It’s very hard not to say too much about the plot without having given away any spoilers.

With Red Kenny and her five friends in a broken down RV in the middle of nowhere the scene is set. Is the breakdown really an accident? Who has the secret?

The tension is so thick in the air as this story progresses. It literally had me on the edge of my seat. My inner detective was flipping back and forth to who it was, it had myself guessing for the large part.
I will admit I didn’t like most of the characters and one or two of them I was rooting to be killed off within the first 10 pages. But I did like the mix of personalities when it comes to the group and how each individual person reacts to danger, fight or flight mechanism. Interestingly how a group of people will come together and then separate like the swing of a pendulum.
It was a roll coaster, a very fast paced story with lots of dialogue which is needed in this thriller. Holly is always full of surprises when it comes to the reveal of ‘whodunit’ definitely looking forward to what she creates next.

When I had the chance to join the blog tour for Holly Jackson’s newest novel, Five Survive, I knew I had to take it. I own A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and loved it – I also own the second and third books in the trilogy, although I haven’t read them yet1. You’ve already seen my star-rating for this book, so let’s get into why I gave it 5 stars.

Characters
There are six main characters we’re going to focus on here – Red, Maddy, Oliver, Simon, Arthur, and Reyna.

Red
Red is the main focus as far as main characters go – at least in my opinion. She is the first character we meet in the book. She is an interesting character, although a very sad one in my opinion. I like her a lot – even if she might be hiding something.

Maddy
Red’s best friend in the entire world. She tries her best to keep people from upsetting Red and helps her out money-wise whenever she can. I like her as well, although not as much as Red. There is something about Maddy that always makes me wonder if she’s still friends with Red out of pity.

Oliver
Maddy’s older brother. He’s not a favorite of mine. He’s kind of a jerk. No, not kind of, he is a jerk. I get the distinct feeling that we aren’t supposed to like him – I know I certainly didn’t care much for him.

Reyna
Oliver’s girlfriend. You’ll find that Red isn’t the only person in the RV who is hiding something. But I’ll admit, regardless, I really liked Reyna. She has guts, I’ll give her that. You’ll have to read the book to see what I mean.

Simon
Simon is one of those characters that is there, but not there, if you know what I mean. He’s generally just obnoxious or in the way. He’s pretty much only there to be irritating and because he’s the one who provided the RV. At least that’s my point of view on him.

Arthur
Arthur is an interesting character. Another person who might be hiding something, although it is difficult to say. But he likes Red, which I think is pretty awesome. You’ll see what I mean when you read the book. I liked him.

Atmosphere
For a thriller, you can’t get much better of an atmosphere than a broken-down RV in the middle of nowhere. I mean, it’s the middle of the night, your vehicle is broken-down, you’re in the middle of absolutely nowhere, and even better – there is zero cell service. What more could you ask for? If this wasn’t a thriller, I’d say it’d make the perfect atmosphere for a horror novel.

Writing
Ok, since I’ve already mentioned that I love Holly Jackson, let me tell you why. Her writing style is easy to read and she knows how to make a book move. Sure, you’re going to get slow parts. That’s a given with any book – I’ve never read one without at least one. But even the slow parts are paced well and are easily blown through. Holly writes books that you don’t want to put down – that you can’t put down. You’ve got to know what’s going to happen next because the book is so well written, you can’t stop thinking about it.

Plot
I love the plot for this book. It’s amazing. Stranding a bunch of high school and college students in an RV in the middle of nowhere without cell service with a killer? And having one of those students be the reason they’re stuck out there? Even better! The best part is that none of them realize why they’re there and when they finally get told – none of them believe it could be them. It’s brilliant.

Intrigue
The intrigue for this book is seriously high. Besides wondering how six people are going to survive in a 31-foot RV2 without killing each other, you’ll be wondering how they’re going to get out of the fact that there’s a killer on the outside of the RV. You’ll wonder whether they’ll all survive or if only five – or less – of them will survive. It’s a pretty intense book for intrigue.

Logic
I have to say, with Red, logic isn’t her strong suit. But that’s because she’s designed that way. Everyone else makes up for what she lacks in logic. You’ll see some pretty ingenious ways to handle things. You’ll also see some pretty stupid ways to handle things. There’s a great mix of logical and illogical things going on in this book.

Ending
The ending was satisfying, but yet not… it seems to end in a way that could point to a second book if Holly Jackson wanted to add another book, but yet is also closed enough that if a second book isn’t in the plans, it wouldn’t really matter. I do wonder what the answer to the question was though…

This book was amazing and I highly recommend it to thriller fans. If you aren’t a fan of YA, you should still pick this one up because it’s absolutely incredible. I don’t think you’ll even notice you’re reading a YA novel. Trust me.

eARC review: Five Survive by Holly Jackson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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.

5 survived - but did I?! The amount of anxiety I felt reading this is off the charts. The story takes place over 8 hours (with chapters as time stamps) so it’s super fast paced and dialogue driven. I think those are 2 key components to a good thriller. Even though the timetable is short, I still feel like I got to know each of the characters on a deep level. I loved some, and I absolutely hated others. Red is the main character, and she is a bit unreliable. I have a soft spot for a chaotic narrator so I loved it. Every chapter had me fighting with myself trying to guess the mole, everyone seems guilty at one point or another.

Another great factor within this book is the author’s way of showcasing what can happen to your brain under extreme pressure and fear. How fast people can turn on each other and do anything possible to save themselves. The dark side of humanity.

I loved Good Girls Guide To Murder, but I loved this even more. Go pick it up!!

I didn’t dislike this book, but I found myself disliking all of the characters so much that I found it hard to read. I enjoyed the author’s other series, and this book has a similar tone. I just had a harder time with the characters here.

Six people, stranded in an RV, being hunted by a sniper. Everyone has a secret, but one of theirs might get someone killed. Whew! This book brought the suspense and tension. A twisty turny tale. Definitely a must read for fans of physiological suspense.

I was drawn into this story quickly and I enjoy all the characters with their distinct personalities, lives, and views. It was interesting to watch this mystery unfold and see what everyone is really hiding from each other. Some things are coming to light and I was excited to see who would survive the night. And even if they are still alive, will their lives ever be the same again?

Here are a few of my favorite quotes (without spoiling the book)

“Maybe Maddy had learned to read her mind in all that time [....] Red really hoped not. There were things in there no one else could ever see. No one. Not even Maddy. Especially not Maddy.”

This gives the reader a small insight into Red, how she feels she needs to protect her best friend. From what, we haven’t found out yet.

“...Maddy pulled me aside and told me to never ask about your mom,....or to mention moms in general in front of you. And if that’s what you want, then that's fine, but if you can’t talk to your best friend about her, I was wondering, maybe, whether you wanted someone else to talk to about her. And I could do that sometime. If you want.”

Red’s mom was murder & its a sore subject even five years later. Her life has been completely upended and it looks nothing like it did when her mom was alive. She always feels like an outsider & the differences are growing between her and her friends, but not newcomer Arthur. There is something different about him that makes her feel more open to exploring a relationship with.

“One of you knows something. A secret. You know who you are and you know what it is”.

The reason for all the mystery, the blown tires, and why they are trapped in an RV in the middle of nowhere. Who has a secret? Does everyone? And how bad could that secret be?

Five Survive is Holly Jackson's latest new-adult thriller that follows 6 teens as they take off towards their final spring break as high school students. Packed into a 31 foot RV, the 6 teens are made up of Red - our narrator, Maddy, Oliver, Simon, Anthony, and Reyna. Red is the outcast, her status as Maddy's best friend the only reason why the crew is in an RV and not flying to the coast. Maddy protects her, ensures no one asks about her mother, and tries to make sure she is always included. Except, this trip might be one where Red wishes she wasn't included. As darkness descends they find themselves lost and with a blown out tire. What begins as dread for a night stuck in the RV with no cell service soon begins full blown fear. Someone is out there and they know exactly who is inside the RV. One of them has a secret and one of them won't make it out alive.

I flip flopped on my rating for this book, I think it's a 4-star read for some, but ultimately it was a 3-star read for me. Red is a fantastic, brooding character, but her ties to the group are fraught and the improbability of them all being friends was too difficult to believe. This isn't how friends operate. Then you mix in their secrets? No, maybe one or two friends would have big secrets, but not all of them and not to the extremes. The mob/cartel storyline that ties to Red's mom is done well, but seems so far-fetched for the age group of the read and almost too adult in theming. It doesn't feel like part of the story, almost like the rest of the book was written, but a bad guy and a reasoning was needed. Jackson is a fantastic writer, but this needed to be either a new-adult book or an adult book, it's a little bit too much of both.

I love Holly Jackson's writing, the concept here was great, I read it so fast, but it was a miss for me.

I'm a huge fan of the Good Girl's Guide to Murder trilogy, which I think is the rare young adult mystery series that has the intricate plotting (over the course of the series) and character development that would please the majority of adult thriller readers.

Five Survive is completely different. It's a standalone, it takes place on a very short timeline, and its more plot-driven than character-driven. But it's a fun and truly suspenseful read.

If I have one complaint, it was that the end got a little info-dumpy as everything had to be explained in a short time, but I remain a big fan of Holly Jackson. I love that she writes YA but I wouldn't be surprised to see her tackle an adult book too!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest review!

This book kept me hooked and slightly terrified? We follow 6 young adults traveling from Philadelphia to Florida. When the 6 of them are heading to their campsite as the halfway point, they get lost in the middle of nowhere Virginia. All of a sudden, they have no cell service and a flat tire and its midnight. All 6 get out of the car to fix the flat (this is the part where you scream, what are you doing!!!) They fix the tire, and then all 4 get shot out... what is happening?

The shooter tells them that one of them holds a secret and he will kill them all at 6 AM. Who has a secret and who is going to tell?

Each hour you find out new information on each of the 6. So who is shooting at them and what happens?? Read to find out.

I enjoyed this story as I was terrified and it made me want to keep reading. I think that I got confused at some points and so there were some gaps in the story, but overall, it was interesting. Somewhat predictable though.

Five Survive by Holly Jackson

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Eight hours.
Six friends.
One sniper . . .

Red and five of her friends are ready for a fun spring break at the beach. But when they get lost in their RV on the way, things take a sinister turn. Someone is out there, watching them. One of them has the secret he wants, and if they don’t give it to him, they won’t make it out.

I enjoyed the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series (except the second half of the last book), so I was interested to read more of Holly Jackson. This book blew that series out of the water for me.

The blurb, plus the title, Five Survive, had me right away. My favorite trope is “people trapped together and one has a dark secret and/or is actually a killer,” so this book was right up my alley. It took me a bit to get used to Red's inner monologue, but the book is very fast-paced and once it really got going, it doesn't stop. I've been struggling to get through books recently, but I could not put this book down, and ended up staying up late just to finish.

The build-up is excellent, with tension slowly mounting. Almost all of the book takes place inside the RV, which adds to the tension and gives a claustrophobic feel. While some of the twists weren’t the most surprising, I still found myself gasping at times. That’s all I will say though, because I don’t want to spoil anything.

Overall, it’s a really good twisty thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, up until the very end.

Five Survive is a YA thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat.

Red and five of her friends are traveling in an RV for Spring Break. However, disagreements arise when things don’t go as planned, and road trips always have hiccups. It’s not surprising that they get lost on the way to the beach, and then the RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. What’s surprising is that a sniper is hunting them and their secrets…

I read this in one day. I couldn’t put it down, because I needed to know what was going on. The story was super fast-paced and the claustrophobic setting was cleverly written. My stomach was in knots the whole time I was reading. The characters were interesting, and everyone had secrets that they didn’t want to reveal which made everything so much more intriguing. Most of them were unlikable, but even so, it was easy to root for the survival of the majority of them. The tension was high as soon as the RV broke down, and when survival mode hit… It felt like anything could happen.

Holly Jackson’s writing and plot devices usually work for me, so it wasn’t surprising that I devoured this book in one sitting and enjoyed it a lot. Jackson did a great job keeping me guessing, and the setting was perfect to keep my anxiety high. Even though there were a twist or two that I figure out early on, there were some that I didn’t see coming. However, particularly one of the revelations was over the top. It didn’t affect my enjoyment, because I was already expecting a crazy twist, and the puzzle pieces fit. It did bother me that one specific aspect concerning the main character wasn’t explained, and was only used to add a level of uncertainty to a couple of events.

Overall, a thrilling, suspenseful, entertaining, action-packed, fast-paced YA story with shocking secrets and claustrophobic, tense moments.

I was very excited to pick up this book because I was curious to see what the author would come up with after a very successful series of books, and because, of the ones I have read so far I have really enjoyed what she has written. Five Survive was a little slower to kick in than I expected and whilst Red was a fascinating character she wasn’t the easiest to navigate the start of the story with, thankfully it didn’t take too long before I was completely hooked by what was happening.

I just loved the set-up of this, six friends shut in a small space, and a desperate need to find the secret that is the key to their survival, it made for some thrilling edge-of-my-seat reading. The book is broken up into sections by the hour and it really adds to the fast-paced nature of the story, as everything happens in eight hours of one evening. The tension was wonderful all of these elements come together to create a chaotic maelstrom of an atmosphere, as the characters slowly start to unravel and become their worst selves.

I won’t say too much about the plot but whilst some things felt obvious, I realised that I had no idea who was behind the danger they were in and what secret they were looking for. It made for some pretty shocking revelations as the puzzle pieces started to fit together and I could not have predicted how it ended. I feel like I maybe was left with some questions about things that had been included in the story but didn’t seem to have an explanation but that didn’t have a massive impact on my overall enjoyment.

The characters in this book are not really all that likeable but I felt entirely drawn to them because of their dynamic, you can tell there are some tensions from the start of the story but it gets worse as the events of the night unfold and there are some clear divides in the group, which makes for some intense reading. Maybe this makes me weird but I found it riveting as the threat becomes known that we got to see how each of the friends reacts to this and how it changes their relationships with each other, the shift back and forth between working together and then working against each other kept the suspense at an all-time high.

Holly Jackson knows how to create an emotional and engaging story, the sense of dread will definitely stick with me for a while, it is a dark story and it’ll take me a minute to get over, but this book has me very excited to see what kind of story she will come up with next.

Five Survive is a YA closed room (although its an RV) thriller.

Six students set out for spring break in an RV. They take a wrong turn and end up in a deserted area with no cell signal. They quickly realize someone is out to get them. Someone shoots out the tires and gas tank of the RV to prevent them from leaving. Communication with the shooter tells them that one of them has a secret that the shooter wants revealed.

Fast paced thriller that takes place over the course of one night. No one is safe. Someone has a secret. Friends turning on each other. You won't find me on a RV trip anytime soon.

A bit repetitive, closed room thrillers often are, in my opinion.
I'm not the intended audience as its YA which I must take into account.

I preferred the Good Girl's Guide to Murder series.

I’m not sure what I just read. I was a little annoyed with how it all shook out.

A wise friend told me this - maybe we just aren’t meant to read YA anymore.

To a high school student this book is probably perfect. To a woman in her 30s who reads thrillers all the time and is rarely stumped …. Ehhhh. Add to that that I’m an attorney who is married to a cop (both of our professions actually have some relevance in this book). Double ehhh

Here’s the pros - it kept me guessing for part of the time, I did enjoy the characters (and even deeply hated one of them), and the RV stuck in a forest thing was a good plot setting.

Real Rating 4.5

There is so much to unpack about this book. So much happened and I had no idea where it was going to go from the beginning. If you look at my place holder review on Goodreads, I’m basically asking if Holly Jackson is ok because man, this was dark. (I really need to learn to read the synopsis of books whether they’re auto-buy authors or not.)

The number one best thing about this book was the plot. It was so fast paced and I couldn’t put it down! I found myself listening to it no matter where I was and I was trying to read it everywhere. I was obsessed. Now it is told over a number of hours where they’re in a really tense situation so it has to be. But man, this was crazy. I had my shoulders near my ears the whole time. I can only imagine how I would have looked if I was reading a physical book. I would have looked maniacal turning the pages as fast as I was listening lol

And of course Holly Jackson’s writing style was amazing. Like I said I couldn’t put it down. I do wish some of the clues and final info came a lot faster than it was given tho. Or at least spread it out some. It was kind of like an info-dump. This book could have used some more red herrings or something throughout it. And the very end was jaw dropping. I was not expecting that. But I wanted something more to happen to that one person because….. They definitely deserved it.

The characters in this tho were terrible. I wanted to do nothing more than strangle all of them. From the main character to the character who had the smallest part. None of them were good enough. I did have some love for Red, but she really should have started speaking as soon as she knew something. It just seemed a little selfish when she didn’t. I know there is a lot more to it, but man, this was crazy.

The ending was cray cray tho. Although I wish some of the signs were spread out, it didn’t stop the details from being crazy. Because I was not expecting any of them. I was really in shock. Like how did Jackson come up with this? I really was nervous, like what happened to her? Because this was dark. Like last book in the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder dark. If you’ve read that series, than you know. But even still, I loved it.

The audio was crazy good too! The way the narrator was able to sound scared, hurt, confused, and crazy like one of the characters was, was amazing. And it wasn’t a full cast audio like Jackson’s other books, so that means all those changes and very different voices for each character was done by one person. And that just seems hella hard. I can’t imagine it being easy or keeping track of what you made everyone feel like, so that was just cool to me. I looked into her name and she has a long back list. I immediately added some of them to my TBR. (Yes sometimes I add books to my TBR because of the fact that the narrator was good. Today was one of those times lol

This book did nothing but confirm my reasoning for making Holly Jackson an auto buy author. It was actually thrilling and so, so good. If you’re a fan of thrillers, give this one a chance. I assure you, you will not be disappointed.

Holly Jackson has done it again! I love all of her books, but FIVE SURVIVE was such a short and spooky book that I devoured in one sitting! This is a great next book after the GGGTM series, and I can't wait for her future novels! Jackson constantly writes incredible and unexpected plotlines that unravel really reallly reeeeeallly slowly and then ALLATONCE! I love her writing style for mystery books and this book was no different!

This tightly-wound, plot driven thriller is exactly the type of book needed around the holidays. Six friends go on a trip in an RV, but when they become the target of a shooter who wants a secret that one of them has, the friends struggle with one another in a fight for trust, power, and survival. This novel is definitely very different from A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but has it's own strengths that will make it hold it's own on the book shelves well. Give to fans of Karen McManus and Maureen Johnson.

Six friends take off on a spring break road trip. When their RV breaks down and they end up stuck in the middle of nowhere, they realize that maybe their breakdown in this location wasn't an accident. They have to find a way to survive the night with danger outside the RV and possibly an even bigger danger inside.

This thriller kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I couldn't read it at night because it made me too jumpy to sleep. I really enjoyed how this story unfolded piece by piece so that the reader was putting the details together at the same time as the characters did. There were a few twists I saw coming, but others that completely caught me by surprise. Highly recommend this one if you're looking for a twisty YA thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Delacorte Press for the ARC of this book.

After reading A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, I was really excited to read this one. There were some things that lived up to my expectations and some that didn't.
I read the first quarter of the book in one day. It immediately grabbed me and legitimately scared me. The 6 getting lost in their RV even before anything happened had me on the edge of my seat. I had an inkling that the first flat tire was not an accident and I was right. The scariest part to me was when they were all inside the RV and they heard "hello." I almost had to stop reading since it was night! After this, the pacing kind of slowed down. Since the whole thing took place in one night, it really dragged some things out. It took them forever to make one small decision and it took me several days to get through the middle of the book. I did read the last I think 30% in one day. Everything picked up and I was on the edge of my seat and couldn't read fast enough.
One of the things that bummed me out was that I didn't really like the characters. I disliked the main character Red. I wanted her to be someone I could root for, but I just was indifferent. Her whole character revolved around her guilt. The night her mom died, she called Red and asked to tell her dad something, but they were fighting so Red said "I hate you" and hung up. Then she got shot. So I think a lot of her character had to do with what that grief and guilt does to a person. I hated Oliver, I couldn't stand a word that came out of this mouth. I was very back and forth about Maddy, it really seemed like she was Red's ride or die but also seemed like she would always pick Oliver (her brother) over Red no matter what. The rest of the characters were ok.
The reason that these 6 characters were trapped here just threw me for loop after loop. We think we have it figured out, but then it's something else, but that's wrong too and then it's something else. I really can't say I saw any of it coming so it was a fun ride for me.
The very ending was a series of multi media type things which made for an interesting ending, but also didn't fully answer all the questions we had (not in a bad way). It left things to make up that could really go either way.
Overall, despite the characters not being my favorites, this book really kept my intrigue especially at the beginning and end and really was something that was a fun, yet scary mystery thriller book!

Five Survive is an exceptional YA thriller, surpassing my super-high expectations to deliver a riveting story expectedly playing with intense paranoia, suspense and earth-shattering secrets.

It is no secret that Holly Jackson is one of my all time favourite authors. Her ability to meticulously plot a razor-sharp thriller, packed full of twists and turns, is unparalleled. Every time, she knocks it out of the park and always manages to surprise me. Five Survive is no exception to this rule, providing a twisty standalone mystery that had me utterly glued to its pages.

The claustrophobia of the setting of the RV serves to heighten the already thickening tension that much more. When you know everyone is hiding something but they literally cannot move beyond these small confined spaces, the atmosphere is incredibly fraught. It is intense and makes for gripping reading, as every little moment counts. Tempers fly and explosive revelations are made. There is a point in the book where things really kick into a higher gear in a deadly, blood-soaked scene that is just heart-wrenching. You can see it coming but it still shatters your heart. For me, it was just how unnecessary it ultimately was and reminds you of the stakes at hand here. The countdown aspect of the story also served to heighten this further. I read the novel across eight hours, wanting to mimic some of that experience. You can feel your heart racing as time runs ever closer to the finale and the slowly revealed layers to the central mystery are jaw-dropping. There are so many factors at play here and watching them all come together is sensational.

The paranoia and increasing suspense are second to none. You start to question everything you are presented with and every character, including Red herself. I really enjoyed Red as a protagonist. Her sharply felt grief still affects every aspect of her life, constantly replaying previous events and having this consummate sense of guilt alongside it. Jackson’s portrayal of grief felt nuanced and realistic, showing that fluctuating circle of emotions and long-term effects. Red’s trauma presses deep into her bones, changing her perspective on life entirely. However, she is also determined, loyal and practically useful. Her skill set really feeds into the desperate attempts at survival. The coping mechanisms and defence strategies she has placed around herself are also broken down in really interesting and often unexpected ways. For example, some of the most shocking moments are deeply intimate and tie into the tangled web of interpersonal connections on this RV.

Of course, it helps that Jackson is deftly skilled at creating three-dimensional characters that all have something distinctive to draw you into them. You usually either love or hate them passionately. Every one of them is guarding a life-changing secret and their exposure completely flips the narrative on its head. You are thrown down so many different paths and Jackson’s juggling of these plot strands is fascinating. It becomes an enjoyable challenge trying to work out what will happen next and you will probably be wrong at every turn.

Five Survive is a relentless thrill ride from the queen of YA thrillers. This is easily one of my favourite reads of the year.