Mercy Gray became a hero two years ago after saving people during a mall shooting, but she still struggles with pain, debt, and guilt related to that day. When a wealthy TV host offers her a spot on a survival reality show with a big cash prize, Mercy sees it as a chance to help her sister’s future. However, once she and the other contestants arrive, things quickly go wrong—the location is eerily empty, the gates lock them in, and contestants start dying one by one. Mercy has to stay alive and figure out who she can trust before she becomes the next victim.
We Won’t All Survive is a fast-paced, survivalist YA thriller that hooks you from the first chapter and doesn’t let go. The story follows Mercy Gray, a young woman still reeling from the trauma of surviving a mall shooting. When she’s invited to join a high-stakes survival reality show by a famous TV host, it seems like a shot at redemption—or at least a way forward. But once the contestants arrive, it becomes clear something is very wrong. The set is abandoned, the gates lock behind them, and when people start dying, the line between game and nightmare vanishes.
This book is tense, engaging, and full of twists—some predictable, some genuinely surprising. While the core concept may feel familiar to fans of locked-room thrillers and survival games, Kate Alice Marshall keeps the momentum strong with emotionally complex characters and a sharp, cinematic pace. Mercy, along with the other contestants—all young survivors of past traumas—form an unlikely found family as they fight to stay alive and uncover who’s really behind the deadly setup.
The story explores trust, trauma, and the consequences of survival in a world that expects you to move on. It’s dark, dramatic, and sometimes over-the-top, but it works. Though more mature readers might find the twists a bit obvious or the YA tone a little soft compared to Marshall’s adult thrillers, it still delivers a satisfying, edge-of-your-seat experience.
If you're into thrillers with a survival game twist, morally gray characters, and a high-stakes setting, this one's worth the read—even if the title makes it clear: not everyone’s making it out alive.


Favorite Quote:
"survival isn't about being the strongest. It's about being the one who refuses to give up."

Kind of went into this one blind. It definitely hooks you from the beginning, BUT I just found the story a little *too* young adult (cheesy dialogue, immature characters, a very “teen fiction” plot). BUT I did find it intriguing all the less.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Viking Books for a copy of the e-book in exchange for an honest review.

This was good but don’t know if I would read it again. It deserves 3/5 stars, thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book to read!

Upcoming 5 ⭐️ young adult thriller!!

Mercy Gray signs up for a survival reality show, intent on winning the prize money to pay for her sister’s college; the sister whose life she saved during a mall shooting. Except nothing goes to plan, danger lurks in multiple directions, and the stakes rise quickly from fast money to life or death.

This young adult thriller was AMAZING! 🤩 There were multiple twists throughout, yet still were cohesive with the overall storyline. I really enjoyed the female main character’s narrative, the suspenseful storyline kept me hooked, and the writing quality was excellent.

I absolutely devoured this book! As a huge fan of this author, I knew I was in for a gripping, twist-filled ride, and it did not disappoint. From the very first page, I was hooked by Mercy’s story—her trauma, her resilience, and the impossible situation she finds herself trapped in.
I loved how the tension kept building, with every new twist making the stakes feel even higher. The survivalist reality show premise was brilliantly executed, and I felt completely immersed in the eerie, unpredictable setting. The pacing was razor-sharp, keeping me constantly guessing who could be trusted and what would happen next. By the end, I was completely satisfied, yet I still found myself thinking about the characters and the chilling reveals long after I finished reading.

This book is an absolute must-read for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson—if you love clever mysteries, high-stakes thrills, and unforgettable protagonists, you’ll love this one too.

Mystery, suspense, slow burn plot. This was another hit from Kate Alice Marshall. It's important to recognize who this book is written for, the YA interested audiences, in order to understand the overall writing and plot development. I really enjoyed this twisty, survival driven thriller which also gave me Squid Games, will they won't they survive vibes that had me propelling towards finishing each chapter and ultimately the book. Love this author and would recommend this fun thriller, perfect for summer too.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley, who provided me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Love Kate Alice Marshall books and this one was a good one but not a great for me. I enjoyed and quickly read through this one but felt it was a slow start but picked up and then it was a psychological survival thriller. A reality show type game that’s not what it seems, with a who will survive as someone or something starts to kill the participants one by one.

This one was fun! Such an interesting concept how was a little predictable. I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the authors more adult branded books, but again I had a fun time reading it and definitely recommend it for those who like the idea of a survivor type show with life or death consequences! Thanks to Net Galley, Penguin Group, and the author for the ARC!

Basically inhaled this book in less than 24 hours - entertaining from start to finish.

Mercy Gray survived a mall shooting and, along with a handful of other participants, arrives at a sketchy location in the desert to be on a reality competition. There, she'll survive and do challenges for the chance at a 100k prize. The group arrives and things seem a lot more abandoned than they should, and the initial challenge doesn't go according to plan.

Plot-wise I liked the beginning of the book the most - high stakes game? Weird stuff going on? Sign me up. Reminded me a bit of the poorly-written but loved-the-idea book "Hide" by Kiersten White. Things change pretty quick to a whodunnit, where it's more about who to trust than how to survive the game. Still interesting, but less for me.

Really *the* major focus, though, is unfortunate and topical: red pill / manosphere culture. The person putting on the reality show is Damien Dare, a tech billionaire (ugh, even more relevant nowadays with fools like Elon Musk) and essentially is a survivalist Andrew Tate. Y'all, you should watch Adolescence if you haven't yet, because it's very similar themes and is chilling. Anyways, that's a main focus, and since this is one of Marshall's YA books, hopefully it'll get through to some people.

I've been a big fan of Kate Alice Marshall since "What Lies in the Woods", but my main criticism across her novels is that there's slightly too many twists and turns, red string on a board style, that makes them feel a little less realistic. That's mostly missing here, which I appreciated, except for one major plot point I could have done without. That, and a few other mild criticisms, below.

SPOILERS:

- Damien Dare's views are well known - he's famous because of it. So why did 3 women and a trans man agree to be on his show? At least one of them has cutting words to say about Dare throughout the book, so it's odd to me that they'd actively agree to participate

- Really could have done without [redacted] being the mastermind. The mall shooter's back story, combined with Dare's personality, would have been more than enough to get the point across that this was about toxic red pill culture. The fact that [redacted] was basically *exactly the same* as the shooter as far as being a creepy stalker, it felt heavy handed to me. This, too, was the only element that felt like it crept back into "too many twists" territory.

I've seen some reviews say they couldn't get into this book because it's YA. Personally, I didn't feel much of a difference between Marshall's adult books and this. Both are engaging writing and keep you hooked. The only difference for me was that they're teens.

I'd give my overall enjoyment score a 4.5/5. Definitely check this out.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for this chance to review the ARC.

I had a fun time reading this one - the story was very easy to follow and I read this in nearly one sitting. Completely unrealistic and over-the-top at points which kept it fun. Overall a fun, simple, and fast-paced read I can see myself recommended to younger thriller readers.

I am a huge fan of KAM's writing so I may be a little biased, but I had so much fun with this book. The stakes of survival on top of literal survival added so much to the book. I didn't realize that this one was supposed to be YA when I requested it, but it was just as enjoyable.

I received this as an ARC - thanks NetGalley!

Overall, this was good, I liked it. The story was interesting and the character development was good. Although this is YA, it didn’t feel to YA for me like some do. The beginning was slow in parts when I was waiting for something to happen. The ending wrapped everything up nicely but it felt a bit rushed. Definitely don’t sleep on Kate Alice Marshall - she does a good thriller/mystery!

I was excited to receive an ARC from the Penguin Young Readers Group through Netgalley because I love Kate Alice Marshall's thrillers for adults and, even though this is a YA thriller, it's perfect for adults too.

The central plot of We Won't All Survive is engaging but the real highlight is the characters. They are intensely likeable and layered and I enjoyed learning more about each of them.

I highly recommend this novel to anyone who wants a quick read for vacation this summer

Kate Alice Marshall’s "We Won’t All Survive" is a gripping blend of survivalist thriller and murder mystery that will keep readers hooked from the first page. The novel follows Mercy Gray, a teen haunted by the trauma and medical debt left in the aftermath of a mall shooting. Desperate for a financial break, she joins a reality survival show, only to discover that the contestants are truly trapped and deadly danger lurks within the group.

Marshall excels at crafting tension, with a fast-paced plot full of twists and an atmosphere thick with paranoia and suspense. The story’s mix of a locked-room mystery and high-stakes psychological drama makes for an addictive read, echoing the suspense of Squid Game with a YA flavor. While some reveals may be predictable for experienced mystery readers and a few secondary characters lack depth, Mercy’s complexity and the ever-rising stakes make this book a standout in the genre. Highly recommended for fans of Karen McManus and immersive survival thrillers

This is such a good YA Thriller that is based on a group of teens/young adults that apply for a survival show. It reminds me of Survivor and The Hunger Games. You have have a group of eight contestants all with a traumatic past with the potential to win $100,000. What will happen when the show is not being filmed as they all were lead to believe? Things are not as they seem especially when one of them is found dead. I have read Kate Marshall Alice in the past and she writes a solid thriller. Thank you for the ARC!

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

This is a very solid YA thriller! It flowed really nicely and kept me interested the entire time. There really weren’t any slow parts either which was really nice. I could have finished this in one sitting and would have if I didn’t need to sleep! The characters are all interesting and have their own traumatic backstories that get them onto this survival show.

Would recommend!

Sometimes I like Kate Alice Marshall and sometimes I dont. It depends on the book I liked the reality show portion of the book and the girl who was hero during a mall shooting being on the show and realizing that surviving this reality show is much harder and dangerous than she anticcipated.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group for the E-ARC of We Won't All Survive. A solid thriller that kept me guessing until the end. As an adult reader, I think both adults and young adults would find this book a good fit if you are on the hunt for a good thriller. Was it the best book I have read? No. But I have enjoyed Kate Alice Marshall's other works and I would still recommend this one.

We Won’t All Survive is a modern Old West thriller mix of Survivor meets Hunger Games. Kate Marshall paints vivid pictures throughout the book, and from the first few pages, I could picture the old western ghost town. The book follows a group of teens/young adults supposedly hand-picked for an up and coming new hit survival game show. Each participant has been selected due to a trauma they survived. Early on the participants learn it’s not all what it seems. Something (or someone) is picking them off one by one leaving them distrusting of each other and the game. Who will survive? Who will walk out the victor? Will anyone be left standing? Find out in We Won’t All Survive hitting stores later this summer.
I know I for one will definitely be buying a finished copy when it's released.

I really like this author, but unfortunately this book was a miss. It was a struggle to get through it. I did not find the story engaging at all, and I did not connect with a single one of the characters. None of them were all that likeable. It makes it difficult to care about a story if you don’t care what happens to the characters. It took me a long time to finish it because I just didn’t enjoy reading this book, unfortunately. I know it’s meant to be a YA book and I do typically enjoy those, But this book just wasn’t it.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Penguin Group for the advance reader copy. Publication date July 28, 2025.