I never got into the Good Girl's Guide to Murder series, but it seems I misjudged Holly Jackson, because Five Survive was a welcome change for me in terms of YA thrillers. I will definitely be reading more of her books in the future!

I really wanted to love this book, but I couldn't connect to any of the characters. They all felt a little one dimensional to me. The premise of the story was exciting and overall is was not a bad read, but I did not feel anything for any of the characters so I could not empathize with their situation. In truth it feels like I am reading a book by a completely different author. This one fell short of my expectations, but still a good read.

Wow. I knew when I saw Holly Jackson was publishing another book that I HAD to read it!! I was so excited when I got the email that NG and Electric Monkey had approved me to get an early read.
This book absolutely did not disappoint. I didn’t want to put it down and I didn’t want it to end! I hope there’s a part two. This book is not your typical Holly Jackson book. If you can believe it, it’s even better than the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

i will continue to read anything holly jackson writes, the way everything unfolds in genius. the tension was palpable, i was so jumpy and suspicious of the pile of jackets in my room at 3am, that i somehow convinced myself was a person. the characters were so well developed and intriguing, though oliver was driving me up a fucking wall, i was gonna kill him myself. the ending and how everything settled was perfect for me at least the letter conclusion gave me a bit better closure. this just reinforces the fact that i will not be driving or camping in the dead of the night in a forest and that the dangerous person in the room is always the narcissistic man with a touch of savoir complex.

Amazing story, great characters, excellent twists! I have so many thoughts, read them on Maeflower Reads :)

https://maeflowerreads.wordpress.com/2022/10/22/a-slightly-spoiler-ish-review-of-holly-jacksons-five-survive/

I requested this book because I LOVED the "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" series, but this book just didn't capture my attention in the same way. It starts with a group of 6 high school/college aged kids who have rented an RV to road trip from PA to the beach for spring break. Through a series of unfortunate events, they end up stranded down a deserted road and held hostage in the RV until one of them reveals their secret.

The main character, Red, did have a backstory that was interesting, so I did like seeing things from her point of view, but I had a hard time connecting with her overall, which I think is due to the young adult category of the book maybe? Also, one of the characters, Oliver, drove me crazy! I just could not stand him at all, which I'm sure was the point, but it made it hard to get through certain parts because he just annoyed me so much.

Five Survive was very fast paced and I liked how the chapters were split into different sections of time throughout the night. Once everything started, it just kept going with unexpected twists and turns. The big twist towards the end did surprise me, so I enjoyed that I didn't entirely put it together beforehand.

3.5 stars, rounded down to 3. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for this ARC!!

4/5 Stars

So having loved “A Good Girls Guide to Murder”, I was super excited to read Holly Jackson’s newest book and she did NOT disappoint! I made the mistake of starting this book before bed thinking I could get a few chapters in and then sleep but this book grabs you within the first few chapters and does not let go.

I’ll admit that some of the twists were predictable but others you will NOT see coming!

The premise seems to be this: on a spring-break trip, a group of 6 friends encounter some trouble on their path and soon realize they’ve been set up. Now it’s up to them to figure out why they’re there and who is doing this.

I want to say that Jackson really did a great job of isolating the characters and making sure that we felt their panic. Red is also a great character because it’s clear she has a lot of trauma and isn’t at times the most likable but you still root for her all the same!

The only negatives I will say is there were some aspects of Reds past that felt unexplored that may have given more connection to her than we got and maybe made some of the twists more “twisty”. It was a case where we were told too much over being shown anything and it really diminished the effect of some of the reveals. And without giving anything away there are some aspects of the twists that fell flat for me because they were really underdeveloped while some the characters felt very one dimensional.

That being said this book sucked me in and had me finish it in a single sitting to figure out what was going on! It checks all the boxes for a great YA Thriller stand-a-lone and I’d definitely suggest it!

Thank you to Holly Jackson and Netgalley for the advanced read of “Five Survive”. All the opinions and reviews are honest and my own.

“Red hadn’t found her mom’s voice on channel six, or any of the others she’d tried. But it was harder when the person you were looking for wasn’t alive.” -From Five Survive

5 stars

Jackson has a way of writing a thriller that demands you keep reading, and this newest installment is no exception. I read this within 24 hours, and you probably will too. It’s a closed room (or rv) mystery that keeps twisting until the end. Just when you think you know all the secrets, there is another layer thrown at you. The characters felt fresh and intriguing, especially Red. I really felt her anxiousness and grief. If you are looking for a YA thriller you can’t put down, put this on your TBR.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV to go on spring break. Red has already faced tragedy in her life when her law enforcement officer mother was killed execution-style five years ago. After that, she effectively lost her father to alcoholism. Thankfully she has her good friend Maddie and newer friends like Arthur.

When they get lost in the middle of the night and the middle of nowhere, their phones don’t get any reception, so they can’t call for help. All of their tires get shot out and they realize they are being ambushed. The sniper tells them via a two-way radio (walkie talkie) that one of them has a secret, and until they reveal the secret, they’re trapped and won’t be getting out alive.

Confessions among the group start pouring out. Oliver, Maddie’s older brother, and his girlfriend Reyna have a secret. The RV belongs to Simon’s cousin, who isn’t always on the right side of the law. Oliver and Maddie’s mother is about to argue a case against the mafia that could ensure her election to DA. All of their schemes to get away safely, at the behest of Oliver, who takes control of things in an increasingly Lord-of-the-Flies manner, go wrong.

This is tense and requires a little stretching of the imagination to make it work, but it’s a fun, quick read.

NetGalley provided an advance reader copy. The book will be RELEASED NOVEMBER 29, 2022.

FOUR STARS. I'd actually call it 4.5, but you can't do half stars, and it wasn't quite five stars.

Why did I detract a star (or half-star)? Honestly, it dragged just a bit. It got to be a bit repetitive with conflict, panic, accusation, etc. I think we probably could have gotten away with one less round and nothing would have been lost from the book.

With that being said, this was a GREAT YA thriller book. It's hard to find one that is as enticing while still being age appropriate. While there were some profanities, all of the characters in the book mostly acted their age (high school seniors, for the most part). Though, there is no earthly way my parents would have let me go on a cross country road trip in an RV for spring break without (real) adult supervision.

This book was eerie and gave me goosebumps. If you're looking for a spooky read, definitely pick up Five Survive.

(Also, yes, the title kind of gives something away, but I promise the ending is gratifying.)

es, just yes! Another fantastic book from Holly Jackson. What starts off as 6 friends going on an RV trip for Spring Break, turns into a who done it that leaves people changed forever. I believe this is Holly Jackson’s best book by far and all audiences will enjoy it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Red Kenny and five of her friends are on a road trip to Florida for Spring Break. Thanks to a cell tower accident, all of their phones lose service and they are unable to follow the GPS. When they turn off down a forest road, they hear a crack and realize that all four of their tires have been punctured…more surprisingly the tires had been shot out. Soon after, they are given a walkie-talkie by a sniper who says that one of them has a secret and he wants them to come clean. They spend the rest of the night attempting to escape and eventually who has the secret that could save their lives.

I love the way Holly Jackson writes her stories; there is always drama, angst, and a really good plot. As in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, this story kept my interest from beginning to end. There was always a connection with the characters even though at times I despised some of them and their actions. I consider it a good read when I find myself invested in the characters and how they will ultimately end up. I can't wait to read more of Holly Jackson's writing.

A fast paced thriller that I really enjoyed. It kept me hooked from chapter one. Friends on a road trip and there is a sniper This is a young adult fiction.

Probably a decent read for actual young adults but I didn't enjoy this as much as Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. It was definitely spooky!

I felt trapped by this book. I felt like I was their seventh friend that was also there and I was being hunted alongside my friends. Holly Jackson has a talent for building up tension in such a way that when things inevitably burst, you are just as devastated as the characters. It was such a good thriller and I feel like I need approx. two business weeks to recover from this book. READ IT!

Gripping!! Thrilling!! And left me on the edge of my seat!! Holly Jackson does it once again! Jackson has quickly become one of my favorite authors!! I’ve been a huge fan of her books since her AGGGTM series and this book was no exception!

"There was danger outside the RV, and now there was danger inside it."

When I tell you I SCREAMED at the end of this novel, and flew through it so freaking fast I was afraid I would catch the pages on fire (if it weren't digital)??? I'm not even joking.

For someone who is *extremely* hit and miss with thrillers, I absolutely devoured this. This is one of those thrillers with a simple enough background that allows you to hyper focus on the more horrifying aspects of 'no-one-is-safe' and 'one-of-us-is-next'. Five Survive is the type of thriller where you can't guess what is happening from one page to the next, and each new development is as shocking and terrifying as the next.

Within an eight hour period, Holly Jackson immerses readers in the cramped RV alongside our six teens, stranded in the middle of nowhere on their way to spring break. The catch? An assassin is hiding out in the dark, and no one can leave the RV alive unless they give the killer exactly what they want. A secret. One of them is hiding something. Tensions run at an all time high and the stakes heighten with each passing hour, leaving them no choice but to turn on one another, and force their dirty laundry out into the open in a desperate attempt to save themselves and survive the night.

From each reveal to each betrayal, I was GLUED to the page and couldn't stop myself from reading. Was I supposed to be working? Absolutely. Was I? Absolutely not.

Six teens. Six secrets. A life for a life, but is it worth it? Can they all survive the night, or will some of them end up dead, trying to escape with their lives AND their secrets?

Five Survive is set to be published November 29, 2022. Thank you to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

#netgalley

Wow. What a ride.
Rv trip with 6 teenagers. Some more well off than others. All of them have secrets.

One wrong turn and life will never be the same.

This book was so easy to read. I didn't want to put it down. Stayed up until 1am to finish it.

Poor Red.

I could not put this down! I don’t know how she does it but Jackson’s writing literally makes me tense because it’s so suspenseful. I want to hide my eyes! Well written characters and a good mystery.

A fast-paced thriller from the author of “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” about an spring break trip of 6 teens in an RV for spring break. After missing a turn, they find themselves stranded with a sniper taking aim at them. But there are secrets amongst the teens and the sniper want them exposed. Of the 6 in the RV only 5 will survive the night.

I really enjoyed it and appreciated the quick read that really kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhousekids for the ARC.

Themes: 🌑night, 🚐RV, 🔪killer, 🆘, 🛑, ⚠️
My thoughts: 😳🫣😬😵‍💫👍🏻👍🏻

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