after we found out what was going on and it's too bad the survival aspect was lost.

I enjoyed this book. A few characters i disliked but i do like the plot and the survival of the characters on the island. I just wish they were just a bit older. I feel like there was a few characters to much but the writing is good and the narrator was actually amaxing and made me want to finish the audiobook

Thanks to NetGalley and RB Media for an advanced audio book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

A group of seven high schoolers get stranded on a desert island. Aside from the obvious dangers, someone is sabotaging the students. I enjoyed the survival parts of the book as they solved problems getting food and water. I understand where the author went to at the end but not sure the set up flowed for me. That said, I appreciated the discussion of consent and victim blaming.

Narration was well done.

TW // sexual assault, shark attack, emotional abuse

Knowing the above content warnings, it feels weird to say this, but I really enjoyed this book. But I did, because it was probably the best desert island story I've read in a long time, if not ever.

I love a "locked door" mystery, and this desert island story leaned heavily into that territory. I loved trying to figure out who was behind it all, even though my predictions were so far off the mark!

It starts out with a group of basketball players and cheerleaders on a private plane, heading home after an off-season game tour. The plane crashes on a small island, and the teens are left to struggle for their survival while one of the group is 'terrorising' (for lack of a better word) the others.

The characters were so complex - way more complex than the first impressions give. On the surface, they were typical popular high school students, but they all had something they were hiding in order to maintain their status.

The first third was relatively slow going, but looking back, had so much foreshadowing in it. But once the story really got going, I couldn't stop reading it.

The setting was so vividly described, and I felt like I was there with the characters.

The narration was well done, though many of the character voices were very similar, so it was sometimes hard to distinguish between them.

I will say, I didn't love the sudden ending. The moment the group's issue was resolved, a rescue plane appears. At the least, I would have appreciated a time jump in between. Also, what ended up happening to the coach and the pilot? Did they survive?

However, the thing that really shines in this book is the serious conversation it begins on the topic of consent. It's a topic that is very prevalent in the YA age range, and this book brings some opinions to the forefront that need to be talked about more. The message of consent, and the things that can impact it, is so important, and I'm so glad I was able to read this book. I think this is a story that is going to stick with me for a while.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of the audiobook!

From the publisher's Goodreads and Netgalley description:
"The Wilds meets One of Us is Lying in this survivalist YA thriller about seven teens who are
stranded on a desert island, and the one who is out for revenge."

Honestly, to me, No Accident initially had me expecting a modern day Lord of the Flies, but it fizzled and felt more like a wannabe adventure/revenge/me too book written for young adults, but as a mom and former homeschool teacher, I am unsure I would ever have used this with my teenagers. There are plenty of triggers, including sexual assault, and the motivation behind the mystery fell flat.

The premise that wealthy students, given access to a private plane for basketball tournaments, a crash, the adults dying (go missing?), and 7 young people surviving could have been interesting, but the author wanted the book to have a message which altered the book for me. I cannot speak too much to the reason why because it would spoil the plot, but I was clearly not the author's intended reader.

As an audio book the narration was well done.

I received this book in advance of the 12/6/22 publication date in exchange for an honest opinion.

I don’t usually give harsh reviews of a book but this book is terrible. It’s written for YA and no one should let their child read this book. It starts out interesting and promising but then turns horrible wrong in the last quarter of the book. The politics in the book were appalling

This book was great!! I absolutely did not see who the person doing the mysterious shenanigans was! Their reasoning might have been kinda sound but the execution ended in someone getting injured. However, the level of entitled white-bro misogyny vibes and views those dudes were putting out was ridiculous so I kinda feel they got what was coming to them. I will totally recommend this book to my pals and look for other books by this author!

#NoAccident
#NetGalley

No Accident is an enjoyable read that remains suspenseful until the very end. The basic storyline of a group of people being stuck on an island after a plane crash might not exactly be a new idea, but Laura Bates certainly gives it a modern twist and manages to address more serious like sexual assault in quite a nuanced way (though I do think there should have been some kind of content warning). Definitely a worthwhile read for a YA audience.

When the basketball teams private plane goes down they all have to learn how to survive on an island thankfully 15-year-old Elliot is well versed in living off the land they have Hailey, May, Stacy Jason,Jess and Jennifer. They all have their own distinct stereo typical persona from the captain of the team to the loaner took the oddball out hey cheerleader and on and on they will have to come together to survive. If this seems like a real generic summary for this book it is because I feel totally uninspired to write this review this book to me wasn’t exciting at all halfway through they had two incidents that happen that weren’t big enough incidents to make the Book exciting and although the narrator did some of the voices really well some of them were so annoying and I don’t think that’s her fault she did a stellar job making Seven distinct voices ate if you include the coach. Someone’s keeping a secret but who? I usually love books like this but this one was too sparse to hold my attention and although I did finish it but I kept falling asleep I am so sorry. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This is like Lord Of The Flies for the modern generation, but this book is so much more than that. It is such a well written narrative, and it kept me guessing til the very end. It has such a thought provoking that makes you turn the pages at breakneck speed. I can't say too much without spoiling a brilliant book, but I will say it is one of my favourite books of 2022. #NoAccident

Audiobook Review - At the start No Accident seems like a modern day Lord of the Flies, but there is so much more to this story. While there are definitely many panicked moments of struggling to survive there is an underlying message that doesn't become clear until the final chapters of the book. Bates uses the ordeal that the young athletes are going through to denounce rape culture and the way victims are treated. This story is so much more than it seems.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary audio copy of NO ACCIDENT by Laura Bates in exchange for my honest review.***

An airplane crashes on an empty island marooning high school basketball players and cheerleaders. They must figure out how to stay alive and get along until they’re saved.

NO ACCIDENT is part Lord of the Flies, part a contemporary look at gender disparity and sexual assault. I’m a strong believer than we need to tell stories in different ways to talk about consent, assault and the responsibilities of bystanders. Standing kids on an island is a unique way to add a survival story to survivor story and possibly attract an audience who wouldn’t necessarily seek out a book about dating violence.

I love the way Bates constructed the story and will look for more books from her in the future.

The narration was also very good.

This was fantastic. Her non-fiction book "Men Who Hate Women - From Incels to Pickup Artists .." has been on my wishlist for a while, and I'm glad she wrote a fiction book. It's YA, but don't let that stop you from reading it. I listened to the audiobook, and will pick up a physical copy next time I'm at the bookstore.

A plane crash leaves seven high school students stranded on an island in the Gulf of Mexico. To begin with, I love this trope. Desperation for survival and isolation expose the rawest side of people. Whenever you're dealing with teenagers, all bets are off. The author does a great job of setting up and demonstrating how off hand comments and jokes can promote victim blaming in sexual assaults. Bates did a great job, kudos!

This book is very reminiscent of Lord of the Flies and it even has a reference to it in the beginning. For how long this book is, there is great character development, but their introductions do seem a bit rushed in the beginning, but I assume that is because this is essentially an ensemble cast for the novel. Along those lines, specifically for the audiobook, I would have enjoyed more of a difference is the voice of each character. This is difficult when you use only one narrator, but something maybe the author will consider for future novels. All in all great thrilling read that has you trying to figure out the next step, but is already three steps in front of you.