I was pretty hooked on this from the start and struggled to put it down! I’m a sucker for reality TV and horror and in this reality TV “gone bad” book, I needed to see what happened next!

Publication Date: July 29, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first YA in years and I have never read a Kate Alice Marshall novel.

The story is about a group of teen survivors who were supposed to be joining a competitive game show in a ghost town but things take a turn quickly.

Some topics/themes are:
✨friendship
✨ things are not always as they appear
✨ don’t judge others before getting to know them

Overall, if you are looking for an exciting and thrilling read, this is for you!

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin group for the ARC in exchange of my honest opinions.

5 stars
Expected publication date - July 29, 2025

Thank you, NetGalley, and PENGUIN GROUP for this eARC for review. All opinions are my own.

Mercy Gray is chosen to participate in a reality show called 'Survive This' with 7 others. When she arrives, she meets the other contestants, but no one else is there. No crew at all. Shortly after the groups failed attempt at the first challenge, they find one of the contestants murdered. Now, everyone is a suspect, and not everyone is who they claim to be.

I absolutely loved this book! I am now an older adult, but the story and characters were still relatable. I was already a huge fan of the author and was pleased to love this as much as her other work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great thriller. I really enjoyed this book and had a great reading experience.

Net galley offered me this title for 48 hours to read and I barely set it down, I was determined to finish it before it expired. And it was good enough that I had no trouble doing so. There were a lot of twists and turns I wasn’t expecting, which kept it very engaging. The ending took me by surprise as well, I never saw it coming, which I love. I like my endings to be a surprise and to be well explained, so I understand why everything has happened that way it has. This book tied things up nicely and still managed to move along smoothly. The backstories of each character were interesting as well and you could see why they were all chosen for this game. I found its devilishly delightful. I was given an advanced copy to read and all opinions are my own.

Great YA locked room mystery with good characters and atmosphere. Mercy, along with seven other 19-20 year olds, sign up for a survival type reality show where they will be completing challenges in a ghost town. As soon as they arrive, things go sideways and nothing seems above board. We get to know some characters better than others, but our heroine, Mercy, is very developed with an interesting back story. Each character has a past trauma and the stories were woven in well. It was twisty, dark story - very on brand for this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

Although I am no longer a young adult, I find myself enjoying young adult thrillers more and more. This one was no exception. When I saw the whole plot of this book I was in I am a huge reality TV fan, especially when it’s survival or game show related. I felt like we got good detail and backstory for each character. The character of Milo, wanting affection from Mercy gave me the chills. That is the only reason I’m giving a four star review. If I hadn’t of figured out the plot twist so soon I probably would’ve given it five stars. I loved all the twists and turns in all the moments where you’re like oh, could it get any worse? I would highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley, Kate Alice Marshall, and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for the ARC!!

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC copy

Very interesting concept and written very well. Kept me hooked from the start. I cannot say I saw that ending coming.

The concept of a bunch of survivors competing together was what sucked me in, unfortunately it just fell flat for me. It’s a decent enough popcorn thriller but most of the characters lacked depth and I just couldn’t immerse myself into it the way I wanted to. I did enjoy the book overall but unfortunately it just wasn’t as good as it could have been to me.

I loved everything about this book. The cast of characters had me rooting for each of them. Every character had nuance and wasn’t limited to a one-dimensional caricature. They had depth and complexity and felt real.

The plot had so many twists and turns that I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. However, everything fit together in a way that when you finished, each part made sense. This was a master piece of a book and I enjoyed it immensely. 10/10 easy.

I did not love this, but I did not hate this. I'll start with the things I liked about the book.

Things that worked:
-The reality show game element to the plot was interesting especially since it focused on very young adults (18-20 years old). That was unique and had me intrigued right from the beginning.
-I actually liked most of the characters especially Harrison, Alethea and Eli. I will say that the characters were mostly caricatures, but at least most of them were likable.
-The characters' back stories (and the associated traumas that went with it) made me understand them better.

Things that didn't work:
-The forced "romance" in a situation where it makes absolutely no sense. People are dying and things are happening FAST! How do they have any time to develop feelings and then act on them as well???
-A lot of the plot twists were so silly and unbelievable. I can't really get into details here because of spoilers, but this is a common theme for me with this author, her plot twists are not good. They require you to suspend your disbelief WAAAAY too much.
-How quickly a lot of the characters figured things out without any evidence at all. I guess they are all clairvoyant.

Overall, I just don't think Kate Alice Marshall's writing is for me. After reading two of her books, I can't say that I will read another one.

Thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

We Won't All Survive was a good book but, not great. The premise sounded really good I went into it expecting a lot of action and suspense, and there was some, but not as much as I was expecting. The book was well paced, I enjoyed trying to figure out who to trust and who not to trust. Because of this it definitely kept me interested I was just hoping for more.

Thank you Netgalley for the early copy!

I tore through this. It was such a page turner, such a cool premise and filled with twists. I really liked all the characters too. This was such a fun thrillwr and I really could not put it down. I wasn't even really searching for what the twist was at the end because I was enjoying the actual story so much. So well done.

I really loved this book! The author wrote all of the characters to be empathetic and suspicious so I really didn’t know who was bad til the reveal. This book had its hooks in me! I thought about it when I wasn’t reading and was anxious to get back to it. There’s so much to say but I really feel like I can’t without spoiling things that got my attention as a reader.
I will say after reading this on the netgalley app they have some bugs to work on with the app. I kept losing my place and the bookmark function did not work. I am thankful for the opportunity to read the advanced copy though!

Major typo: There is a typo at the end of chapter 15 where a person who is missing is mentioned and doesn’t actually show back up for another chapter. There were a few more small typos but since this is an ARC I’m betting your editor will catch them. :)

read if you like:
📺 survivor or other reality shows
🙋🏻‍♂️ physical challenges
👣 PTSD and trauma

summary:
I love Kate Alice Marshall so jumped on the opportunity to read this ARC! It follows Mercy, the hero of a mall shooting, who struggles from mounting medical debt and decides to sign up for a “Survivor”-like reality show, hosted by TV personality and billionaire Damien Dare (I pictured him like the guy in Fyre Festival). Once she arrives, she finds herself with seven other contestants in the middle of nowhere, in a man-made survivalist “community”. When one of the contestants ends up dead, Mercy realizes the game is not what she expected, and there is more than meets the eye to the challenge itself — and the other contestants.

This book feels like the perfect balance between Survivor and Fyre Festival. Marshall does a great job of describing the setting and surroundings, which almost makes you feel like you’re part of the game itself. We learn a lot about the other characters, and what binds them together, and I couldn’t help but root for their success and their friendship, as it feels like they have a genuine kindness and compassion for each other. The story moves very quickly, and although there are a lot of red herrings and baits and switches in the middle, the ending is relatively predictable. Despite this though, it’s a very easy read that keeps you on your toes until the end, without making it overly complicated or difficult to follow.

if you love reality shows and want a quick read, check this book out when it releases on July 29! Thanks to Penguin Group, Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

3.5 stars rounded up. This was a fun story overall, even though it felt really familiar to me. I felt like one I've read before, but I couldn't immediately pinpoint which book(s?) it reminded me of. It was a solid story overall though and moved along quickly. The characters kind of blurred together for me at first, but I eventually sorted them out and found myself rooting for them to survive. It was the kind of YA book that seemed like it would make a fun, twisty TV show.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

I was a little worried when I first started reading this book. A few of the main characters were dude bros and the host of the show was also one. But once this story got going it literally got going. It built such a visceral sense of dread and the main character, Mercy, was so perfect for her role. I have never rooted for a MC so much in a thriller as I did for her and her backstory just had me. I usually read these types of books as palate cleansers between heavier books and I will happily add this to my shelf come publication day. It was never boring, had stakes that kept getting raised, and ultimately a likable set of characters.
Thanks Netgalley for sending me this arc and the publishing house for approving me.

We won’t all survive is an addicting, fast-paced read. A group of teens who have each survived a traumatic event are brought to a ghost town for a survivor show. Something seems off from the moment they arrive which adds to the tension. From there, a cascade of events transpire making the reader guess and second-guess who Mercy should trust. This is one of Kate Alice Marshall’s best work yet.

3.5 stars rounded up

Mercy finds herself in an abandoned town competing with a handful of other contestants in a new survival show to win $100,000. Shortly after arrival it seems nothing is turning out as it should be.

Overall the “pulse” of this book was fairly flat. There weee some bumps of excitement or thrill but nothing that gets you really excited or makes you feel like you just have to keep going to find out what happens next. There were for sure some good twists you didn’t quite anticipate but some parts just felt implausible (which I can’t quite explain without major spoilers).

Part of me wonders if my feelings towards this book are because it was written as a YA book so could explain the “flatness” I felt.

I will keep picking up Kate Alice Marshall’s books as I loved What Lies In The Woods and have enjoyed A Killing Cold and No One Can Know as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released July 29, 2025.

I was super excited about the premise of this book, a survivalist thriller reality show? Yes please!

However, We Won’t all Survive was a book that should have been exciting but wasn’t.

The premise sounded incredible and right up my alley, but in reality it was too slow and dragged on too much for me. It struggled to keep my attention and for me to care about anything that was happening.

I’ve never read this author before, but looks like she has a lot of fans so I’m sure I’m in the minority on my opinion for this one! 2 stars for cool concept though!