Holly Jackson is an amazing story teller. She creates believable characters that stand out to her readers. This book showed how young adults struggle to survive while questioning their friends and their relationships. A basic trip with friends in an RV, what could go wrong. Everything! You find out the secrets and lies they tell to survive and in the end, no one really wins.

#FiveSurvive #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out!

I just reading Five Survive by Holly Jackson, and I’m shook. It’s dark, twisty, and mysterious. Lord of the Flies meets locked-room mystery. If you liked the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series I think you’ll like this too.

More about Five Survive:
Red is on her way to spring break with her friends. They’re driving in an RV and are just about at their campsite when one of the tires blows out. The stretch of road they’re on is completely deserted and has no phone reception. Just as they finish changing the tire, and are about to drive off, all of the tires blow. It becomes apparent they’ve been shot out and someone is stalking them. They scramble to get try and figure out who would want to hurt them, and what the heck is going on. One of them has a secret worth killing for, but will they come forward if it means saving the rest of the group?

Red has experienced some serious trauma from her mother being shot a few years ago, and it’s clear she’s never gotten any help to deal with it. Being inside her head is not a stable place to be, and as she second-guesses herself she becomes quite an unreliable narrator. The rest of the group starts to turn on each other as the situation gets progressively worse. Will any of them still be alive by the end of the night?

This book had me on the edge of my seat, with plenty of twists and turns. None of the characters are very likable, so I had a lot of mixed emotions as I learned more about each of them, never really knowing who to root for.

First of all, I loved the Good Girl's Guide to Murder trilogy, so when I saw Holly Jackson was releasing a new book I just had to get my hands on it. This book is super fast paced, taking place over the course of one night and the story is broken up with time (e.g. 1am), which really kept the story moving forward. Unfortunately, I was still a distracted reading this, my attention wasn't held like her other books. I can't exactly figure out why I felt this way, but I did. It might have to do with the characters, who all had their own secrets and I didn't really connect with any of them. But I will still recommend it to the right people, I know my library is going to buy it, and read the next book Jackson graces us with!

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC to read and review!

When I tell you I SCREAMED when I got this one. I love Holly Jackson. I loved the GGGTM series. I was excited to see how Jackson handled a single, faster-paced thriller, and she did NOT disappoint. If you like closed-room mysteries, unreliable narrators, and high-stakes action that doesn't stop, this is it. I felt a few twists were a little predictable, but some still were truly twisty, and the nature of our narrator helps a LOT with that.

In fact, our narrator, Red, is what I found most remarkable and interesting about this book. She's probably one of the most unique characters I've read a POV from, especially in this genre. Her mind is constantly racing, absolutely unsettled, cannot focus on a single thing (or, as it would have it, hyper fixates on the wrong thing - WHAT PATTERN WERE THE CURTAINS, HOLLY?) Though it isn't named, I interpreted Red as either having some form of neurodivergency or an extreme lasting trauma response. Red does not have a clear head, but she's the smartest one on that bus and she's vital to the group. It was a great way to direct the action of the novel, and I never knew for sure what was true because of Red's racing thoughts.

The novel stayed tense throughout, and I was on the edge of my seat tearing through it. Fantastic thriller from Jackson once again.

3.5 stars - couldn’t justify 4. I may end up being in the minority on this, but I just didn’t like this one. I didn’t like the main character, found the plot to be far-fetched and sloppily thrown together, and was never invested in any of the characters. I also thought that the literal ending was an easy way out that lacked imagination and was dull. Just really not for me.

This book will definitely be in high demand as soon as it hits the shelves at my library! I appreciated how some elements throughout were thrilling / scary, and kept you on the edge of your seat - all while remaining teen-appropriate. This is a great pick for kids wanting more mystery / thriller books, and I would also recommend it to a reluctant reader. Very different from A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (in my opinion), but Holly Jackson fans will still enjoy!

Happy Saturday y'all, and happy early December! It's been a busy few weeks for me, but I'm so excited about today because it's my stop on the Five Survive tour with TBR and Beyond Tours! Thank you so much to TBR and Beyond Tours for having me as a part of this tour! I really enjoy Holly Jackson's writing, so I was the most excited to read Five Survive!
Five Survive 4/5 Stars
Summary from Goodreads:
Eight hours. Six friends. Five survive. A road trip turns deadly in this addictive YA thriller from the bestselling author of the worldwide phenomenon A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER.

Red Kenny is on a road trip for spring break with five friends: Her best friend – the older brother – his perfect girlfriend – a secret crush – a classmate – and a killer.

When their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, they soon realize this is no accident. They have been trapped by someone out there in the dark, someone who clearly wants one of them dead.

With eight hours until dawn, the six friends must escape, or figure out which of them is the target. But is there a liar among them? Buried secrets will be forced to light and tensions inside the RV will reach deadly levels. Not all of them will survive the night. . . .
Content Warning: guns, death threats, mob violence, death, injury
Oh man, not only did this book have the coolest premise, it was done in such an interesting way! We've got six characters, all with secrets to hide, in an RV that's being shot at and they have to figure out who has the secret the sniper wants. The only thing I thought was a little weird, mainly because we didn't have any explanation for it, was Red's memory loss- I think if we know why her memory was spotty or if it was mentioned in passing by one of the other characters, it would have made more sense for us as readers, because it was definitely an effective plot device to make Red seem like an unreliable narrator and unreliable character. In terms of characters in general, I really like how Holly Jackson made all six of them both likeable and unlikeable, relatable and unrelatable. The way things inside that RV evolved were so real, and then when we got to near the end, they became over the top, but not in a way that didn't fit with the story, but in a way that you couldn't see it happening in your own life. I thought the mob plot may not have been needed, but I'm a sucker for mob stories, so I didn't mind it. I thought the pacing was great and I was really hooked throughout- I devoured this whole book in one sitting! Overall, I highly recommend pick

The Good Girls Guide to Murder Trilogy is one of my favorites and I recommend it to people all the time. Holly Jackson is incredible at creating a captivating high school detective mysteries. Five Survey is about six kids being trapped in an RV with an active shooter outside holding them hostage until they can share the secret one of them is holding onto... for dear life. It’s crazy what unfolds over the span of one grueling evening that changes everything. Relationships are put to the test and they soon realize everyone has a secret but which is the one they are looking for.

I will say this book is not going to be very everyone. It had all the staple Holley Jackson writing qualities but I would recommend Good Girls Guide to Murder first.

This book is hard for me to review. I enjoyed the story overall, but I found the characters annoying and it got a little boring. I would say it’s still worth a read, but wasn’t a favorite.

This was a wild ride. I've read Jackson's "Good Girl's" series previously and had mixed feelings but this turned out to be really fun! We follow Red and her five friends as they road trip in a borrowed RV for spring break. Shit immediately hits the fan after the RV gets four very suspicious flat tires, and then it's non stop action from there.

I really enjoyed reading from Red's perspective and found her very likeable and real. The other characters are less fleshed out but still believable and in some cases - appropriately unlikeable. Red's character has a lot of secrets and we find out early on that she is clearly trying to bury specific trauma that is revealed as the story progresses. We also find out the rest of the group may have their own secrets they want to keep hidden.

My only real complaint was I wanted the secrets and drama to be juicier and more scandalous. The situation is already kind of unbelievable so why not go full steam ahead into crazy town with the secrets and lies? I feel like the "Good Girl's" series got absolutely bananas and I was hoping for some of the same. I still really enjoyed this and I think if you have enjoyed the author's previous work or if you enjoy YA thrillers you will definitely like this story.

I won’t be finishing this:(
All of the characters are annoying and impossible to connect with. I was really excited for the premise, but I couldn’t get into it.
Dnf at 25%

This was really good. Finished the whole book in less than 24 hours. This was a great locked room thriller and a wonderful follow-up to AGGGTM series. Holly Jackson will be an auto-buy YA fiction author for me. She isn't scared to make her YA books a little edge of your seat scary and I so appreciate that. Her characters were well-developed and I loved some and was happy others were no longer around by the end. Overall a great read that I would recommend.

3.5
I have very conflicting feelings abt this.... coz on one hand I really enjoyed the book and the story but on the other hand it was so boring, and I didn't care whether most of the characters lived or died (ik it sounds rude im sorryy)

Also, I'm pretty sure I skimmed through a bit of the book, coz I just wanted to see who the sniper was and the entire reason behind everything.
Which brings me to 'the reason', I kind of guessed it? But it wasn't like a few pages before it was actually revealed so I wasn't too mad abt that.

Overall, I enjoyed my time reading this and the parts that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Ps: Can't wait to read AGGGTM!! Soooo excited for that one!!

Red and her friends want to have a fun spring break in Gulf Shores. However, things take a turn when they find themselves stranded in their RV in the middle of nowhere with someone who knows a secret threatening their lives.
This book had me in its grip from page one. Being in Red's head was jarring at first but definitely worked considering where the story goes. While I definitely felt that I knew the plot twist, there was more than one that completely caught me off guard. The cast of characters were well developed, especially considering how many there were and the secrets that we were supposed to believe about each of them.
I could not put this book down and finished it within about 12 hours of starting it. I highly recommend it.

This was such a fun ride. I have read all of Holly Jackson’s books and have loved each of them. I was fearful with her next one (this one) since it’s the first standalone after her A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy. I was not disappointed with this one at all. I love road-trip stories and add in suspense, mystery, and murder and you have a great premise for a book. I also really like the idea of the story taking place sequentially without any sort of time jump. I truly felt like things were unraveling right in front of me. I loved the characters, the plot, and the twist. I will continue to come back for each new book.

Eight hours. Six Friends. One Sniper…. Five Survive!

That tag line really peaked my interest when I was looking at winter 2022 book releases and came across Five Survive by Holly Jackson. A lot of my family members love Holly Jackon’s previous series, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and I’ve been intrigued by it, and when I came across this title on NetGalley, I was excited to jump into this YA thriller!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

This book follows Red and her friends as they are traveling by RV to their spring break location. They get lost along the way in the middle of nowhere and one of their tires blow out. With no cell phone service, they decide to brave the dark and unknown and change their tire. As soon as they get ready to head out, all four of their tires are shot out by a sniper they can’t see. They find out the sniper is wanting a secret from one of them and he won’t stop until he gets it. The next few hours are terrifying for this group as secrets come out, stuck in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night in a small RV.

I really enjoyed this story! I think Holly Jackson does a great job making the story atmospheric and claustrophobic as these characters fight for their lives stuck in this RV. It’s fast paced as a lot of the story is told through dialogue and makes the ready experience very simple. It never felt slow in any places and really was a fun thriller to read in one sitting. It’s very bingeable as you are on the edge of your seat trying to figure out the character’s secrets, the sniper’s motivation and everything in between.

I wasn’t really invested in the characters themselves. There was something about them that fell a little flat. That really didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story and I overall had a good time and left guessing at what was really true and what wasn’t in this story. A solid 4 stars!

BOOK REVIEW 💯 📚

First off, thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of Five Survive.
Holly Jackson is honestly the queen of YA thriller/mysteries so you can imagine my excitement when I was approved for this one!
8 hours, 6 people, 1 sniper. A group of young adults are setting out in a 31 foot RV, on a road trip to a spring break destination. Almost to the halfway point, everything goes wrong and they are suddenly abandoned on a dead end road with no cell signal. Terror begins to pass through the group as they realize a sniper has them held hostage until one of them tells a deadly secret.
A great concept for a book, that kept me wanting to get the end. However it was pretty drawn, a little predictable, and honestly didn't love the characters all that much.

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#alliesbookreads #bookrecommendations #bookworm #books #followforfollowback #booklove #booklover #bookstagram #botm #bookreview #bookreviewer

Five Survive is the story of six friends headed out on a Spring Break adventure, but a wrong turn leads to a night they will never forget.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the writing and pacing were very well done. I've never hated a character as much as I hated Oliver, which is a good thing...strong writing. Some of the plot towards the end got a little convoluted, but I'm willing to overlook that. Overall, a compelling story.

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's Books for this ARC.

I ultimately did not finish this book. I loved the first two books in the Good Girl’s Guide series so I was hopeful about this. But it felt like a slog, with none of the characters being particularly interesting and the premise surprisingly tedious in its execution. I was happy to order it for my shop as I know there will be plenty of readers who don’t share my opinion.