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.

Wow! I was a little nervous to see that this whole story takes place in a matter of only 8 hours. I was nervous that the plot would drag on or that there wouldn't be much action throughout the chapters, but I was pleasantly surprised!

I loved the concept and I was immediately drawn to it. Six friends are going on a Spring Break trip in an RV only to have it break down in the middle of nowhere and now there's a sniper shooting at them from the dark shadows? They have to try and figure out who the target is and, in doing so, many secrets surface and people's true identities are revealed.

This was so interesting to see how certain situations can completely change someone. We never know how we're going to react when we're in difficult situations. I did enjoy the ending and how it was presented.

I did have a couple of unanswered questions, but they weren't a big enough deal to derail from the plot (the vote and the curtain pattern).

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Such a fun ride. The storytelling was fast-paced, but no where near shallow. I was worried, honestly, about how Holly Jackson could ever think to top Good Girls Guide, but she's taking the challenge on admirably here. I'm excited for what's to come.

I am withholding my review of this title until the Harper Collins strike is resolved and an agreement is reached with the union.

Red (Redford) Kenny is heading out with five friends in an RV for Spring Break. When they find themselves in the middle of nowhere, with no cell service, and a flat tire, they realize they've been set up. There's a sniper somewhere out there, in the dark, and he's after one of them. They just need to figure out which one of them it is.

This book is intense, in the best cat-and-mouse-thriller way. As each hour passes the stakes get higher, and the tensions mount. Secrets come to light, and real personalities begin to emerge among the six friends, which solidifies Holly Jackson as a master in characterization. This one will not only keep you guessing, but it will keep you up until 2:30 a.m. needing to know what happens. It's a psychological thriller at its best.

While this book had an overall good concept, I did not enjoy this one. I have been a fan of Holly Jackson and all of her books however this one did not do it. If you have read any other books like this it is incredibly similar but didn't hit the mark. It was hard to get through and boring at times.

*3.5*

“She wasn’t thinking about last words, she was thinking about all the words, all the memories. It was love; thorny and complicated and sad and happy. But it was a red feeling too.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an ARC of this book!

Five Survive follows a group of six teens, including our main character Red, as they travel across the country in an RV for spring break. Stuck in the middle of nowhere, faced with the threat of a sniper, the group must figure out a plan of escape or uncover each other’s secrets to reveal the truth.

This book was very entertaining. It definitely kept me on my toes and the plot twists kept coming. I love how everything circled back and came together at the end. There were many times I was yelling at the characters or I gasped out loud because of a shocking revelation. It was interesting to see how the dynamic of the group changed as the stakes got higher. Throughout the book, I really grew to like and empathize with Red. Overall, this was a thrilling read and I would definitely recommend reading it in a day to get the full experience.

Well, hot damn, Holly Jackson is back with a banger of a psychological thriller.
Did I have doubts after the f*ckfest that was As Good As Dead? Hell yes, that book made me doubt her as an autobuy author, but Five Survive was, hands-down, one of the best thrillers I've read this year.

I really enjoyed the cast of characters, even though none of them was actually likeable and trustworthy, and Red was a more... Unique sort of characters that I couldn't fully trust until the very end of the book.
Oliver... Listen, that motherf*cker could've been dealt with had they had more balls and shot his I'm the leader shit down but that didn't happen to I spent most of my reading experience being incredibly frustrated by his c*nt ass and how none of them bothered to step up to him.
But, motherfucker got what he deserved at the end and that was the most satisfying moment in my book reading journey so far so there's that.

The setting was incredibly small, tense and suffocating.
The pacing was quite fast, which both kept me entertained and thoroughly bored at times which is a baffling combination of opposites that only this book was able to create.
It was scary, tense, bloodthirsty, quite terrifying to be completely honest and had me on the edge of my seat.
But... It was also predictable and I've discovered that I'm not into mafia related plotlines.
I predicted the big secret reveal a while back and it was underwhelming and utterly predictable but I can't say I didn't exactly enjoy it.
The ending was... Quite interesting, to say the least.
The plot twist involving the shooter and their accomplice managed to surprise me and was quite ingenious, so I can't say this book didn't surprise me at the end.

Overall, this was en enjoyable psychological thriller that kept me entertained for the majority of the reading experience and I do recommend it but more as an ebook because I really can't see myself re-reading it anytime soon, if ever.