We Won’t All Survive is what happens when Squid Game and Saw collide with a YA thriller, layered with the unpredictable chaos of reality television. The result is a gripping, high-stakes narrative that blends psychological tension with survival horror.

Key Tropes and Themes:
- Deadly survival competition
- Whodunnit under pressure
- Enclosed, inescapable setting
- Secrets and hidden agendas
- A resilient, morally complex protagonist

At the center of the novel is Mercy Gray, a protagonist who embodies the “morally gray heroine” archetype—haunted by past trauma, fiercely determined, and driven by loyalty to her younger sister’s dreams. Two years after surviving a mass shooting at a mall, Mercy joins a televised competition for fellow trauma survivors, hoping to win prize money that could change her life. However, what begins as a game quickly devolves into something far more sinister: the set is abandoned, the crew is missing, and contestants begin dying under mysterious circumstances.

While the central mystery remains unpredictable (though I admit my detective skills are lacking), what stands out most is the depth of the ensemble cast. The supporting characters are far from one-dimensional; each possesses a distinct blend of strengths, flaws, and emotional complexity that enhances the narrative.

Kate Alice Marshall’s writing remains as compelling as ever—sharp, emotionally resonant, and tightly paced. For readers drawn to intense psychological thrillers laced with themes of trauma, trust, and survival, We Won’t All Survive is a standout addition to the genre.

We Won’t All Survive is a suspenseful YA thriller about Mercy Gray, a teen who became famous after saving lives during a mall shooting. Two years later, she's dealing with both physical pain (a bullet fragment is still in her back) and emotional trauma. She also has serious medical debt and feels like her life is stuck.

When she's invited to join a survival reality show hosted by billionaire Damien Dare, Mercy sees it as a chance to finally change her future. The winner gets a huge cash prize, which she hopes to use to help her younger sister go to college. The setup is supposed to be a classic wilderness survival competition—but the moment the contestants arrive, things feel off.

There’s no crew, no cameras, and the compound gates lock behind them. They quickly realize this isn’t a TV show at all. It’s a trap.

One contestant is found dead. At first, it looks like an accident. Then another dies. Panic sets in as they figure out someone among them is a killer and they’re being picked off one by one. The survival game has turned into a real-life murder mystery.

As the group tries to stay alive, Mercy starts to uncover secrets. The contestants were all chosen for a reason, and it wasn’t random. The big twist is that this entire “show” was designed as revenge. Someone connected to the mall shooting—someone who lost a loved one that day—has set up the game to punish those they blame, including Mercy.

Even worse, Mercy begins to realize the story told to the public about the mall shooting wasn’t entirely true. Some of the “heroes” might not have been innocent. Some parts of what happened were covered up, and now the truth is coming out in the most violent way possible.

In the end, Mercy discovers who the killer is—it’s one of the contestants who faked their identity to get into the group. Their motive is tied to the death of a family member who died in the mall shooting and never got justice. The entire reality show setup was a way to force a confession and carry out revenge.

Mercy is forced to fight for her life in a brutal final showdown. She survives, but just barely. The killer is stopped, but not before more people die. Mercy walks away alive, but changed—haunted by what happened, what she learned, and the people she couldn’t save.

The ending is powerful and emotionally heavy. It’s not a happy ending, but it’s a realistic one. Mercy doesn’t get everything she wanted, but she does reclaim some control over her life. She’s no longer just a “hero” the media created—she’s her own person, shaped by real pain and survival.

WOW! This book reeled me in from the first page and didn’t let go until it was over. This scratched exactly the right itch for me. “We Won’t All Survive” is a fast-paced thriller about a group of young adults who show up in a remote location to shoot a reality show. When they arrive, there is no crew waiting for them and no one else in the deserted town that is the setting of the show. Things quickly go bad from there.

The writing and plot of this was very tight and engaging. I didn’t want to stop reading and put the book down. The characters (for the most part) are likable and well-written. And there were some twists that I definitely didn’t predict. If you enjoy YA thrillers or thrillers in general I would absolutely recommend checking this out.

Thank you to Penguin Group, Viking Books, NetGalley and Kate Alice Marshall for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

📚two years has passed since Mercy Grey was hailed as hero for saving lives during a mall shooting. Mercy decided to join a games show and if she win the cash prizes for her sister’s college. When she and other contestants arrive to location, something isn’t right. The set is empty and the gate close without warning, trapping them inside. They think is part of game into one of them turn up dead. Mercy must found out can who she can trust if she went survive to the game and see her sister again.



💭 I have have feeling mix of this book. Even though I give 4 star, I will not pick up and read again. I love the characters and middle and end but in the beginning, it was slow, bored and dry.Maybe I wasn’t the audience for it. The writing was good. But I might pick her other books.
4 star ⭐️
Thank for NetGalley

Woowie this was a good one! I genuinely couldn’t believe the ending I didn’t see that coming. It was so dark and twisted in all the best ways!

This book jumps right in from page one- you are hooked wondering where they’re all going, who they are and what’s going to happen.
Set in an abandoned mining town, a group of seemingly mismatched people come together to compete for survival and a prize of 100k, each. I can’t say much more than that without giving it all away but wow this was a fast read. I finished it in under 24 hours I just could not put it down.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75
Survivor meets Squid Game in this twisty, high-stakes YA thriller

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the ARC of We Won’t All Survive in exchange for an honest review.

In this fast-paced thriller, Mercy Gray, once hailed as a hero for surviving a mall shooting, finds herself drawn into a deadly reality competition show hosted by a flashy billionaire. Desperate for the prize money to tackle her medical debt and to help her sister, she signs on for what she thinks is a survivalist game. But when the contestants arrive at the remote, off-grid location, the set is deserted, the gates lock behind them… and people start dying. What begins as a game quickly becomes a fight to make it out alive.

I don’t typically reach for young adult reads, but this one definitely pulled me in. The setup was gripping and tense, with a vibe that felt like Survivor crossed with Squid Game, complete with shifting alliances and mounting paranoia. I was really invested in seeing how everything would play out, and the author did a solid job layering in red herrings, I totally fell for a few.

Alethea ended up being one of my favorite characters; she had great depth and added a lot of heart to the story. I didn’t love Mercy as a protagonist. Her emotional responses didn’t always land for me, and I sometimes felt disconnected from her voice, but I appreciated how her trauma and guilt were realistically handled. The pacing stayed sharp throughout, and there was just enough blood and betrayal to keep the stakes high.

If you’re into fast-moving YA thrillers with a dark edge and a locked-room mystery feel, this is one to watch for when it hits shelves July 29, 2025.

What a wild ride! Very suspenseful from start to finish and not predictable like a lot of thrillers tend to be. I did not see the twists coming. The characters were likable as well so I was invested in the story. Overall a great read and highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley, Penguin Group and Author Kate Alice Marshall for advanced copy for honest review.

This was a fun read! Survivor meets Big Brother in this fight to survive Landry's Island. We follow Mercy Gray through the game Mr. Dare created on an island fashioned into a little town. All the influencers arrive but where is the production crew? Once the gate locks behind them, the game is on and the clock is ticking. Who will make it out alive? 4 stars, recommend!

Just wow. Countless twists & turns, you couldn't guess what was going to happen next even if you wanted to.
Definite page turner, i finished in a day & a half. It was that good

I wasn’t able to give feedback due to inability to download the content. I tried multiple ways and contacted help but was unable to successfully download to read. My sincere apologies!

Thank you NetGalley for the arc. A group of young people meet up at a camp in the woods, ready to start filming the tv reality show they have agreed to. It’s a much higher stakes game than they signed up for, trapped in the wilderness with no food or water just occasional instruction via video. Main protagonist Mercy is sure one of the group is a plant. She doesn’t know who to trust when the bodies start piling up.

Wow, what a ride! I went into We Won’t All Survive expecting a gritty game show survival story, but I got so much more. Damien Dale’s bizarre social experiment to make teenagers more self-reliant by throwing them into a survival game show turns sinister fast. The tension? Palpable. The twists? Unpredictable. I couldn’t put it down, and every new revelation left me questioning who to trust. Be warned: it’s dialogue-heavy, fast-paced, and occasionally brutal with themes like death and trauma. Definitely not your typical YA thriller—this one hits hard and keeps you guessing.

This YA thriller did not disappoint. Two years ago, Mercy survived a mass shooter, saving her sister and several others along the way. But she doesn't feel like a hero. When she is invited to compete on a survivor like reality show, she is quick to accept. The cash prize could completely change her sister's life. When she arrives at the show's location, it's soon clear to Mercy that something is off. She meets her fellow competitors, but the host is nowhere to be seen. When the gates lock them in, the stakes are heightened, and Mercy doesn't know who to trust.

I really enjoyed Mercy as a protagonist. She experiences self doubt, like we all do, but when the going gets tough, she is quick to step up. The interpersonal relationships between the characters were very well done in general. The plot was engaging and the mystery didn't feel rote. Would recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Absolutely loved this book. Survival thrillers are my thing and this one gave me everything I hoped for. The premise was what drew me in and made me want to read it, and the story from beginning to end did not disappoint.

Each character was fleshed out nicely and I liked them all. The pacing was perfect for me, and I didn't find any parts slow or boring. The ending answered every question I had and was believable for a YA thriller.

If I had to nitpick, it would be that sometimes the characters sounded too similar. But then again, young people do tend to sound alike nowadays.

Highly recommend this book, even for someone who's not a young adult like me who just enjoys a good survival thriller.

A big thank you to Penguin/Viking Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kate’s thrillers always keep me on the edge of my seat. I was disappointed that I couldn’t read this one on Kindle. I don’t enjoying reading an ebook on my phone or a tablet.

A survivalist reality show? Sign me up! Unfortunately, that's where my excitement for this book ended. This started out pretty slow, eventually picking up, but lacked much suspense or thrill. Overall, this book was good, just not great.

fun, fast paced thrill ride! obsessed with the way this unfolded. the writing and characters were all strong. can't wait to read more from this author.

I loved the premise....a reality survivor's program going wrong. Mercy, after surviving a mall shooting and having a huge medical debt that came from it...she needs this opportunity, so the stakes are high. She and a group of other "survivors" participating in the program by a very rich TV host. Things are cool and all, until one ends up dead, and then they realize who is doing the killing or what is going on, before all of them end up the same way. This book kept me reading on. I was never bored...it took me a couple weeks, but it was mainly due to life circumstances more than anything. I felt the characters were well developed and it didn't drag on, like I find a lot of books doing. It kept me on my toes, and when the action and suspense did ramp up, so did my reading...because of excitement. I would call this a thriller...it is scary, exciting, nerve wracking...you will feel for the characters, react to their choices, and more. For fans of survival horror, like me.

Goodness me, this was such a good book. Highly entertaining. Would definitely recommend to others, that's for sure!