Survivor vibes for sure!

This book had me from the beginning. All the characters were very diverse, but my favorite is the main character Mercy. She was brave, heroic, and someone that made me feel I could admire. Mercy is a known hero for saving eight lives during a mall shooting. She is then chosen to be a contestant on a survival reality television show...or she thinks. Is she being set up? Will she survive again? Can she even trust anyone at this point? You will just have to read to find out.

The book is well written and with just enough twists and turns, that it kept me engaged. This is perfect for YA readers and still keeps the interest of even the older adult readers. Overall, a must read!

#WeWontAllSurvive #NetGalley.

I enjoyed this YA book.

It was a solid thriller definitely a 4 star. I think it handled heavy topics really well for a YA. Will recommend this to friends

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!
Perfect YA thriller/mystery for YA and adults. Some drama and twists that keep you engaged and make it a quick read.

Mercy Gray, the teenage survivor of a mall shooting, signs up for a Survivor-style reality tv show alongside seven others in pursuit of a $10,000 cash prize. When she arrives and meets the other contestants, all of whom have also experienced some life-or-death event, it becomes clear that everything is not as it seems. Mercy and the others quickly realize that they are alone in a ghost town, locked in and required to engage in various challenges to secure critical supplies. She will have to work against the odds - and herself - to trust her would-be competitors to make it out alive. But when one of the others turns up dead, how will they move past it?

“We Won’t All Survive” was an intriguing addition to the YA thriller genre. As a woman, I could definitely relate to the situation that Mercy’s sister, Jamie, finds herself in prior to the events of the story, although I never faced consequences quite so dire. While the parallels for Mercy became clear to me early on, it felt a bit unrealistic for that to occur twice in the same narrative to that extent. That being said, I enjoyed the found family element of the survivors, especially towards the end.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for We Won’t All Survive by Kate Alice Marshall

Mercy Gray is known for saving a bunch of people during an active shooter situation and has now been selected for a survivalist reality show. She is in desperate need of the cash prize after drowning in medical bills. The cast arrives at the location and quickly discovers the set is empty and the games stakes are truly life or death.

This YA mystery/thriller is action packed with games and trials that keep the story moving and the bodies piling up. I’m such a sucker for reality game shows and loved the plot from the start. I enjoyed the cast of characters and the way the author reveals Mercy’s distrust through intense flashbacks. The ending was not my favorite, it wrapped up a little too conveniently/villain’s reasons were bizarre, but it’s still a fun quick moving story.

We Won’t All Survive is out July 29th, 2025. Thank you to Netgalley and Viking for the opportunity to read this e-arc.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this awesome book that kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end!

My first Kate Alice Marshall book and I will definitely be checking out her others! We Won’t All Survive kept me wanting more with each chapter that I read!

You’d think getting chosen to participate in a reality show survival game with a very big ole’ cash prize at the end would be easy peasy, right? It’s not real. What could possibly go wrong?
A lot actually...

Mercy has felt guilty ever since the unfortunate day that some crazy guy with a gun started shooting around at the mall and she caught a ricocheted bullet to the back. Costing her family the money they had saved up for her sister to attend Stanford. So when an opportunity arises for Mercy to win the money back and send her sister off to college to live out her dreams, she jumps on the chance!

But unbeknownst to the contestants, not all is as it seems. As the contestants start to realize this and wonder what’s going on, people start dying… Where is the crew and why has no one come to check on them? Also, something these contestants are unaware of, is that they all have something in common, they’re survivors. But will what they experienced in the past be enough to get them out of yet another awful situation?

I binged this book in about 2 days and did enjoy it! It is a typical YA but I thought the way trauma was discussed was very mature. I enjoyed the plot as well, I found some parts, especially with the final culprit, very predictable, would've enjoyed another twist or two. However, would definitely recommend for fans of a quick thriller!

I love Kate Alice Marshall’s ability to twist the ordinary into something sinister, and We Won’t All Survive was no exception. From the very first page, there’s a quiet dread that builds and builds until you realize—oh, this isn’t going to end well. And spoiler: it doesn’t. But in the best way.

The survival aspect had my heart racing, and the character dynamics were just messy enough to feel real. I was constantly questioning motives, alliances, and who I could trust—and even then, I still didn’t see everything coming.

If I’m being honest, I wanted just a little more from the ending. Not because it didn’t land—it did—but because the buildup was so strong, I hoped for just a bit more impact or closure. Still, it was haunting in that leave-you-staring-at-the-wall kind of way.

Kate Alice Marshall is an auto-buy for me, and this one proves why. Gritty, emotional, and quietly devastating. Don’t go in expecting a happy ending—just buckle up and enjoy the fall.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I’ve read a couple other books by Kate Alice Marshall and really enjoyed them, so I was looking forward to this one. I always love a good reality competition that turns deadly, so this was right up my alley. I loved the characters and really appreciated that they each had their own individual personalities and stories. I did figure out the plot twist kinda early on, so I wasn’t super shocked by the ending, but it didn’t take away from the reading experience for me at all. If you’re looking for a tense, fun YA thriller to read this summer, this one is a great option!

We won’t all survive was spectacular! Seriously my top thriller of 2025 so far! I am beyond thrilled to get early access to this digital ARC as I absolutely loved Kate Alice Marshall’s last book, A Killing Cold! We Won’t all survive had some major twists and I was so nervous about who to trust in this book! I thought for sure I knew who was good and who was bad but whoa! I was wrong each and every time and I loved this book! Didn’t wanna work or do any adulting until I finished this book. Kate Alice Marshall keep doing what you’re doing! Top notch.

We Won’t All Survive is a tense, gripping thriller that hooked me from the first page. Kate Alice Marshall perfectly blends the survival genre with a sharp murder mystery, creating a story that's both fast-paced and emotionally charged. I found Mercy to be a compelling protagonist—strong, vulnerable, and deeply human in a situation that constantly tested her. The isolated setting added a constant sense of dread, and the twists genuinely surprised me more than once. While the story is thrilling, it also touches thoughtfully on trauma, resilience, and trust. If you like your thrillers smart, unpredictable, and packed with heart, this one is absolutely worth picking up.

I've read pretty much all of Marshall's most recent titles, and this was by far my favorite one. It was super suspenseful, fast-paced, and there were many twists I didn't see coming. The characters all felt really three-dimensional and authentic. Even though it's a scary thriller, there were also a lot of really timely themes that felt relevant (mass shooting, billionaire ruining people's lives, misogyny, etc.). I'm really excited if this is the direction Marshall's writing is going in now because this was just a fantastic read, in my opinion.

Good book. Didn't exactly grab my attention at first. I will give it three stars. I did enjoy the ending though.

Eighteen-year-old Mercy Gray became a national hero after saving lives during a mall shooting — an act of bravery that left her seriously wounded and facing months of costly medical treatment. To repay her sister, who sacrificed her college fund to cover Mercy’s hospital bills, Mercy enters a reality competition called Who Survives. The show, hosted by the enigmatic billionaire Damien Dare, takes place in a desolate ghost town and offers a $100,000 grand prize.

The contestants, all between 18 and 20 years old, share one thing in common: a traumatic past. Together, they must complete challenges to earn essential survival supplies. But from the moment they arrive, something feels wrong — no production crew greets them, and by the next day, one of their own is found dead. As fear and suspicion mount, Mercy and the others must rely on each other to survive — but with trust in short supply, it becomes a deadly game of who will make it out alive.

I was thrilled to receive this book, especially since Kate Alice Marshall has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I didn’t realize it was a young adult novel when I first started reading, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment at all. I loved the diverse cast of characters and how their personal traumas felt relevant and timely. The reality TV survival game show setting was a great backdrop, even as the game didn't go as planned. Overall, I found the story incredibly engaging — easy to dive into and nearly impossible to put down. I think the themes of trusting your instincts and setting healthy boundaries are thoughtfully written and especially important for young adult readers. I would highly recommend picking this one up when it’s released.

Thank you so much to Kate Alice Marshall,
PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for this ARC of We Won’t All Survive.

To say I’m a Marshall fan would be putting it mildly. This is an auto-buy author for me. When I saw this YA book I was intrigued. I haven’t read a YA book as an adult but I figured there was no harm in trying!

This book had an amazing plot line and very likable characters. The plot line for me was extremely easy to guess but maybe that’s because I’m reading a book made for a younger audience. I would definitely recommend this as a quick read for adults or for any young readers that are interested in thrillers. This is a wonderfully written, age-appropriate story. 4/5 stars!

Thank you Viking Books and NetGalley for this eARC, here is my honest review:


Mercedes Gray (Mercy) went through a traumatizing event a few years prior. When an opportunity to make money by joining a survival reality show presents itself, she jumps at the opportunity. Much to the dismay of her younger sister, who begs her to reconsider. When Mercy arrives to her destination, she quickly realizes this may have been a mistake.

This was such a fun read. Definitely feels YA, but not in a bad way. The FMC is someone you immediately connect with and root for, making the read so gripping. I did feel like some of the other characters were hard to differentiate between and I sometimes got confused/lost about which character was being discussed/was talking. I did enjoy a lot though! Very ‘Survivor’ but YA, and kind of gave Hunger Games vibes at times. Altogether, definitely recommend!

Kate Alice Marshall’s “We Won’t All Survive” is an action-packed reality TV/Final Girl thriller that will keep you entertained until the last page.

Our primary protagonist is Mercy, a mall shooting survivor, who's been invited to spend 6 weeks at an isolated California ghost town owned by an Elon Musk-ish daredevil/evil billionaire named Damian Dare with his own apocalyptic thesis about survival of the fittest. Just making it to the end of the show, “Who Survives?” guarantees each contestant $100,000 — enough for Mercy to pay for her sister Jamie’s college education. Joining Mercy are seven other 18-20 year olds, all of whom have also endured some kind of defining traumatic event (a “Precursor Event” according to Dare’s philosophy) — an eclectic gathering for adolescent PTSD sufferers to suffer again. There is supposed to be a high tech safety element, but , like “Westworld”, there are immediate glitches, someone dies, and the remaining group realizes they are trapped and apparently alone.

The plot is partially predictable — involving a lot of twists, physical challenges, backstory reveals, surprising skill sets — but it’s paced to have us rooting for Mercy and some of her teammates. Marshall is tasked with developing multi-layered characters who seem to be worthy of trust in one scene, and then suspicious in the next. There are times that juggling eight plus characters could be confusing, but the author manages to clearly define each of the contestants. This was a quick read that I completed in one intense sitting. Always a good sign! 4 stars!

One irk: Did no one consider setting up rain barrels to conserve water?

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): NO No eye colors were mentioned.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): Well, the spines of prickly pear cacti don’t need to be burned off — you can just cut them off with a knife.

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoy this author’s adult novels, and since YA is usually not my choice of reading, I was expecting to at least like or tolerate this YA thriller, but I was wrong - I LOVED it!!

The premise of gathering all these teens together had me skeptical at first, but once the suspenseful things started happening, I was hooked. And I thought I knew how it would end but it honestly threw me for a loop like three separate times going “wait what???”

Pleasantly surprised and would definitely recommend!

I really enjoyed this book. It had a little bit of everything! The characters were well developed and the writing was superb. I will recommend to my friends!

A survivalist reality program that turns deadly sounded right up my alley! I went into this book with high hopes as I have enjoyed several of the author's other books. Sadly, this one wasn't quite as enjoyable for me as the others were. This is geared for the YA audience so keep that in mind when picking up this book.

Mercy Gray is part of a group of survivors who have been invited to participate in a reality survival program. She survived a mall shooting a few years ago, and agrees to participate hoping that if she wins, she can pay off her HUGE medical debt. Others will join in her a program dreamed up by a billionaire turned tv host.

When they arrive and become acquainted, things take a turn fast! Soon one of them will be dead and others will follow as the game doesn't appear to be working, and no one knows what or who is behind the deaths!

This book was lacking a little bit of the intrigue and gripping mystery of the previous books I have read by this author. I did enjoy the trapped feel in this book, along with some of the tension between the characters. This book quickly becomes a whodunit with characters not knowing who they can trust or how they will escape. Speaking of the characters, some are more fleshed out than others and I had a hard time connecting with them.

YA readers looking for a mystery meets survival story; this might be the book for them. There is some tension and suspense. Unfortunately, it was just ok for me. But that will not stop me from reading more of what Kate Alice Marshall writes. I will just stick with her adult books.

Others did enjoy this book more than I did, so please read their reviews as well.

**If you get this book from NetGalley it does have a lot of issues (at least mine did). The version on NetGalley is not a kindle book. It can only be read on the NetGalley App/NetGalley reader. I found it to be very hard to make bookmarks when I needed to put the book down. I also found that it was very touchy and would jump pages in both direction which made reading the ARC very frustrating. I do not like reading books on my phone unless they have a 'read aloud' choice. This one did not and made reading this book very frustrating.