I wanted to love this so much more than I did. The premise sounded amazing, I just couldn’t get into like I wanted to.

We Won’t All Survive immediately grabbed my attention. Mercy, who became a hero after saving lives including her sister during a mall shooting, is carrying both physical and emotional scars. With medical bills piling up after her mother used her sister’s college fund to save her life, Mercy enters a contest that lands her in an outdoor wilderness challenge. Alongside five other contestants, she finds herself part of a reality-style competition run by a millionaire only things quickly spiral out of control when one of the participants ends up dead. The group must battle not only the elements and the competition itself, but also the terrifying realization that survival has become much more than just a game.

While the concept is strong and full of promise, I personally struggled to stay fully invested. The storyline itself was intriguing, but I found that much of the book focused more heavily on character trauma than on plot development. This emphasis sometimes made the pacing feel drawn out and longer than necessary. Additionally, I never felt like I truly got to know most of the characters in a way that made me care about their fates other than Mercy, whose resilience and determination kept me turning the pages.

Overall, while We Won’t All Survive has a compelling setup and a lead character worth rooting for, I wished for tighter pacing and deeper character development to really bring the survival thriller aspect to life.

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

I was really excited to read another Kate Alice Marshall book and this one was exactly what I was looking for! I believe it's a YA one but the writing and story aren't much different than her adult thrillers.

The story follows Mercy and 7 other young adults as they show up for a survival reality show taking place in an old ghost town. It's all being orchestrated by billionaire Damien Dare, who thinks the younger generation needs to learn to survive for themselves in their "cross roads" moment. Honestly Dare and his cross roads thing is pretty lame. The show starts out like a typical reality show, no phones, pick a leader for a team mission, form alliances early, cameras every where. But then the next morning, someone's dead and it all goes off the rails. The show starts to feel like Saw more than Survivor and now this group has to figure out is it Dare pulling the strings or one of them?

There are definitely some twists in the book, of course, but aside from the last one, they all felt kinda meh. That's not to say that the story isn't good, because it really was. It was just more of an "oh, okay" and not a *gasp* ending. I did round my 3.5 stars down to 3 because of the villain monologuing in the final act. I rolled my eyes so many times and probably skimmed over more than I read. And then in the twist, there was another villain to talk some more 🙄. Overall I would recommend this book for a light thriller, not quite as twisty as some others, even by the same author, but still fun to read.

I enjoyed the read! I love fast moving thrillers, and personally this met that requirement for me. If you are a fan of the movie Glass Onion (the sequel to Knives Out) it kinda gave me that claustrophobia of having to watch your back, and being at the mercy of a rich man with too much time in his hands.

Rounded up to a 4/5.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

We Won't All Survive is a brand new YA thriller by Kate Alice Marshall.

Mercy Gray is a survivor. She saved some people during a mall shooting, but feels overwhelming guilt that she may have been the reason the shooting happened. After needing extensive care for her injuries, and spending the majority of her sisters college money to pay for everything, Mercy decides to join a reality show set at an abandoned mining town with 7 other teen survivors. This show is hosted by billionaire Youtube/TV host Damian Dare and the prize money makes this choice seem like a no-brainer for Mercy. But when she and the other contestants arrive, there is no one from the show there. As the gates close and a voice warns them that the game is starting, Mercy and the others have to decide if they're going to play or not. As things turn deadly, can Mercy figure out who is behind this game and why they were all brought there together?

This was a fun YA thriller by Marshall. I appreciated that is was "clean" as far as language and spice. And even though there are descriptions of death, they're not explicit or vulgar.

While this may be a little easy for a regular reader of thrillers or suspense to put the puzzle pieces together, it was still a fun journey to get to the end with Mercy. I loved how smart and persistent she was throughout the story.

I will keep reading Kate Alice Marshall's YA and adult novels as long as she'll keep the stories coming!

This is the second book I’ve read by KAM and it did not disappoint! Great plot that kept me guessing (and I’m usually pretty good at weeding out the whodunit quick!). I would definitely recommend this read to anyone who enjoys YA murder mysteries!

This book was so good and gripping! And a very unique premise that kept me guessing. I was so invested and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

Eight teens are recruited to take part in a survivalist reality TV show created by Damian Dare, a billionaire tech entrepreneur. When the contestants show up, something seems off. The set is empty with no producers, cameramen, or instructions... until through a video feed they are given challenges to complete to earn rewards - first up is water. But then when one of them turns up dead, and no one shows up, things quickly turn into a fight for survival.

The last 20% of this book was the best - there was action, secrets were revealed, things become more clear and it's a true fight to survive. However, the lead up to the last part was a little slow for me. There was something missing to keep it really interesting and keep me engaged in the story. Maybe it was the lack of character development for some of the contestants. Overall, I don't think it will be a really memorable book except for the premise which was a little different.

A page turning mystery!

*** Spoilers Ahead***

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book.

This was my first book by Kate Alice Marshall, and it did not disappoint! It follows a small group of contestants on a survival reality show. The catch? When they arrive, the set is deserted and the cast members start getting picked off one by one by an unseen killer. Is the murderer someone behind the scenes, or is it one of their own?

This book kept me guessing the identity of the killer for a good portion of it. I felt that the majority of the characters were well fleshed out, and I particularly loved Alethea. I appreciated Mercy's backstory and how it influenced her actions in the book. The reveal of the killer was a bit underwhelming, but overall, this was am enjoyable and gripping read. I would highly recommend it!

This book started off strong for me, gripping me in quick. I loved the setting of an abandoned town and the show aspect of it. The plot lost me about halfway through and the ending fell flat for me.

We Won’t All Survive by Kate Alice Marshall

Two years after surviving a mall shooting, Mercy Gray joins a survivalist reality show for the cash prize that could help her sister- but when contestants start dying one by one, the game becomes deadly for real. The story follows Mercy as she navigates the increasingly tense and dangerous situation, unsure who to trust.

My thoughts: The premise hooked me right away and it was easy to read/listen to, which made it hard to put down. Mercy’s perspective kept the tension high, but I didn’t feel a strong connection to the other contestants- they felt kind of there, like I was just watching events unfold rather than rooting for anyone. The survival/TV-show angle was intense and adrenaline-inducing, and the twists kept me engaged, but I wish the characters had felt a little deeper.

I love a good murder mystery as much as the next person. This one definitely had its twist and turns. I do agree with others about underdeveloped bits in this read. But it was enjoyable, nail biting and kept me on the edge of my seat. I think i would look into reading other books by this author based on their writing style!

Actual Rating 2.5

This work was fast paced, which was a plus. I also liked the isolated setting and how the work starts off as a survival game. It made for some interesting moments near the beginning as the characters try to figure out what exactly is going on.

One thing that detracted from my enjoyment was that all the secondary male characters sounded and read the exact same to me. It was almost impossible to keep them separate until near the end of the work. This also made it impossible to connect with them, which detracted from the tension. Most of the characters were lacking depth and real characterization, including the big, bad villain – the reveal and motivations for the antagonist were somewhat underwhelming to me.

If you enjoy YA mysteries, you’ll probably enjoy this one. This one was just somewhat okay for me overall, though. My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I had a great time reading this book. Although I guessed 2 major things, it didn’t detour me from enjoying. The characters were great. The plot was awesome. Very action packed. Kept me on my toes. Loved the who done it aspect of it all. The ending was fantastic. All in all I very much recommend if you enjoy a YA mystery/thriller.

Thank you Netgalley, Penguin, and of course Kate Alice Marshall for the ARC!

We Won’t All Survive is a fast paced and action packed survival thriller that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. Absolutely had a blast reading this book and will be looking into KAM’s backlog.
The characters are well developed and unique and the main character, Mercy, was so easy to root for.
The action starts as soon as the games begin and I really enjoyed how as the reader, I I had no idea who to trust. Absolutely recommend this to fellow thriller fans for a really fun time!
Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group for the ARC.

“The world doesn’t come with trigger warnings”. I think this statement sums up the premise of Kate Alice Marshall’s newest YA novel, We Won’t All Survive in the best way. For us 90s kids, Kate has found a way to take love of Christopher Pike and RL Stine and make it accessible for todays teens with this book. With it’s Traumatized teens in a slasher movie with Survivor Reality TV vibes it has something for everyone to relate to, including a diverse set of characters that are not too loud or in your face, but noticeably present and accounted for, each adding a necessary piece to the puzzle. They were all very thought out and well-rounded characters and not just a cast of semi-important side characters.

Two years ago, Mercy Gray was hailed as a hero for saving lives during a mall shooting. She still carries souvenirs from that day: the fragment of a bullet lodged in her back, a mountain of medical debt, and guilt for ignoring her sister’s warnings that the sweet boy next door was anything but.

So when billionaire turned TV host Damien Dare recruits Mercy to compete on his new survivalist reality show, she can’t turn down a chance at the whopping cash prize that could send her sister to college. But when she and the other contestants arrive at the off-grid location, something isn’t right. The set is empty. The gates close without warning, trapping them inside. And then one of them turns up dead. What appeared at first to be a tragic accident quickly transforms as more contestants start dropping like flies. With time and resources running low, surviving this show takes on a whole new meaning. Mercy must figure out who to trust. Before she’s next.
I sometimes find myself accidentally picking up a YA book without realizing it because the premise sounds pretty good (also because I tend to look at a cover and title and go, “that sounds perfect” without knowing what the book was about. In the case of We Won’t All survive; I was not disappointed. Do I feel like I was the intended audience of this novel, absolutely not, but did I enjoy it all the same, yes, actually, I did. I was intrigued by the premise and the setting was so well described that I felt like I was on the outskirts of some abandoned mounting mining town watching it all unfold. At first, I didn’t like any of the characters. They seemed inept, broken, their trauma the complete source of the personality, but as the story went on, I was routing for them, not just to survive, but to come together and grow lasting friendships in the face of uncertainty. The twists and turns that Kate so effortlessly included in the plot kept the story moving at a pace that felt like a constant adrenaline rush, and it was hard to put the book down. The ending was a perfect twist. I had a few scenarios in how I thought the book was going to end, and none of them were right, which is something that doesn’t happen to me very often, but it was a fitting ending to this story, so I wasn’t disappointed when all my hypothesized scenarios were wrong. I actually finished it and immediately told my teen about how good it was and offered to let her borrow it (because I immediately went and purchased a physical copy), which is also something that doesn’t happen very often.

Thank you Viking Press and Netgalley for the digital ARC copy of this book. And thank you Kate Alice Marshall for writing a book that made me nostalgic for the books of my teen years and offered a chance to share that same kind of love for a good story with my own daughter.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I loved this book! Mercy Gray is a heroine you can’t help but root for—wounded, guilt-ridden, and desperate for a fresh start after surviving a mall shooting that still haunts her. Her decision to join Damien Dare’s survivalist reality show sets up a story that is as much about human resilience and trauma as it is about the dangers lurking in the wilderness. But the “game” quickly turns sinister, with contestants trapped, cut off, and killed one by one in terrifying fashion.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. I don't often find myself tabbing a thriller but that is what happened with this book. The commentary about trauma and dealing with life and interpersonal relationships after trauma was wonderful. In this book a group of 18–20-year-olds who have had recent traumatic life events happen to them are recruited to join a survival reality show hosted and created by YouTube billionaire Damien Dare. Only when they show up, they are alone and are immediately locked inside. This reality show is all about working together to survive but when the first challenge goes awry someone winds up dead. Is it a case of insane billionaire? or is one of them the killer? I loved the mystery of this book as well. I was able to figure out some of the major plot points, but the narration of our main character causes you to question everyone. Much like her, you feel like you cannot trust anyone and yet must choose to trust everyone to some extent at different points. I also liked the commentary on how victims of traumatic events can be judged and sentenced in the public eye simply because of the fact they were made victims. Well, if blank hadn't done blank than *traumatic event* wouldn't have happened. Victim blaming at its finest and how easy it is to fall into that kind of thinking yourself. I really enjoyed this, and I can see myself reading this again in the future.

Apologies for not getting this in before pub day; I have been in the worst reading slump! Since it was after pub day, I bought the audiobook, and I flew through the entire thing in a day!

It was fast paced, interesting, and fresh feeling. I've read a few books in the last couple of years based around the idea of some type of reality show that goes wrong but this one stood out from the others. Each character felt very distinctive and easy to keep track of, and the way the story unfolded was engaging.

I went into this book pretty blind about the author and the story, other than knowing it had something to do with some reality survival theme. But oh boy was I shocked by how much this book took me by surprise! I found myself thinking about it even when I was not reading it and I could not get to the end fast enough. Not because it was bad, but because I really needed to find out what happens at the end.

We follow Mercy, our protagonist, who has survived a mall shooting. She gets put together with seven other people who also have survived harrowing things in a reality TV show. But nothing is the way it is supposed to be in the town they get sent to.
I mean, what can go wrong when you put a bunch of traumatised young people together, right? 🤣

The book is exciting and fast-paced and keeps you guessing through the whole thing. The various tasks the contestants are made to do was a unique touch and creative. I really started to like the characters who each were fleshed out well enough to make you fall in love with them a little. All in all a solid 5 stars and I can't wait to see what else the author has written!