Member Reviews
This book was exciting, engaging and a very excellent who-done-it piece of writing! I have been a major fan of Holly Jackson after I read the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series.
Initially I thought this was part of the series because the covers of her others looks like this but I’m starting to take that as a design style and not specific to a series!
I very much enjoyed the characters, the plot twists, and the way it kept me so engaged!
Would recommend to others!
holly jackson is the queen of the ya thriller and like, you can see it in every book. they're pulse pounding, compulsively readable books that keep you addicted to turning the page
I'm a huge fan of Holly Jackson so it comes as no surprise that I loved this one! This one hooks you immediately and the plot is intense but interesting. This one is action packed! Keep in mind this is technically a YA novel so if that aspect bugs you then you will not enjoy this
While I love Holly Jackson, this book felt like an every loving mess. Why does the the mafia need to be in every story??? I hated this because of that. The writing was messy, I hated alllll of the characters, and it was just .... not good. I'M SORRY, don't hate me.
I'm so sorry. I tried. I really did. I loved the Good Girl's Guide series SO SO MUCH, and I was so excited for this book--set in a single location in quote-unquote real time? Sign me up.
Unfortunately, I couldn't do it. I plodded through this, and hated every character, had no interest in the plot, and just couldn't figure out what was going on or why I was supposed to care. I genuinely can't tell if this book was localized to be set in the US the same was AGGGTM was--I've heard it wasn't, but it's so poorly set that I really thought it had been. It being set in the US intentionally makes the politics of this book absolutely baffling, especially its idolization of the police. This book is, inexplicably, copaganda, and I am exhausted.
There will be people who love this book! I'm not one of them. I'm curious to see what Holly Jackson does next, because she can write, but something in Five Survive broke me.
Five Survive takes place over the course of one night after 6 friends get lost on a rural road on the way to a Spring Break trip. Only it turns out that it was all planned.
This book was YA and so exciting, fast paced, and the characters, despite being younger than me, were relatable and I was invested in what was happening to them. I look forward to reading more of this author!
A huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
This is another super fun YA thriller from Holly Jackson, and I will continue to read whatever she writes! While I will say that I didn't love it quite as much as A Good Girl's Guide To Murder, it was an excellent premise that kept me turning the pages, trying to find out the mysterious secret that one of the six people caught in a claustrophobic RV was trying to hide. And knowing that only five of them will survive - which is stated as soon as the title -- is a brilliant hook for mystery fans.
I can't say that I fully connected with the characters in this one the way I did with the A Good Girl's Guide series, but the dynamics between them all were high stakes and constantly shifting, which made for a lot of drama, tension and some good twists.
For anyone who loves YA mysteries and thrillers, this is a can't miss.
Thank you Delacorte Press for the ARC!
A well developed YA locked room thriller that has high stakes, complicated relationships, and a darker plot line. I loved the Jackson took this book to the next step by not only raising the stakes but giving the reader a well thought out underlying story. You are reading a top line plot with a sub plot in the background. Both of these plots are intertwined beautifully to the point where you are equally invested in them.
Jackson writes in a way where you can feel the tension in the RV. This was such a fantastic plot driver but it also felt like its weakness. As you follow the main characters POV it keeps you biased to everyones reactions which works well, but I would have loved a few oposing POV's to keep us tethered to story.
Overall, I think that this is a fantastic book for anybody who loves locked room thrillers. Lovers of Jackson's very popular series A Good Girl's Guide to Murder would also find this book just as entertaining.
Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Five Survive takes place over the course of one night after 6 friends get lost on a rural road on the way to a Spring Break trip. Only it turns out that it was all planned. This felt like a modernized version of Lord of the Flies that was pulled of very well.
As always, I think Holly Jackson needs an editor. I kept thinking the end was coming, only to be given another twist and more plot. While I enjoy a good twist, not only did I continue to feel like it was over, I wanted it to be over. This book was about 1/3 too long and I think it could have been much better if the plot was pushed along at a quicker pace. I do like the plot and the idea behind what happened to the teens, but I just wanted it to finish a lot earlier.
Just absolutely mind-blowing. Holly Jackson is extremely talented at writing thrillers that will keep you at the very edge of your seat for the entirety of the novel.
Eight hours.
Six friends.
One sniper . . .
Eighteen-year-old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break until they break down in the middle of nowhere... and that this is no accident. There’s a sniper out there in the dark watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for. And not everyone will survive the night.
Holly Jackson is officially a favorite author of mine, and she didn't disappoint with this book. Filled with suspense and secrets, no one knows who can trust who as they slowly start to lose faith in each other.
Red has a secret from page one, but with her past and the death of her mom, it didn't matter what it was, I was rooting for her. I quickly came to love the majority of the other characters as well, Arthur being my favorite.
I liked the chemistry between all the characters and I didn't know who had "the secret" until the very end. I had some guesses, but I kept changing my mind. The only thing that stopped me from giving this book 5 stars was the very ending. I understand why it happened, but I wanted a different outcome..... (trying to be vague so I don't spoil anything). Either way, I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to fans of Holly Jackson, suspense/mystery readers, or anyone looking for a fast-paced book.
I rate this book 4.5 🌟
I'd like to say a huge thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Oh goodness where do I start with this one?
I am a huge fan of Holly Jackson!
Five Survive another high tension filled YA novel!! I enjoyed that this novel wasn't predictable and had so much action going on.
Unfortunately, there was more that I didn't enjoy. There was A LOT going on with each teen. I also wasn't a big fan of Oliver. It wasn't believable that everyone would follow Oliver's lead without saying no? Just not that plausible to me. You really had to suspend belief here and that ending was ridiculous!!
The plot in my opinion was just all over the place and it just felt like random things were thrown together. I was disappointed since I enjoyed Jackson's previous novels.
Overall, decent YA but nothing that left me super excited.
3/5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
Pub date: 11/29/22
Published to GR: 2/5/23
I love holly Jackson I want all of her work omg!!!! I highly recommend this book. In all of her books I never can guess what's going to happen always takes a turn and OMG I love it... I cant wait to read more and more and more of her books.
The setting had me stressed, as someone who has gone on their fair share of long road trips-getting stranded in the woods is a pretty big fear of mine! Add that along with someone picking off my companions one-by-one and yeah this is definitely nightmare material. I enjoyed this, it felt slow-ish at the start but picked up its pace in time. I love a good mystery and this hit the spot, I’m not sure yet if I like it more than “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” but I don’t necessarily put them in the same category in my mind.
I’m a huge fan of most of Holly Jackson’s AGGGTM series, so I was very excited to see this newest suspenseful offering. And, for the most part, it did not disappoint. The pacing was quick, with enough going on to keep me interested - so much so that I finished the book in about half a day.
The suspense was great. There were several times I had to put the book down for a minute in order to breathe a bit but it wasn’t too much. I didn’t necessarily like the characters, but I don’t think I needed to in order to enjoy the story. The mystery portion was okay, if a little predictable… maybe too many hints dropped along the way?
I found the very end to be a little bit of a cop out, and think a real resolution for that final question would have been better after everything.
Overall, a solid 4 stars. I’ll happily pick up whatever Jackson writes next.
I have been trying to get through this book for months but I’m so bored. Everyone I know that’s read it agrees which is such a disappoint considering I loved her last series.
I really enjoyed this book. I had never read any of the author's books before this one and I'm excited to read more of her books.
Loved all the suspenseful twists and turns. I kept reading to see what happened and was shocked at all the twists and turns
Five Survive is a fast paced thriller that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. As a fan of Holly Jackson's previous work, I was so excited to get the chance to read her latest.
Definitely recommend to those who love her work and also think it's a great entry book for those who haven't! Highly recommend!
I'm so disappointed with this one! I don't understand the high reviews, especially since most of this felt like a chore to read. Since the plot is rather simple, any details that were given about character backgrounds were easy to put into their respective puzzle pieces for the "twist" ending. This might have been saved if the character relationships were strong, but unfortunately the characters felt flat and the "romance" was transparent which made it feel like a poor attempt to tie together the book.