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.

I am pretty bummed I didn't like this one. I love Holly Jackson, but I felt like this book was so choppy, it was hard to follow along. It was also on the boring side in my opinion. I'll still read everything she comes out with, but I feel like I just can't recommend this one.

"Five Survive" tells the story of six teenagers who set out for an RV road trip on their way to the beaches of spring break. When they get lost and take a wrong turn, they are pursued by a crazy killer who will only let them free once they give up a secret. Tensions run high, friends turn on each other, and eventually, as the title suggests, one of them ends up dead.

I generally find thrillers interesting casual reads that speed by, and at 292 pages, this book promised to be exactly that. The central premise that at some point someone will die kept me going to the end -- and I thought the person she ended up choosing made sense. The best scenes for me were when the friends first realize something is amiss in the woods and when the secret is revealed. The narrative logically led up to that moment, and it felt complex enough to warrant what was happening outside.

This book, however, didn't live up to the hype for me. While many found it fast paced, I found it quite boring. Spending the entire book in one 31-foot vehicle and in Red's POV was slow at many points, despite the murderous man chilling in the woods an unknown distance away. I think the exposition didn't do enough for me to develop these characters and make me care for them, and I think the only person I cared about was definitely NOT supposed to be the person readers resonated most with. While the ending wasn't super predictable, the shape of most of the story for me was, and I felt bored reading it a lot of the time.

If you are a fan of Jackson's previous series, you may enjoy this, but it is certainly a departure! If you love thrillers, this is a good book to read if you haven't read too many in that genre.

Five Survive is about a group of six friends who go on a road trip for spring break. Throughout the story, we follow Red, her childhood best friend, her best friend's brother and his girlfriend, a secret crush, a classmate, and a killer. They are using an RV from the uncle of one of them to drive to a lake where most of the people at school go during spring break. But suddenly, none of them have cell service which leads them to get lost. They soon realized this was no accident, and outside of the RV, hidden in the trees of the forest, a shooter is set out to kill them if they do not tell him the truth about a secret one of them has.

With eight hours until dawn, they must figure out who is the target that has this secret and create a plan on how to escape and make it out alive. But not all of them end up surviving the night.


I will seriously read EVERYTHING Holly Jackson comes out with from now and on!! I loved this book! Just like agggtm, I could not stop reading it, and it kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what the shooter was going to do next and figuring out who was the person that had the secret the shooter desperately wanted. I also definitely did not see the end coming, and couldn't believe one of the twists at the end! I went through a roller coaster of emotions throughout the book and was even balling my eyes out at the very end.

If you loved the agggtm series then you'll definitely love this one!

I really enjoy Holly’s books so this one did not disappoint. I love trying to figure out where the story is going and predict the reveals. Solid first book after her successful previous series.

Another page turner by Holly Jackson. I was hooked from the very beginning and she had me guessing until the very end. Each time I thought I knew who the “bad guy” was, something happened to make me doubt myself. Full and twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Random house for the audio arc of this book. It was a wild ride for sure. While parts of the book felt a little long, it kept me guessing the whole time and definitely had me shocked in parts. I look forward to reading more from Holly Jackson!

My expectations for this were quite high because I’ve read (and loved) agggtm and I know how good Holly Jackson is at writing thriller books. Were the expectations met? Hard to say.

It’s definitely different from her other books. The narrater is different, because she’s another character and not Pip. The plot is different. And in no way is it fair to expect the same books from Holly Jackson. I honestly hate when an author comes out with something a bit different from what they usually do and everyone’s mad because they wanted the same thing in different flavours to be served to them over and over again. So I don’t want to do that.

However, I also have fair criticism of the book.

The book feels strange to read. Especially because the clues left throughout the book were left in a way, where I didn’t guess what they meant, which is good, some foreshadowing, but surely they had to mean something because they made it *strange*. It was off putting. I wrote it off as bad writing, until we got to the reveal, because the way they were written felt strange and unnecessary. We were getting unnecessary information. And the reveal was quite disappointing, so that didn’t really make up for it.

A large part of the book is just frustrating to read, because the characters are so flat and underdeveloped that they make dumb choices. I absolutely hate reading a crime book and being annoyed at the characters for making dumb decisions, when what they have to do is so clear. And that’s how reading this felt - I read to read about them doing some unnecessary side plot, while a much easier solution was in front of them. I kept waiting until they would be past that annoying stage and look at the big picture, but nope. One character in particular was pushing this - Oliver. His character was as well developed as a stick figure.

I was expecting something else, that’s for sure. I think the synopsis is misleading. “Buried secrets are forced to light” yeah, like 2 secrets. The rest of the book is just about listening to Oliver.

I’ve seen people say Red is one dimensional as well, but I honestly did like her character. Although she has her quirks, her story is fleshed out and oh :(( red :(( i did quite like her pov.

Conclusion? Is it worth it? See for yourself. I never wanted to dnf it or stop reading and it was fast paced and easy to read. If you’re interested in it, I would recommend to pick it up and a lot of people love it so don’t let me discourage you. These were just some things that bothered me while reading.

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars
Thank you to the publishers for an ARC of one of my most anticipated books of 2022! In no way did this impact my rating.

Five Survive follows Red, who is on a road trip with her friends for spring break, but everything goes wrong when their RV breaks down, and they are left in the middle of nowhere with a killer. And as the title suggests, only five of the friends will survive the night. Alongside Red, the cast of characters includes Red’s best friend, Maddie, and two of her classmates, Simon and Arthur. Also on the trip with them are Maddie’s older brother Oliver and his girlfriend, Reyna.

Once their RV breaks down, the story quickly becomes intense and fast pace as we follow the characters throughout the night as they try to survive what seems to be an impossible situation. I thought the concept of this book was very different than any YA thriller I have ever read, so it was a breath of fresh air. Another thing that was well done was the plot twists because they all were shocking and well thought out.

Why I did not rate it a full four stars was because it took me a bit to get fully invested in the story because I did not feel very attached to the characters. Besides Red, most of the characters felt undeveloped, and it sometimes made it difficult to feel anxious for some of the characters because I barely knew anything about them. Particularly, a character I struggled with was Oliver because he was very annoying and he did a lot of talking, which I know was the intent, but it still made it frustrating to read at parts.

Overall, if you are looking for a fast and intense thriller with a unique premise, I highly recommend giving this book a try.

This book had a few lulls but overall it was fast paced and the short chapters with many of them ending on mini twists - kept you coming back for more!

There was a few parts that frustrated me! Which is probably why it’s not a 5 but I did enjoy the twists.

**Possibly Spoilers** I guess because I’ve never had a life or death secret before - the fact that they didn’t just start with that and try to get everyone’s secret out was frustrating. It was also frustrating that when Oliver was going crazy - that they didn’t collectively jump him and use the duck tape to tie him down. Finally, it frustrated me that Maddy didn’t stick up for Red as much as Arthur did when she was her best friend and it was her brother acting crazy. 😂

4.5 ⭐ In previous Holly Jackson fashion, the story starts with twists and turns. While reading it, you'll probably guess at most of the storyline, there is one piece that I didn't see coming, and it made the stars go from 4 to 4.5.

It is written for YA, all the characters are high school age, however don't let that distract you.

This was such a good read! I love that it kept me guessing and I wasn’t able to predict the ending. I was not a fan of Oliver from the beginning and really cringed reading his parts. I felt for Red throughout the whole story and felt genuinely sad reading about her life. This book had a lot of suspense and thrill, however the ending fell flat for me. I would’ve like one more chapter or so to recap with the other characters. Maybe there will be a sequel! Overall, such a good read!

This author does it again! I loved her other books & now this one is also in my top faves. She does a very good job at making you feeling you are in the book. Very thrilling & keeping you on your toes the whole way. Didn't disappoint!

I really struggled reading this book. The characters were all so cringey & the plot was predictable.