Five Survive
Holly Jackson
Six friends, all teenagers head across the country in an RV for spring break. Their trip begins in PA, they plan to overnight at a campground in SC. They make a wrong turn and attempt to turn the 31-foot RV around. Suddenly one of the front tires went flat. Red hears something moving in the darkness but doesn’t see anything. They change the tire and turn the RV around. Then they heard a crack and hiss the other front tire was flat. Then the two back tires were flat. The six teens stepped out in the dark to inspect the RV and Red saw a red dot. They heard a crack and there was a hole in the RV’s gas tank. The sniper shot out a window. With no cell service they had no way to get help. They were in the sight of a sniper, an assassin. The sniper knows who they are and is determined to get what he is after. One of the friends has a secret; they have something the sniper wants. “One of you knows something. A Secret. You know who you are, and you know what it is.” The RV seems to be closing in on them as they wait out the night. The teens start accusing each other, demanding answers. If no one volunteers, they will be forced. This tale takes place over an eight-hour period. When under such pressure they turn on each other.
Author Holly Jackson is a master at characterization. I felt I knew each teen and how they would respond to the strain. This was a fast read because I could not lay it down. I was glued to my ereader eagerly turning the pages. The book ends with sort of a cliff hanger. I wanted to know how the recipient of the letter would respond. I question the sanity of the writer. This is a 5 star-must read tale.

This book. I’m not even sure where to start. It drew me in so fast. It was infuriating, it was annoying at times, but it was so hard to put down. I love Holly Jackson’s writing and this book fits right in.

The only issues I had was Red narration at times. She was so repetitive with a few things & it did get a little annoying. The overall story of it though saved it & I ended up really enjoying it even though one of the characters made me so angry. But that’s when you know it’s a good book, when it makes you feel things even if the feeling is anger.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Five Survive is the story of a spring break road trip gone wrong. 6 teenagers set off in an RV on a roadtrip to the Carolinas, but as the title indicates, only 5 survive. Ambushed on a dead end road in the middle of nowhere, the teens are left trapped in their RV with no way out and no way to call for help.

I do appreciate the fresh take on a locked room mystery. The setting of an RV in the middle of the woods introduced some interesting elements to the story. A waiting threat outside and a directive to figure out who among them is hiding a secret is reminiscent of a Saw movie combined with Karen McManus's One of Us is Lying.I also appreciated how there were no punches pulled when it came to danger and stakes, which is rare in YA novels.

The writing in the first half of the book showed Red (our main character) to be easily distracted and forgetful. I wasn't sure if Red was meant to be neurodivergent or just suffering from the effects of trauma based on the writing style surrounding her character. This writing became very inconsistent in the back half of the book, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it, especially because it was never really addressed.

I also found the plot twists to be extremely unsurprising, particularly because of the heavy-handed foreshadowing. If you've ever read a mystery or thriller before you'll likely have it all figured out in the first half of the novel.

Overall, this book was okay. I perhaps had set high expectations coming off the author's A Good Girls Guide to Murder series (I really enjoyed the first 2 in the series, with the 3rd being a bit of a letdown). This still might be worth picking up if you're looking for a quick read or enjoy other similar YA thrillers, but it wouldn't be at the top of my list of recommendations in the YA thriller category.

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5049575505

The author has written a few novels, but I believe this one might be her best yet! What a ride! An excellent thriller by one of the top young adult authors, but anyone of any age would enjoy the twists and turns and the brilliant original plot. Wonderful, captivating writing gives this novel the depth and ability to pull in any reader. I highly recommend this author and all of her other books I have read have been nothing less than fantastic. She is definitely an auto-buy author for me, and I can't wait to own this novel in print.

I have a few of Holly Jackson's other novels on my TBR and after this one I am likely going to have to start reading those. Her writing is captivating and keeps be turning the page. I can't even say how long I stayed up reading this a few nights ago. It was worth the lost sleep.

I expected to love this one, but there were times where I struggled with it, especially at the beginning. I found it difficult to care about the main character, she just didn't seem authentic enough. I didn't care about the "banter" between the characters all that much either. However, once the action got going and I started to feel attached to the story and the cast, it was a good read. I'd recommend it to YA thriller readers.

i started agggtm a couple years ago now and never ended up finishing it. mostly, because my hold was due at the library, but i was also not invested enough to find another way to pick it up. however, i was excited for concept of five survive, and thought it would be a fun, face paced thriller, if nothing else. i ended up enjoying my time with the book. i wouldn't say i loved it, or found it to be anything particularly new, but it was an engaging read. the narrations style took some getting used to, but i think in the end it was one of my favorite parts of the book as it felt very authentic to our main character. ultimately enjoyable, but nothing special.

Definitely a must read! Don't let the fact that it's a YA book keep you from reading this one. I enjoyed it and think it will be a good one to read if you enjoy mystery thrillers.

The pace of this book is perfect- there is always something happening and I love that. Of course it did take a bit for the story to really take off and sniper right in but once it did, you are in for a ride.

I will say that it took me a bit to understand Red's thoughts, but after a while and getting her backstory it makes sense and is easier to follow along.

My only dislike was Oliver, I could punch him in the face! But all the other characters were extremely likable and I enjoyed their character development throughout the story.

THE ENDING!!! WOW!! That's all I have to say.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's for the eARC for my honest review. I will be posting my review on my instagram page @talkgoodbookstome very soon.

I did audiobooks with the Good Girls Guide to Murder series and my brain kept trying to “hear” the book that way for the first couple chapters. This is a completely different style but gets the reader engaged immediately just like the GGGTM series. Jackson does a good job in showing in words how severe anxiety from trauma can show up. How the person can seem spacey or quirky on the outside while there is a thunderstorm of thoughts and feelings brewing within.
The story is very interesting and compelling enough to want to read in one sitting. I’m taking a star off because I figured most of the mystery at the halfway mark but I’m much older than the target audience so keeping at 4/5.
This was an ARC courtesy of @netgalley.

oh my gosh! Holly Jackson does it again with another amazing and intense book! This one starts off with action right away. I felt like every time I tried to guess who I thought had the secret something would be revealed and I would be wrong. I enjoyed this one so much and the twist at the end I definitely didn’t see coming.

OH MY GOD… after reading the agggtm series i trust holly jackson completely, like i will literally read any book of hers and know that it’s gonna be good, and this one absolutely was! the plot was excellent and the characters were so compelling too. the book got scary really quickly but i couldn’t put it down, it was just TOO good. anyways, this was such a great book, can’t wait for everyone to read it when it comes out

thank you netgalley for the ARC!

Five Survive by Holly Jackson ✨

This book was INTENSE. It was a wild ride with the wildest concept. It kept me turning pages, but it was just pure chaos up to the end.

The book was more gory than I expected from a YA novel.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!!

OMG!!!! This. This. This. This is a thriller!!! This!! Forget what you think a good thriller is and just read this! As soon as possible. I thought my teeth were going to break bc I was clenching my jaw so hard, ya'll! This is beyond.... I shall call it: a jawclenching, heart racing, thriller masterpiece.

Six people go on a road trip from Pennsylvania to the Gulf for spring break. Four of them are high school students and two are in college. One of the reasons they are in an RV to travel is because Red can't really afford a plane ticket so her best friend Maddy planned this trip with that in mind. It's a good group but there is immediate tension already because Maddy's pre-law brother, Oliver, puts himself in charge. (It's incredibly annoying).

When they arrive in South Carolina to stop for the night at a camp site, they get lost and wind up in the middle of nowhere. (And, as someone from SC, I can promise that getting lost in the middle of nowhere there is seriously the freaking middle of nowhere and it's so scary, lol) . However, this seems to be no random just getting lost, especially when all the tires and the gas tank are shot out. There is a sniper in the woods. They communicate through a walkie talkie. And, the sniper wants to know a secret that only one of them can tell. But who is it? And, what is the secret?

This book is incredible. The author really illustrates how basic humanity can be lost and turned into something horrifying and ugly in a situation like this that is so frightening and puts a group in such a vulnerable position.

I recommend this for all fans of thrillers!

Out November 29, 2022!

I could not predict anything that happened. The pace and “no one is safe” vibe was amazing. SO good!! I wish I could read it for the first time all over again

Great read! As you travel with six kids on their way to spring break you learn a lot about them, and wonder who has the secret?! Who to trust? Who’s telling the truth? Starts with a slow burn but ends with a bang!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Holly Jackson and Delacorte Press for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

Five Survive
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Pub date: November 29, 2022
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Red and her friends are on a spring trip break, driving in a RV. When they take a wrong turn, thanks to crappy cell phone service, the whole trip changes. They are trapped in an RV with someone watching in the dark. The only way to get out of the RV safely is by telling them the secret they want to hear. However, as the night goes on they realize everyone in the RV has secrets. Not everyone will tell their secrets and not everyone will survive
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So I am freaking out about this book! Not only is it my first ARC, shout-out @netgalley @randomhousechildrens @ho, but it was so freaking good! Red, the narrator, is so likable. She has been through so much and always thinks everything is her fault. I loved seeing her development throughout the eight hours trapped in the RV. She slowly shows that she is not someone who can constantly be walked over. As everyone’s secrets slowly come out, she realizes more of them connect to her life than she thought possible. This might be a YA novel, but it was all the fast-paced, whodunnit action of an adult thriller. It definitely caters to a younger audience with the ages of the characters, but I could not stop reading to see what happens. The ending was something I would have never seen coming. I seriously loved this book, so all of the stars. And let’s be real, I will be picking this physical book up when it’s out

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Thank you Net Galley for the ARC of this. I was initially very excited for this, but as I continued to read the more I realized how much I hated all the characters. The plot was so unbelievable that I was pissed fr the start. No thank you.

When I started this book, the whole thing started rough for me. I just kept wanting it to get better as far as action-wise. We have a group of teenagers in an RV, and the plan is to have fun though it all goes sour when they seem to have taken a wrong turn. Six friends, someone has a secret, and they all need to learn how to trust one another to see the next day. We got to see how these teenagers handle situations, and sometimes the ones you think to have your back may be the ones that are quick to throw you under the bus.
The book started to pick up around 30 percent, I would say. Once it picked up, I flew through the story wanting to know the outcome. I will say I did not see the twists coming at all. Like, when one twist hit, I was surprised. Then the next bomb dropped, and I was like, oh sh!! I love books like this. I can not wait for my students to read this; I am sure they will love it.
I learned this author has written a Good Girls Guide to Murder, so I plan on reading that if it is as good as this one.

I absolutely loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Every single book. Even the last one which was a bit of a mess, if I’m being completely honest. So I was beyond thrilled to get an arc of Jackson’s newest book. Six teens trapped in an RV by a sniper, each with a secret they don’t want getting out, sounds intriguing, right? No. It was too much.

Here’s the deal, it took me a very long time to get invested in this book. I was probably 30% into the story before I started to care about it. That being said, I didn’t like any of the characters. At any point of the book. Ever. In fact, by 51%, I was so angry and annoyed, and ready to vote off the island, one specific character, that I wanted to throw my kindle across the room and DNF. But I pushed through, and as happened in book 3 of AGGGTM, I couldn’t stop reading. No matter how crazy, or confusing, or just flat out stupid ridiculous things got, I had to see it through. So, for that fact alone this book will get 3 stars from me… I guess? Honestly, I’m struggling with a rating here. The book kept me entertained, but I was enraged throughout most of it.

Ps: I loved book 3 in AGGGTM, and this book had very similar vibes, but something just didn’t translate as well. Also, open ended, up for interpretation endings? Not. A. Fan.

I thought this was a really interesting young adult thriller. I thought character development was a bit uneven, with some far more developed than others, but overall it was a quick and enjoyable read if you’re interested in YA fiction.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.