This book was very well written! It keeps you guessing on who has secrets throughout the entire book! The suspense was there, and I found myself rooting for some characters.

I got a quarter of the way through this book before I put it aside for a couple of months, I think the issue was that there were a lot of main characters that all felt underdeveloped and unlikeable to the point where I couldn't find myself rooting for anyone to escape their situation. I'm glad I eventually started reading this again because I breezed through the rest of the chapters which were fast paced. While the ending was pretty chaotic, I still found myself giving this four stars for the action and drama. People say AGGGTM is miles better so I can't wait to read that! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC.

Well, this was a pretty big disappointment for me.

It's hard not to compare to A GOOD GIRL'S GUIDE TO MURDER and sequels but it's only natural given how much I loved the series (well, the first two books at least). FIVE SURVIVE really fell short for me in all the ways that I loved AGGGTM. It really lacked the charisma that AGGGTM had, especially when it came to the characters. Pip was such a strong main character and even the supporting roles had so much heart and personality. FIVE SURVIVE just felt really flat and this just felt less developed all around. Red as a character was barely developed at all except for the trauma of losing her mother in such a horrific way. Anything significant about her was really connected to that defining moment, but there just wasn't any other personality to speak of, really. The other characters were so basic and ended up feeling more archetypal rather than being multifaceted and having a complex array of emotions or motives.

I will say that I DID like the ending... but it came way too late for it to make up for the lack of plot and sleuthing throughout the book. This really wasn't investigation style like AGGGTM, but the characters are trying to figure out the strangers who are holding them hostage, what they want from them, and how to get out of this situation. They do need to do mild thinking and detective work to try to work out any clues they have available to them. I would have been much more interested if there was more along the way that I could have picked up on or that would have been revealed instead of some minor, throw-away things that stood out as being a little too weird instead of fitting seamlessly into the story. If more had been set up along the way, I would have found the story much more intriguing.

This also just felt like much sloppier writing. As with many young adult books, I felt like too much time was wasted setting the book up. They're teenagers on spring break -- we get it. Move along to the good stuff. The first half of the book was largely action with the set-up of the teens getting entrapped in the plans of their captor/killer/stalker but it was a lot of kids running around with no real plan and some of the action scenes just went on way too long. Again, throw more intrigue in there and it would have flowed a lot better.

There were also really, really random things that didn't make sense whatsoever and never got answered. Why was Red so obsessed with the curtain pattern and why didn't it matter AT ALL. It's mentioned at least five times if not more, so why was it significant? (Spoiler: it wasn't.) And there were so many comments about her being forgetful, but it was more than just a personality trait. The author made it seem like we were headed into a much more psychologically motivated territory, like Red would be an unreliable narrator or that she was blocking things out so the reader couldn't pick up on an otherwise obvious clue. Nope. So many stupid, random things that needed editing and had no effect on or purpose in the book.

There were some other things that made me roll my eyes, like a character who gets so mad that they're spitting and slobbering... like, stop. The whole sniper thing to begin with? It's kind of weird and maybe not really logical for what the situation turned out to be... I just found myself getting frustrated with a lot.

I'm super bummed this wasn't a hit and also that it managed to be disappointing and not even just middle of the road. I ended up leaving this at three stars because I did enjoy that last little blip of an ending where things felt intelligent and put-together. Before that, I was ready to give it two.

This was an intense and claustrophobic thrill ride about a set of friends trapped inside an RV while an armed gunman holds them hostage from afar. What does the gunman want? The truth. Each person aboard the RV holds a secret- all awful, it which one is the right one?

I loved this, but I love all of Holly Jackson’s books. I definitely give this four stars, with one coming off just because I wanted things to move a little faster, but this is definitely a great book that will thrill thriller lovers.

I really enjoyed Holly Jackson’s Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. This story is faced paced and captivating. Definitely a keep you on the edge of your seat thriller. I didn’t connect with the characters like I wanted to but enjoyed the story

I am a huge HUGE fan of Holly Jackson, that I jumped at the chance to read this book.
However, it fell a little flat for me and is not one of my favorite from her.

I can't put my finger on it, but I didn't really like Red. Maybe it was that I just couldn't identify with her or related to her. But I wasn't invested in her at all.

I still love Jackson though. This just wasn't one of my favs

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for accepting my request to read and review Five Survive.

Author: Holly Jackson
Published: 11/2/22
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers -- Teens & YA

Unbelievable, literally. The blurb states -- "with the edge-of-your seat tension" for me refers to the fact this was marketed to kids. A group of kids take a road trip, every one has a secret, the bus breaks down and no one has cell service. If that was what Jackson wrote a story around it might have been interesting. However, the elements she added of witness protection, mafia, crooked attorneys, and murder was incredibly ridiculous. In addition, there were no likable characters, even if she hadn't loaded her word count with segments of profanity.

Such a good riveting book. I was captured immediately! Also, the amount of twists and turns just keep coming. Everyone has a secret, but whose secret matters. Who survives? This was very well done and another great story from Holly Jackson!

I really enjoyed some parts but also disliked some, so I feel conflicted about this book. The pacing of this book was perfect and Holly Jackson's writing is so easy to follow. Personally, the first few chapters felt slow but it quickly picked up and I managed to finish the book in one sitting. However, towards the book's last quarter, I started to feel a bit disappointed. I was expecting a big, dramatic finale but everything felt a bit flat to me, especially with the actions of certain characters.

Overall I would still recommend this book to someone who needs a quick, easy read because it definitely helped me get out of my reading slump.

Holly Jackson is a wonderful writer for teens. She weaves a complicated plot with many twists and turns. Her characters experience the ups and downs that teens will relate to in their relationships.

Unlike A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Five Survive was slightly slower to develop. But once it picked up pace, it was a page turner. Anyone who liked Good Girl's Guide will like this too. It was suspenseful, deliciously frustrating, and had a satisfactory ending.

Atmospheric and suspenseful, Five Survive is a fast-paced story of friends taking an old RV on a road trip for Spring Break. Things take a dramatic turn when they have car trouble in a remote location and are at the mercy of a sniper who is after a secret and won’t release them until the truth is revealed. An intense read throughout that has a stellar ending. Highly recommend!

Red has been a mess since her mom, a police chief in Philadelphia, died a few years ago. Her dad has mentally checked out, leaving her to care for both of them. She’s finally getting the chance to get away for awhile to have a little fun with her friends, on Spring Break in Gulf Shores. Red, Simon, Arthur, Maddy, Maddy’s brother Oliver, and his girlfriend Rayna are driving down in Simon’s uncle’s RV. The rest of their friends flew, but driving was only way for Red to afford the trip. On the way down, the group gets lost when service gets spotty, and end up on an abandoned road. The RV has a flat, and now they’re stuck until morning. Soon, the group realizes that it wasn’t just bad luck; the tire and 2 others were shot out, as well as the gas tank. But who would have done that? And why? Now Red and her friends must figure out why they’ve been targeted, and how they can escape with their lives.

I really liked Holly Jackson’s Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series, so I was excited to read this one. It was good, it was fine, but it didn’t quite measure up. Red was understandably a mess, but her character was kind of annoying to me. Her internal monologue was all over the place and difficult to follow. The friends had kind of shallow backstories and tenuous ties. I really wanted to like this, but it fell flat for me.

I received this ARC courtesy of NetGalley, in return for my honest review.

I was bored throughout most of this book. Such a disappointment because it sounded so good! I haven't read the other books by the author but from what I've heard they are better. I recommend skipping this one.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for an egalley of Five Survive.

A spring break trip gone entirely wrong.. There are 6 people on the RV headed down to the beach, their last before everyone heads off to college. But little do they know, they all have a secret that someone else wants to know. A wrong turn in SC leaves them stranded down a deserted gravel path with a flat tire. However, they quickly realize that the flat tire wasn't accidental - when all four tires are shot out. Thus starts a hostage situation that none of them know if they will survive. Can they make it the 8 hours until daylight? And who will make it out alive?

🚐 A R C • R E V I E W 🚐
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Title: Five Survive
Author: Holly Jackson
Rating: 3/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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After absolutely loving the Good Girls Guide To Murder Series, I was beyond ecstatic to read Holly Jackson’s newest book. I dove right in and the premise of this one gave me some serious “Wrong Turn” vibes, and let me tell you, back in the day, that is one of the only scary movies I was able to watch. So, I was super pumped to see what happened, butttttt while Five Survive is one wasn’t awful, it definitely did not have the same quality as the GGGTM series.
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Let me explain, the beginning I was easily hooked, I got roped in early, tried to get to understand the characters, was kinda getting some vibes about a few of them. Then the middle bored me? lost me? I dont know how to explain, I enjoyed the revelations of each characters secrets but there wasn’t enough anxiety driven moments so for me it felt like it lasted forever. The ending twist was good, but it didn’t completely blow me out of the water. Did I see it coming? No not really, but for me it was just meh. I really didn’t connect with any of the characters either, I kind of found myself not really caring if any of them survived at one point. While I’m not one to ever really care about suspension of reality, this one really kinds to seem to be too far fetched for my liking.
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Like I said, it wasn’t awful, I still read it fairly quickly, I still wanted to know what was going to happen, I did enjoy it, but it was definitely not even in the same ballpark as GGGTM. I think maybe I just really wanted more of Pip and Ravi?! It’s highly possible. Who know…. Anyway, check this one out - it was recently released!
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Have you read this one? What did you think?
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#bookstagram #threestarread #netgalley #netgalleyreview #ARC #advancedreadercopy #eARC #electronicadvancedreadingcopy #suspensionofbelief #twistyending #givemebackpipandravi #youngadultread #fivesurvie #hollyjackson

Five Survive is a quick read featuring six teen/young adult characters and as the title predicts, only five survive. The premise is believable, with the six main characters embarking on a road trip in a borrowed RV to drive to spring break in Gulf Shores. The character building leaves a little to be desired and focuses too heavily on Red. The RV gets stuck on a deserted road and is attacked by an active shooter. Why is he targeting the RV? How did he know they would get lost and end up in the spot? So many unanswered questions percolate in the background as the characters try to figure out why whose secret the shooter is after. The story is well paced and the action well written and at times intense. The characters slide into stereotypes, especially Oliver and that takes away from the tension of the novel. The twist at the end is satisfying.

Thank you to Net Galley and Delacorte Press for an advanced reader's copy.

Super fast paced YA thriller, with plenty of twists. I figured out one of the twists early on and thought it was pretty obvious, but the rest were well done. I will definitely recommend it for my (high school) students to read.

Spoilers below...
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I loved Red, sympathized with Arthur even after the big reveal, and loved to hate Oliver, so the characterization was pretty spot on. I didn't care too much about Maddy beyond Red's love for her, and Simon and Reyna were both pretty forgettable.

This was my fourth Holly Jackson book after reading all of AGGGTM, which was very hit or miss for me. I figured I owed it to the author to try something completely different from her hit series and see where it landed. For me, this one was about 50/50. I think Jackson has truly wonderful ideas and beginnings, it's advancing the plot towards the middle and endings that leave me kind of cold. Some characters were interesting, others I couldn't have cared less about. I purchased a digital copy of this one for our Libby, and I know our teen readers who loved AGGGTM will very much like this as well.

This was one of the most stressful books I have ever read! I was in panic mode the entire book. It is so well paced and the suspense is palpable. Holly Jackson does a great job of weaving a heart-racing and tense-filled story.

The ending let me down a little bit, mostly because it was. Just. So. BLEAK. Like I know it's a thriller but it's still YA and it was one of the saddest books I've ever read.

#netgalleyarc SO DAMN GOOD. Netflix, make this into a movie but please don’t screw it up, lol. I’ve really enjoyed this author and this book did not disappoint. It had me at the edge of my seat and really drawn into the story. I love this author’s writing style and this book had me hooked straight from the beginning. A definite purchase for my high school library.