This was my first foray into Marshall's YA work and what a treat it was. When a group of 18-20 year olds agree to star on a survivalist style reality show, they have no idea what is in store for them. With each individual impacted by trauma at one point in their life, they are prepared to deal with the worst, but when one of their own winds up dead, they must start to question each other.

Mercy was a fun protagonist as she was written with both strength and fear in equal measure. Experiencing the survival story through her eyes and with her inner monologue was interesting and telling if you are paying close enough attention.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

We Won’t All Survive follows Mercy Gray two years after she survives a mall shooting. She was labeled a hero but she was left with medical debt, a fragment of a bullet in her back, and guilt. When Mercy is chosen as a contestant on a new survivalist reality show, she agrees in hopes to win the cash prize. But everything is not as it seems in the off-grid ghost town. The gates close without warning and someone turns up dead. Mercy must race against the clock as their resources run low to determine who to trust before she’s next on the killer’s list.

Kate Alice Marshall is such a good author!!! Her books always manage to capture me instantly. I loved the premise of this one. It’s such a scary and fascinating plot with a killer setting. The ghost town is in the mountains beside an abandoned mine and completely isolated. It was so eerie and atmospheric. I loved the twist at the end!! This is a perfect survival murder mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Mercy was such a good main character. She was so complex and has a really great arc. I loved learning about the guilt she carried after the mall shooting and how it warped her perception of things. It was really nicely woven throughout the story and the ending was so good and satisfying for her story. I loved Althea and Harrison! They were such a vibe and such sweethearts. The whole group is really interesting and the drama was on point.

I’d highly recommend this one if you love murder mysteries with a survival twist!

Thank you to Penguin and Netgalley for the arc!

This book was so much fun to read! I genuinely cannot remember the last time I flew through a book this quickly.

That being said I would like to note that each character in this book has been subjected to some sort of trauma- with Mercy, the main character having been involved in a mall shooting, but these traumas are important to the plot of the book.

I love a good isolated, cut-off from communication, trapped horror/thriller story and this one was all of that- and so much more! The characters were great and Mercy's development was fantastic. This book tackles a lot it's a mystery, its a survival story, it's a social commentary and I loved it from start to finish.

Is it weird that I immediately want to start reading it again?

Months ago, Mercy survived a mall shooting. 12 people died, but she managed to save herself and her sister, along with many others. Now, Mercy has been invited to compete in a survivalist game show organized by a billionaire youtuber/podcaster, where she and her fellow contestants are up against the elements. Things aren't going according to plan though, once trouble really sets in and they discover there isn't as much help as one might expect.

Fun, fast-paced, and super interesting. We get a couple gnarly descriptions, but nothing too in-depth. I did NOT figure things out until we were further along in the story, which I loved! Such a compelling story.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

A new age survivalist realty show, a handful of teenagers, and the will to survive (hopefully). One Catch, okay more than one, all of the contestants have had a trauma previously in their life. Apparently, this is required. One trauma for more trauma.......

Mercy joins the cast on a new realty TV show where each person has to survive. This is not a show where there is only one winner, there can be multiple winners. All each one has to do is survive whatever is thrown at them. Easy, right?

Mercy has already survived a mall shooting where her sister was the target, and saved others while doing so. By joining the cast of this show, she has hopes of paying for her sisters college with the prize, as her own medical bills drained the college fund (again, mall shooting, Mercy was shot).
Only problem is when the cast arrives, the place is abandoned. Or it that part of it? And someone doesn't make it thru the first night.

One would think a death would cancel everything. Or it is something else they must survive.

The twists keep coming with this one. Very fast paced and short chapters make for a thrilling read. And once you think you have all of the twists figured out, just wait. there's another one coming.

A shooting survivor is asked to compete on a reality survival show... where the other contestants are also survivors of tragic events.

The twists were great, and though I did guess the killer early in, it didn't detract from the reading. It feels like a Holly Jackson novel in a great way, with well rounded characters and a solid pace.

Thank you Netgalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Kate Alice Marshall’s “We Won’t All Survive” is a fast-paced YA thriller with a dark premise, a haunted protagonist, and a brutal twist on the reality show trope. While it doesn’t quite reach the emotional depth of some of Marshall’s other works, it delivers exactly what it promises: a tense, escapist, popcorn thriller with just enough bite to leave an impact.

The story follows Mercy Gray, a survivor of a mass shooting who carries not only trauma but a literal bullet still lodged near her spine. Struggling with guilt and medical debt, she accepts an offer to join a survival-based reality competition set in a remote ghost town called Laundry’s Gap. Eight contestants. Six weeks. The promise of $100,000 to each survivor. But almost immediately, the competition takes a deadly turn; one that’s very real, very deadly, and nothing like the sanitized version Mercy signed up for.

What starts as a reality TV stunt morphs into a sinister psychological experiment (or something worse), as contestants with traumatic pasts begin dying one by one. Is someone killing them off? Were they brought here for something more than entertainment? And can any of them trust each other long enough to make it out alive?

Marshall leans into familiar dystopian and locked-room tropes filtered through a distinctly YA lens. What elevates this book is its attention to character backstories, especially that of Mercy, Eli, and Althea. Each contestant is dealing with PTSD, survivor’s guilt, or societal trauma, and while some side characters are more developed than others, the effort to explore psychological scars gives the book emotional weight. Themes like toxic masculinity, the weaponization of trauma, and societal double standards are integrated into the story, sometimes with a preachy edge, but often with poignancy. I especially liked the depiction of toxic masculinity through showing how our society tends to blame women who “lead men on” and how some boys and men are never taught the word “no.” The writing brings to light the problems with this kind of thinking and how traumatic it can be.

The book excels at building tension early on, with an eerie, abandoned-town setting and a creeping sense of dread as contestants realize the cameras aren’t rolling because there’s no show. It’s real. And they’ve been trapped. However, the book loses some momentum midway, and the survival “game” aspect falls away rather abruptly. A few twists are predictable, and the stakes occasionally feel muted for a survival thriller. Still, the ending is satisfying, especially in how it focuses on solidarity among survivors and Mercy’s journey toward healing and self-forgiveness.

Overall, “We Won’t All Survive” isn’t Marshall’s most unforgettable work, but it’s an effective YA thriller that delivers a high-concept setup, emotional resonance, and social commentary without straying too far from its genre roots. If you're in the mood for a dark, twisty, trauma-informed survival story with a modern edge, this one fits the bill. Just don’t expect every twist to blow you away or everyone to make it out alive.

I can't wait to read this and will come back and edit this as soon as the book releases. I'm sorry but I can't read on phone/computer for more than a couple of minutes and this doesn't allow me to send to Kindle.

We Won’t All Survive absolutely lives up to the promise of its premise. The mash-up of reality and classic horror—where the cast gets picked off one by one—makes for a tense and addictive read.

I loved the way it played with familiar tropes while still feeling fresh and unpredictable. The reality show framework adds a sharp edge, and I actually found myself wishing that aspect had been pushed even further. Still, the mix of survivor like challenges and creeping dread worked so well.

The pacing is tight, the characters feel real (and flawed in all the right ways), and the ending was both satisfying and unsettling. A really compelling read that I’ll be thinking about for a while. Fans of horror, survival thrillers, or dark social commentary will find a lot to enjoy here.

Rounding it up from 3.5/5. This was a very atmospheric and addictive YA thriller that delivered strong creepy summer vibes (which I loved). Even though the beginning was a tiny bit slow, it only took about 30% for me to get pretty much addicted to the story and I could not put it down!

The setting was unique and sucked me in, and I loved the character dynamics and found family vibes. Also loved the hints of romance - I thought that was a fun touch and true to the YA thriller genre.

My only reason for the lower rating is I did feel that this was fairly predictable - I still enjoyed it regardless but I did feel like there were almost one too many misdirections away from Milo and making it seem like the narrator was unreliable. I was pretty confident that I knew who the culprit was from the beginning, and I wasn't really swayed towards anyone else throughout the book.

That said, I would still definitely recommend it! Especially for readers new to the thriller genre. It was a well-paced read with an original plot and original characters. I definitely feel like I can count on Kate Alice Marshall to deliver that every time, which I love. She is definitely a go-to thriller author of mine now!

Thanks for the review copy. I would have liked to be able to read this one in the kindle app versus the Netgalley app. I’ve enjoyed previous books by Marshall but this one may be my least favorite.

This was a "fun" YA thriller/mystery. It felt unique and the first person POV made it more difficult to see all of the twists coming. Some of it felt very on the nose right now, with Damien Dare seeming very similar to a certain tech CEO. It felt like Mercy would recognize the issues with what was happening faster after going through the shooting, but the realization moment felt very real. I'll definitely be suggesting this one for my teen daughter.

I love competitive reality TV, so the premise of this book grabbed me right away. 8 18-20 year olds are competing in a survival challenge for $100,000 each. Right from the jump, things about the game don't seem right, then soon they totally go off the rails. I sat down and read this whole book in two sittings. It is definitely YA, but in a fun, not too angsty way. The mystery of what was happening and who the bad guy would be was not something I was able to predict, but I was engaged enough to keep trying. All in all, We Won't All Survive was a really good time that I would recommend to anyone who likes adventure mysteries.

Mercy Gray needs money to help her sister and the only way she can figure to make a large sum quickly is to agree to compete on a survival reality show developed and hosted by billionaire Damien Dare. When Mercy and her fellow castmates show up to an abandoned mining town and find themselves confined within the walls things turn deadly.

Since reading Rules for Vanishing Kate Alice Marshall has been an author that I will automatically read. She has created a suspenseful and entertaining mystery that keeps the reader guessing. Marshall also hits on a lot of issues involving toxic masculinity and consent as well as the impacts of trauma. I really enjoyed this book and found myself speeding through it. This was a definite hit for me, and I hope it finds the readers that need it.

Alright, gather 'round, ye brave souls and aspiring reality TV stars, because we need to talk about Kate Alice Marshall’s We Won’t All Survive. And let me tell you, if you thought your last camping trip was rough, you haven’t seen anything yet.

Our "hero," Mercy Gray (yes, Mercy – a name practically begging for irony in a thriller), is still hobbling around with a bullet souvenir in her back from a mall shooting two years prior. So, naturally, when a flamboyant billionaire named Damien Dare, comes calling with a shiny new survivalist reality show and a boatload of cash, Mercy, in her infinite wisdom, thinks, "Sure, what’s a little more trauma for a college fund?"

Now, if your Spidey-senses aren't already tingling like a cheap glow stick at a rave, let me enlighten you: this isn't your grandma's cozy campfire singalong. Mercy and her fellow contestants arrive at this "off-grid location" (translation: middle-of-nowhere-ville, population: future murder victims), and lo and behold, the set is empty. The gates clank shut, trapping them in, and then – gasp! – someone drops dead. What starts as a "tragic accident" quickly morphs into a full-blown, contestant-culling extravaganza.

Marshall crafts a deliciously tense ride here. You know that feeling when you're watching a horror movie and you're screaming at the screen, "DON'T GO IN THERE !"? Yeah, get ready for a lot of that.

Is it the quirky one? The quietly menacing one? The one who keeps talking about their sourdough starter? Honestly, at this point, it could be anyone, and that's half the fun.

We Won’t All Survive is the kind of young adult thriller that grabs you by the collar, shoves a bag of popcorn in your hand, and says, "You’re not going anywhere until this is over." It’s got all the delicious ingredients: a high-stakes premise, a morally gray protagonist, and a body count that makes you wonder if they're holding auditions for the sequel in a morgue. It’s sarcastic, it’s thrilling, and frankly, it makes me think twice about ever signing up for a game show. But hey, if you’re looking for a book that will make you question everyone’s motives and leave you gasping for air, dive right in. Just don’t forget to check under your bed afterward. And maybe bring a first aid kit. Just in case.

I don't like Kate Alice Marshall books....I LOVE them. This author has been one of my favorites for awhile ut I really fell in love with her writing after i attended a meet and greet with her. She is such a talented, amazing human. There will never be enough space for me to gush about how much I love her & her books.

When I first started reading this-I instantly thought One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware. No. Way wrong. (I love Ruth but that was not her best work). Kate did the reality show gone bad so perfectly. It's like she was born to be a writer. SHOCKER! Some things really are too good to be true and Mercy unfortunately learned that the hard way in this fast paced thriller.

Although this was a YA book-I love anything Kate writes. I cannot wait for her next one!

This book was phenomenal. It had me hooked right from the start and all the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat. I had no idea what was happening (in a good way!) and there were so many layers to the mystery that the author peeled back in the most satisfying way. Mercy was a great protagonist and though guarded from the start, was very intriguing and really came into her own given the nightmarish circumstances. The supporting cast was great and I did not see the end coming at all. I think this will be perfect for YA readers looking for thrills and mystery galore.

Thank you to Katie Alice Marshall, NetGalley, and the publisher for this eARC! Can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy once it gets released on July 29th!!

My first ever Katie Alice Marshall book and I absolutely loved this book! I haven’t read a mystery/thriller book in a while. This one had me HOOKED! It is a YA so if that isn’t your thing you might not enjoy it as much but I love them and loved this! Literally talked to my husband through our WHOLE breakfast date on the plot of what I had read that far. Came home and finished it off! The plot hooked me from the beginning and I’m a big baby so while reading at night it had me listening extra careful to all the creaks and squeaks in the night(it’s not even that type of book. Like I said I’m just a big baby! 🤣) I loved the message behind a lot of the plot. It went into trauma, misogyny, racism and just things women go through daily (made for ya so nothing to out of the age bracket!) just all around a very good fast paced suck you in book!

Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced reading copy.
What a true pleasure this book was! The characters are lovable, the storyline intriguing, and just when you think you know how it ends....you definitely don't! Fast paced, action packed, and so much more are filling the pages of this book. Great read!!

"We Won’t All Survive" by Kate Alice Marshall is a thrilling ride from start to finish! What begins as a survival game show quickly spirals into something far more sinister—was it just an accident, or is there a killer in their midst? Marshall balances humor and suspense perfectly, crafting a well-written story that keeps the tension rising with every chapter. The twists kept me guessing, and the ending did not disappoint! A fun, twisty, and chilling read.