I'm going to keep this brief.
This was so different compared to Jackson's previous books.
I get that it's a standalone thriller so we aren't supposed to necessarily get too much about the characters but I was hoping for a bit more.

It was a fast paced thriller but also a little over the top. I didn't even find myself scared of these sniper guys because of how silly it seemed at times.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy!

In this young adult thriller we find six friends who are on their way to spring break in an RV that suddenly has all four tires shot out in the middle of nowhere. They're forced to try and work together to get out alive, revealing who is holding a secret that is obviously worth killing over. The story was gruesome, fast paced and definitely a thriller. I felt like the thing that was lacking the most in this story was the character development. I truly didn't feel any kinship to any of the six characters. In fact, I despised Oliver. While it is important to have characters that don't resonate with everybody all the time, of course, most were just almost like a non-character because we knew so little about them, specifically Simon. It was an unbelievable story and chain of events, and I'm not sure that most young adults would be able to handle such gruesome acts that were involved in the story. I had a hard time reading the horrible things at times and I'm definitely not a young adult. While it was interesting and kept my attention, I don't know that it is one that I will come back to and think of often, unfortunately
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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book. This review is comprised of my own opinions.

Fantastic book! This is one of my favorite books I’ve read in a long time. I was already a fan of Holly’s but this cemented her into my auto-buy list!

It was definitely hard to match her debut and series. I enjoyed the stand alone thriller/mystery. I think a lot of the dialog could have been taken out and added more context to understand the issue surrounding the actual ending. Overall though it’s a great YA story!

This book was unique, interesting, and fun to read. While I enjoyed reading it for personal reading, I will not be adopting it for my classroom. Thank you to the publisher!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I tore through it in one day, on the edge of my seat the whole time. I did not see where this was going and never would’ve imagined I’d be so hooked by a story that took place entirely in an RV!

Holly Jackson's work is pretty hit or miss for me, as she has the ability to build a fast paced, shocking thriller, but her characters usually leave much to be desired. Both of those things were true in Five Survive. I had a hard time loving this due mostly to the fact that I didn't like any of the characters. There is almost no character development until nearly the end of the book. This was extremely fast paced, taking place over a span of about 8 hours, but still somehow had me bored until the last 1/4 of the book. Everything exciting basically happens at the end, with a few other exciting scenes happening before then. The lack of character development made it really hard to care about what was going to happen to these characters. I did think all of the secrets that were revealed and intertwined with each other made for an excellent ending, however. The reveal of the intertwining secrets really saved this for me. I'll continue to read whatever Holly Jackson writes, but I hope she works on improving her characters especially when her books consist almost entirely of dialogue.

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

I have to admit I'm not usually one for thrillers but I guess I was feeling brave when I applied to review this one, I probably thought "oh it's YA, it shouldn't be too scary!" lol I'm an idiot.

What was supposed to be a fun Spring Break trip for Red and her friends quickly turns into a suspensful nightmare. Red and her friends rent and RV and plan on driving down to the coast, but when a flat tire forces them to make a stop they figure out that it didn't just pop on it's own it was shot by a sniper and this sniper is after a sercret and won't stop until the truth is revealed!

Although this book was highly suspensful and anxiety inducing, the plot was easy to figure out fairly early on and I felt the characters did not have much depth to them...perhaps every one of them except Oliver...but he was just a straight up psychopath! Yikes! I also felt the story dragged towards the middle.

Even though I'm not the target audience for this book, being that I hardly ever read thrillers, I believe any Holly Jackson fan could overlook the character issues and pacing problems and really enjoy this one.

Thank you so much to Random House Children's for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Six teens, an RV stuck in the woods & a sniper. What could go wrong? While some parts of this book kept me on the edge of my seat, it took a LONG time for me to truly get into the story. While the protagonist, Red, was definitely dealing with PSTD, the character Oliver was an obnoxious, self-centered jerk from the start. The other characters were interesting, still couldn't figure out Simon's connection to them all...other than friend? cousin? And what was with Red's father? She was stressing over him and while it had been years since the horrible death of her mother, I couldn't figure out what the story was there. I just couldn't connect with the characters much less the storyline. Hopefully HJ's next book will pique my interest.

Five Survive really did surprise me. I love Holly Jackson's previous books, so I was really excited to read her new upcoming book. And, this book definitely surprised me.

I'm not really into the horror genre. It's really not my thing, but I was willing to try because I loved Holly Jackson's previous books. And I have to say that the horror genre or thriller horror is still not my thing. I can't read it. And after finishing Five Survive, I won't read anymore horror or thriller horror genres.

But if you are a fan of any type of thriller or horror genre, then you will enjoy reading this book. It keeps you on your toes. And there are so many secrets unraveling throughout the book.

I'm a huge fan of the Good Girl's Guide to Murder series but found this book not to be as fun. Five Survive starts out with six friends in an RV heading toward a beach for spring break. Red, Maddy, Oliver, Simon, Arthur, and Reyna drive down south for Red, Maddy, Simon and Arthur's spring break. Red is having a difficult time on the trip because she cannot stop thinking about her finances, dad's drinking, and her police captain mom's murder years before. Slowly the group realizes the danger they are in, and things start to get out of hand among the group as they fight to stay alive, even if it means sacrificing each other.

I did not like the mafia plot. Much of the plot sounded cliché down to the last names of the mafia characters. I liked the concept of friends in an RV trying to survive and figure out why someone wants to harm them, but the mafia storyline took away from the original plot details. Because of the use of names from real and well-known crime families, the story became too unbelievable and generic. There were aspects of the story that sometimes overshadowed the mafia story enough that it helped create a more authentic plot. In those moments, I feared for characters and was eager to find out what happened next.

The story doesn't take off until the halfway point when all the friends stop guessing about why someone wants to harm them and realize that they're targets because of something one of them knows. I did not find many of the twists shocking because they follow most mafia story plots. There was one twist near the end about one of the six that surprised me. I really felt invested in the characters' survival during the second half of the book, especially knowing one of them would die.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked the author’s Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. This book was very different. I didn’t like it nearly as much. I didn’t find the characters all that likable. I don’t know why, but I just didn’t connect with any of them. The plot was interesting and moved along well. I just felt it was mostly implausible.

A fun adventurous and thrilling thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering who did what and what is going to happen next

—f i v e s u r v i v e—⁣
Tell me about your weekend in 5 words. ⁣
—⁣
Five Survive, by Holly Jackson (of Good Girl’s Guide fame) follows six young friends headed to spring break when their RV breaks down, there’s no cell service, AND they are being shot at by a sniper. What follows is a wacky, claustrophobic, and tense night as they fight to survive. ⁣
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Like GGG, the plot is excellently paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. The setting is eerie and works so well. Some of the twists were definitely unexpected (some were more obvious). Unlike GGG unfortunately, the characters were not as likable. Red, the protagonist, is clever but not at Pip levels. Her relationships are less interesting and less dynamic too. ⁣
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That said, this is a quick and thrilling read. A fun, but imperfect YA mystery. ⁣
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Thank you @netgalley, @randomhouse, and @delacourtepress for the free copy! This one is out now and worth checking out! ⁣
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#bookreview

This book had a slow start, but it went dark quickly. I think YA may struggle with the gore. The "twist was perfect" and perfectly placed.. Overall, even though it started slow, once the pace picked up it read easily. This is another good YA mystery by Holly Jackson, although not her strongest novel.

Red and her friends are on a spring break road trip. When their borrowed RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere, they soon realize that it was no accident. There’s a sniper in the trees holding them hostage, and one of them has a secret they’re willing to kill for. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Random House/Delacorte Press. Trigger warnings: character death (on-page, graphic), parent/sibling death, organized crime, gore, guns, severe injury, violence, alcoholism, underage drinking, gaslighting, cheating, threats, poverty.

Usually, I’m able to suspend my disbelief a little better for YA thrillers, but this went into such ridiculous territory that I can’t manage it. I can buy a sniper with a gun and six teenagers trapped in an RV in this age of horror films and mass shootings. In a different story, I could probably buy the organized crime aspect, since it’s just as real, if not as well publicized. Put them together, though, and the story quickly spirals into absurdity.

The first half of the novel is a lot of boring setup and silly, failed escape attempts. The second is better, as the characters finally begin to hone in on what they’ve been told from the beginning: one of them has a secret worth dying for. Most of the secrets, both relevant and not, bring some much-needed dimension to the characters, but the attempts to keep it entertaining are just so far-fetched. I probably could have forgiven a ridiculous plot, since plot isn’t even high on my list of priorities when I’m reading, but the characters are bland, cardboard cutouts. Red is such a vapid narrator, and I can’t tell if I think that because everyone says she is or because Jackson actually wrote her that way.

The writing leaves a lot to be desired, even as an advance copy, and it’s filled with enough comma splices, sentence fragments, and misplaced modifiers to be truly distracting. There are also a lot of pointless repetitions in Red’s train of thought. (We never do find out which character the shape in the curtains reminds her of, despite being told about it a dozen times.) I was looking forward to A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder when I’ve caught up on more of my series books, but now I’m not so sure.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

I didn’t think you could top A Good Girls Guide to Murder trilogy but you did! This one was better yet. You kept me guessing at every turn! When I thought I had it figured out another twist and turn would happen!

This was a rip-roaring good read! The story kept me on the edge of my seat, with just the right amount of terror thrown in for good measure.

I went into this one sooo optimistic because "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" is one of my favorite series. However, this one didn't exactly meet my expectations.

My first issue (coming from someone that is a middle school teacher) is it says the "F" word ENTIRELY too many times. This book is marketed as YA. I get so excited for thriller/mystery books that are YA because I feel like there's not that many of them. With that being said, is it really necessary to drop the "f bomb" so many times in a YA book? Normally language doesn't bother me, I'm not a prude, but this was excessive.

My other issue is that it was a bit violent, again, for a book to be labeled as YA. I just think there's a line and this definitely crossed it.

So maybe my issue isn't exactly the book but how it's labeled? I don't know. If you read this, do not go in thinking it'll be anything like or even similar to AGGGTM

I've become a person who just reads anything that Holly Jackson puts out. Her books are so easy to be pulled into and the pacing keeps you in them until you're finished. The concept of this was interesting; I can't say I've heard of many books where the setting is an RV. The sniper aspect was a bit off-putting at first for me--felt weird to incorporate that aspect, though I can't pinpoint why. Just a personal preference, I think. However, I will say that by the end of the book, that feeling was gone. I sped through this--the plot twists, the emotions, the confessions...it was all so interesting to me.