I had already read this as a DRC and I took the opportunity to enjoy it again as an ALC. The narration of Justis Bolding gave a lot to the story.

I enjoyed this so much for the unsettling nature of the surroundings as well as the commentary on rape and consent.

When a group of teens get stranded on an island after their plane crashes, the seven of them have to learn how to survive… both the island and themselves, until help arrives. Although, when bad things start to happen, the group realizes the real danger may not be whether they get off the island, but who is actually out to get them on this island.

To get to the bottom of what’s really going on, they must look inward and they must also figure out exactly what happened at the party they attended the night before their plane crash.

I thought this was clever and the writing powerful. I enjoy Laura Bates and feminist voice she always brings out in her books. The topics broached in this book when you scratch that surface are incredibly important and her way of bringing them up was interesting.

Book Title: No Accident
Author: Laura Bates
Narrator: Justis Bolding
Publisher: RB Media
Genre: Mystery Thriller -Teen/YA
Pub Date: December 6, 2022
Rating 3.6 rounded up

High school basketball players and cheerleaders are participating in a game in Texas. Before return back to school they decided to have party. The party turns into some serious drinking. The next day they are returning to school by traveling in several small private planes. Four cheerleaders, three basketball players and the coach are in one plane when it goes down on a remote uninhabited island. Rather amazing but some basic survival skills kick in. They fish and find safe water to drink. A series of accidents occur that make the group wonder if someone is on the island and is out to get them or if one of them has some kind of a grudge.

Story had me curious especially the title!
I know as an adult I am not the target audience but as a high school guidance counselor I like to read YA stories so that I know what my students are reading also it enables me to make recommendation.

There is more to this story than I expected.

Not just a YA, survival story, islands getaway gone bad, but has a bigger theme and purpose.

The “Author’s Notes” is a must read. Laura Bates is the founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, an ever-increasing collection of over 100,000 testimonies of gender inequality, with branches in 25 countries worldwide. She works closely with politicians, businesses, schools, police forces and organizations from the Council of Europe to the United Nations to tackle gender inequality. She was awarded a British Empire Medal for services to gender equality in the Queen's Birthday Honours list 2015 and has been named a woman of the year by Cosmopolitan, Red Magazine and The Sunday Times Magazine.

Want to thank NetGalley and RB Media for granted me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for December 6, 2022

First and foremost, this book needs a huge TW for SA. I actually went back and read the synopsis to see if I glossed over a trigger warning and nothing - so just FYI.

Second, while I appreciate the awareness, the end of this book turned into an infomercial with SA facts and information and the story itself got lost for me. I also feel like the book is a little harmful because it encourages violence (and drugging) people in retaliation.

Third, the actual story was just okay. It was not great for me. I felt like the end could have been done much differently but still covering the same SA aspect. I hate giving this a low rating because the narration was great and the story truly had potential, however it was just too problematic for my liking.

I liked the idea behind this book, but unfortunately I think the retaliation portion overshadowed the core of the overall story . The core and main reveal of the story is overshadowed by a two wrongs don’t make a right situation and it bothers me. I hate to rate it it as a 3 star, but really I’d give it 2.5. Great narration.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

No Accident Review!

Thank you so much RB media and netgalley for this gifted copy, in exchange for an honest review! No Accident comes out December 6, 2022!

As soon as I saw this synopsis, I immediately requested it. I grew up watching Survivor and Castaway. Getting stranded stranded on a deserted island will always be of interest to me and I’ll never stop reading books like this!! No Accident was a 3.75/5 ⭐️ for me! I absolutely loved this setting. It was so fun and I couldn’t stop listening, needing to know what was going to happen next on the island. I actually didn’t really figure out the mystery either, which is always a nice surprise. I thought the ending was pretty abrupt though. Overall, loved the setting, very cheesy and drama filled, but a fun YA!

Synopsis: When a small plane crashes, 7 high schoolers find themselves alone on a deserted island. Not only do they have to survive the elements, but quickly they realize one of their own peers is trying to cause harm as well.

Seven teens, a plane crash, and a fight for survival.
When seven teens are stranded on an island after their plane crashes, their first thought is survival. With the fear of never being found, supplies dwindling, and people not pulling their weight, tension is at an all time high. As if their situation wasn't bad enough already, strange things start happening to each of them. The group quickly realizes they are being targeted and that it has to be someone who was on the plane. A horrible secret from the party that happened the night prior surfaces and it becomes clear someone is seeking justice. In order to survive, they must find the answers. Who was hurt that night and who allowed it to happen?
I was really looking forward to this one and unfortunately, it wasn't what I'd hoped for. I'm not a big fan of third person narration and feel that it can be tricky to pull off; I didn't feel like the third person POV was executed well with this story. I felt bored through the bulk of this novel, with most of the action happening in the second half/last quarter of the book. Some of the transitions seemed to happen at odd moments and the ending felt kind of rushed. The narrator, Justis Bolding, did a great job voicing the characters. This one just wasn't for me.
I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and Edelweiss+. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

When a private plane full of teenagers returning home from a travel tournament crashes on a remote island in the Gulf of Mexico, it seems like their situation has hit rock bottom.... until someone starts coming after each of the teens, one at a time. There's a very dangerous person on the island, and he or she needs to be stopped before the crash turns even more deadly.

This one was a quick listen with a good narrator. Each of the characters is pretty well fleshed out so it's not terribly hard to keep them straight in your head. The tension and fear were well done without going overboard for a YA novel. For most of the novel I thought the themes were mature and obvious without the characters sounding like they're on soap boxes, but the last ten percent of the book was way, way over the top. I got the point after the first couple paragraphs, and it's definitely an important concept to understand but it just was extremely repetitive and over the top for me to the point where it reminded me of '7th Heaven'.

I would definitely read more from this author, but I would hope for a bit of blunt to the aggressive overtone.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for this audio ARC.

The performance by Justis Bolding was stellar.

This story! Wowza!

I am so freaking glad I bought a copy when I saw it out early at Barnes and Noble this week.

A plane crash. Students stranded. Bad things happening on repeat. Controversy brought to a head and a need for for justice made clear. This is an absolute necessary book for the YA community. I’ll be gifting copies to the young women in my life.

This was amazing. Okay first the teens were accurately obnoxious. It felt real.
Here we have a group of teens trapped on an uninhabited island. They're the sporty sort so they know how to work as a team, but they are going through some stuff, and aren't all that safe or reliable.
You've got the regular island drama and you have the teen drama. You also have some other drama that is revealed in layers.
It was perfect and believable.


Oh and the narrator is brilliant!

I enjoyed this read, super short book. It kept me wondering what was happening and why. I found a few characters a bit annoying but other than that it was interesting to see the different characters and how they were during this crazy storyline. I loved how the story built along the way. The ending shocked me!

I received this book from NetGalley and the publishers to read and review. All of the statements above are my true opinion after fully reading this book.

Although reading young adult novels isn't my standard fare, I requested this book as the description caught my interest and I greedily consumed this book in one sitting. The descriptive narrative and character development held my interest as I was immediately swept up in the fate and behind the scenes machinations of this group of individuals Join them as they are faced with unimaginable challenges (with a ton of "hold your breath" moments) as the author skillfully weaves this captivating thriller. Did what books SHOULD do, pulled my worries and concerns away from my own woes and gave me a brief respite as each chapter built a staircase that led to a shattering conclusion. To author: wonderful Me too wrap up at the end, heartfelt and dedicated and well crafted so that it just MAY make a few people reconsider the danger and harm that their silence, smiles, laughter, and innuendoes contribute in this world where one gender is forced to constantly be aware that they are physically too weak to protect themselves from the whims and potential violence of the other. Will be on the lookout for more offerings from this talented author.. Thank you Netgalley for this advance copy.

7 teens are caught on an island and one of them is out for revenge....

Wow! Being YA, I thought this one might have been easier to pick but I was surprised at who was behind all the gruesome attacks. This was an easy to read, entertaining thriller that I zoomed through fairly quickly. A great whodunnit - highly recommend!

2.5-2.75 Stars
This was a tough novel to rate. I'm glad the novel tackles sexual assaults and abusive relationships, but I wasn't too happy with how it was handled. I do not condone violence, especially not out of revenge. Putting someone's life in danger is a big NO. This novel made it seem like it was okay to harm someone else because of what happened.

Seven teens crash landed on the coast and they are all struggling and traumatized. This girl thought it was a good idea to get revenge now. She went in with the intention to harm others. Someone could have died! Just because she was raped, does not mean it was okay. She wanted justice for what happened to her, but what about justice for what she did? Two wrongs does not make a right. Her revenge took center stage instead of the real topic of sexual assault.

***I would like to thank NetGalley, Laura Bates (the author), and RB Media for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.*

I love to say this and judge books by this action. After I finished this book, I preordered a copy for my wife. I loved this story.

There was a lot of messaging in this story but the major takeaway for me was that it’s easy to get caught up in your own problems and that you are blind to others that need help. We all need to be better and books like this that have an excellent story and also remind us to be better are perfect.

The story follows a group of teenagers who survive a plane crash on a small deserted island. While they are trying to survive someone is trying to hurt them. I loved the suspense created by Laura Bates about who or what could be causing the issues on the island. The characters created by Bates are also very well crafted. You will love some and hate others but it’s all by design.

Trying to put yourself in their shoes and figure out what you would do and how you would do things differently was interesting to think about. When times get hard and you need to survive what would you do? I loved watching how these characters grew and made decisions.

This reminded me of so many good parts of media out there. To me, this was three main things melded together in a great way. The island and plane crash from Lost, the mystery of One of Us is Lying, and the difficult topics and teen drama from 13 Reasons Why. I can’t say enough good things about this.

Astute and surprising book that has more to say than it initially seems on the surface.

A small private plane heading home from a basketball tournament carrying some of the team members and cheerleaders crashes onto a small island. As the days pass, they start to run out of food and water and worry if they will ever be rescued. They explore their surroundings and are able to find meager supplies to survive, but soon strange things start happening to them. Are they being targeted, and if so, who among them is causing these things to happen and why?

Although there are some clunky parts to the story flow, the overall message here is timely and important. I got a little teary towards the end because the statements are so impactful. I hesitate to go too much into depth about the themes in the book because they give away the twists in the story, but suffice it to say that there are some meaningful themes here that should resonate, particularly with the YA audience.

I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator does a fantastic job. The book is told from Hayley's point of view, so the narration mostly comes from her perspective and the mystery uncovered by her investigating. The characters overall aren't as well developed as they could have been, but in the end it didn't matter too much with the broader message.

I feel bad for giving this review but i had to DNF this book. Either I’m not the target audience or it was the content but I couldn’t get into it. Also the narrator was not entertaining i felt myself losing interest and getting sleepy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for this ARC! This was a fast paced and quick read that I enjoyed. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a YA thriller, more of a mystery. I did enjoy the narration and the flow of this book being told by the days they were on the island. I’m rating 3 stars because the “twist” felt a little out there. I understood the message, but it also seemed unlikely.

This was my first read but his author, but I’d be interested to read more in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was very interesting and gripping. I loved the backdrop of a plane crash on an island that brings out the internal pain of one of the survivors and causes them to lash out at the group. The reasoning behind all of the mysterious happenings on the island is so real and should be eye opening to some readers.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
So I was kind of expecting more thriller and mystery from this. It took till the very end of the book to really understand what the entire thing was about. I feel like that part is the only thing that saved this book.
The ending brought up some very good points and explanations.
However the book itself was very different from the description and what I expected.
Narrator did a good job.

I’ve been waiting to get my hands on this! I finished it in one night and afternoon. It was a quick but meaningful read.

After a plane crash, several student athletes are stuck on an island. They’re high school age so we have a little Lord of the Flies going on. They’re somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico and the more privileged among them assume they’ll be found immediately but the more humble kids know they need to conserve resources.

By day 3, even the most optimistic are accepting that their fate is to be on that island for a while. Then weird things start to happen. They could be mistaken for accidents but it appears that someone is angry and making them pay but who and why?

I am partial to “stuck on an island” stories. I’m a Big Brother and Survivor fan so I love social experiments and anytime they’re stuck on an island, you have to wonder if they’ve been out there. The title says No Accident but I don’t think that fully covers the depth of the situation.

At its core, it’s a story about the vulnerability of being a girl. Being stuck with these guys, even though they’re friends, is risky without the laws of the land at home. Heck, it’s risky there too.

With flashbacks to the past woven in with the present, we get the full scope of the dynamics at play without a long, drawn-out backstory to build the characters, which I appreciate.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen and review! The narration was great and I’ll be looking for more from this author, fiction and nonfiction.