I am a huge fan of the Good Girl's Guide to Murder series, so I was very excited to read Jackson's next thriller! This is a tense locked-door (or RV) thriller and while the general setup was not super original, it was executed well! I started reading last night, stayed up way too late, and had to finish today--the story totally sucked me in and I had to know how it ended. The main character, Red, has a sad backstory and I found myself very invested in her well-being. The same cannot be said for one of the other characters, who I wanted to punch in the face. You'll know who that is almost immediately. I know my students (high school) will love this and I've already preordered a copy for my classroom library.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I think Holly Jackson did a great job building dramatic tension, starting with the title. There are six main characters, so every time something happened I kept thinking THIS IS IT..and then another twist would come. The way the story unfolds does a great job of revealing the nuances of each character's personality and their relationships to each other.

This book is also a take on the unreliable narrator trope-we know Red has some secrets, but we have to wait until the end of the book to learn what they all are. I felt like the pacing of these reveals was managed well. It's almost a slow burn, but not so slow that you get frustrated or bored. It felt purposeful because you're consistently learning things throughout the book rather than getting a big dump at the end, and there are clues along the way.

I knocked this down a star because it was slightly predictable. By the end I had mostly figured out who did it, but there were still some pieces that I needed the author to fit together for me. I thought Jackson managed it well, though. There weren't any details that I felt were unnecessary, and there were some pieces that felt lik "Aha!" moments when they were fully explained.

Overall I felt this was a well-written, highly bingeable thriller/mystery. I would definitely recommend it for fans of Holly Jackson, or anyone who likes mysteries but doesn't want anything too gory.

This book started out a little slow but once it picked up I was fully hooked! I did feel like some parts got a little repetitive and there were a few unnecessary details. However this was a good thriller that did a great job of making you feel the suspense and dread that the characters were feeling.

There were several twists along the way and while I did find a couple of them to be fairly obvious there were still quite a few that surprised me.

I would recommend this one to fans of Holly Jackson or just fans of young adult thrillers in general.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Eight hours. Six friends. Five survive.

Red, her best friend, her best friend’s big brother, his girlfriend, a classmate, and his friend are all on a road trip in a borrowed RV. They are very nearly at their destination when they lose connection and take a wrong turn. And that’s when everything goes south.

Secrets. Snipers in the dark. Six supposed friends.

I have never doubted Holly Jackson’s ability to write me a murder mystery I won’t forget. And after A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, I knew this would be a book to remember.

I can say with ease that this is going to keep readers on the edge of their seat for the whole duration of their read. I couldn’t put it down. The setting, a cramped 31-foot RV, six people whose flaws are bound to be highlighted by stress, and a sniper in the dark who wants a secret one of them has. The whole thing is set over eight hours, and yet it felt longer and much more stressful than just that.

We start off with Red, a character who was so well-written I honestly think she may be my favorite to date. She’s very forgetful and jumps from one topic to the next which could have made her a difficult read, but instead made her that much more interesting. Choosing to tell the story from Red’s perspective was the smart choice, as her observations of everyone and the little notes she makes in her head really make the mystery that much more intense.

The other five are equally well-written and interestingly developed characters who we get to see at their absolute worst. This made the book very intense, as everyone was pushed to their limits.

The ending…I won’t spoil anything, but it was definitely unexpected. I’m hoping there will be a sequel because there are some things I’d like to see more of. All in all, I really enjoyed this book. There were characters that got on my nerves, characters that’s I felt for and others I was utterly shocked to learn their secrets. I highly recommend this book if you enjoyed A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder or any of the Truly Devious books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

When six friends start on a road trip, they're expecting fun, booze, and relaxation. They don't count on the tires of the RV being shot out, leaving them stranded and hunted by a sniper. What the sniper wants is simple: for one person to share the devastating secret they hold. The problem? Everyone aboard the RV is hiding something.

This was a fast-paced read that got intense fairly quickly. It's told from the PoV of Red, an 18 yr old girl who is still haunted by the murder of her mother 5 years before. I found this book to be gripping and engaging. I love Holly Jackson's Good Girls Guide series, but I actually liked this one as much. I like that she explores themes of privilege and power, exposing the differences between the haves and have-nots. It's an interesting dynamic. If you enjoy her other books, I think you'll love this one as well!

Red Kenney is on a spring break road trip with her five friends when their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. But when someone starts shooting at the RV, they realize this is no accident, and they are trapped by someone who wants them dead. But who is the target? And whose long-buried secrets are they after? With only eight hours left until dawn, they must find a way to escape, and only five will survive the night. This is a gripping locked-in mystery/thriller! It is incredibly fast-paced, with the entire plot taking place over eight hours, making it impossible for me to put it down. I loved that the book was told from Red's perspective, as she was the perfect unreliable narrator with a chaotic personality that matched the chaos of the situation. The other five characters in the RV were so well developed, with their own secrets and motivations being revealed through the stress of the situation. It is hard to write a 400-page thriller that takes place in a 31-foot RV over only eight hours with only six characters, but the twists and reveals were so intriguing that I was never bored of the setting, characters, or plot!

Thank you to Netgalley, Delacorte Press, and Holly Jackson for an arc in exchange for my honest review! I loved Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series, so I was so excited to pick up this book. It was incredible and the perfect read if you love locked-in mystery/thrillers!

wow. ok so this book was a wild rollercoaster ride of emotions. i absolutely loved the a good girl’s guide to murder series, so i was hoping five survive would live up to that (spoiler alert: IT DID).

holly jackson’s writing is so addictive and almost every chapter ended in a small cliffhanger, so it makes you want to keep reading. my heart was racing most of time while reading this and trying to figure out who was gonna make it out alive and who wasn’t and what was going to happen next. there were a couple of small things that i had guessed would happen correctly, but when the major plot twist/s hit, i was completely shocked. the fact that this whole story takes place in one spot (an RV) over the course of 8 hours made it seem like not a lot could happen, but oh boy was there a lot of entertaining drama and i loved every second of it.


*thank you sosososo much to netgalley, holly jackson, and random house children’s for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Six friends hop into an RV for a spring break road trip, but what they don’t anticipate is breaking down in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, where someone wants one of them dead…

Like a majority of the readers who have their eyes on this book, I loved Holly Jackson’s A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER series, so I was looking forward to picking up her latest standalone novel FIVE SURVIVE.

This one takes place in real time, which makes it unique as a thriller (but also led to some stilted details and repetitive insights throughout the book), it features a “locked room” element, which is ALWAYS my jam, and also features secrets upon secrets upon secrets.

Despite having some moments of high intensity that I really enjoyed, I found this book difficult to get through. Most of the characters were insufferable, things became extremely repetitive, and many of the big reveals seemed quite obvious to me.

This one was a miss for me, but I think there’s a collective of Jackson’s fans who will really enjoy it!

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Children’s, and Delacorte Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: November 29, 2022

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I loved most of Holly Jackson’s trilogy, so I had high expectations for this book. I think it started out strong and stayed fast-paced until the end, but there were just too many unlikable characters and the twists were too predictable. It wasn’t a bad read, but it definitely wasn’t my favorite from this author.

Another brilliant book by Jackson! Six friends. One killer. Eight hours to escape. And someone has a secret.

Red is on a spring break road trip with five of her friends: her best friend, her best friend’s older brother, the brother’s girlfriend, a classmate, and a crush. Oh, and someone happens to be a killer.

Their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. No one has cell service. And they quickly learn nothing happened by accident. Somebody has trapped them. Somebody wants one of the six dead.

They have eight hours until dawn. They need to escape or figure out who’s the target.

Read if you love…
✨YA
✨mystery/thriller
✨twisssssts that keep you guessing
✨consistently changing you opinion on “who did it”

This book was an absolute rollercoaster. The twists were curvy and unexpected. The end was wiiiiild!

This story happens over the course of eight hours. And it’s packed with action as the six friends try to figure out a plan to survive the night, no one quite able to trust the other when they know someone is hiding a secret, and things turn deadly between them.

I loved the way Jackson painted each character. Little actions that made the reader constantly question who was keeping the secret, who the reader & the MC, Red, could trust!

The one thing I really wanted throughout the book was multi-perspective. Because there were multiple secrets & no one knew if their’s was the one the killer wanted, I think it could have added layers of depth for why or why not the reader thought each person was guilty or innocent.

Anything more would be spoilers. So I’ll leave you with this: whether you’ve read A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder or not, this one should be on your list! It’s a separate story with all new characters, so no need to prioritize AGGGTM!

Also, Arthur. Freaking Arthur. I want to hug him.

Trigger warnings: death of a parent, past; grief; murder, on page; gun violence; gaslighting

I looooooooved the authors series A GOOD GIRLS GUIDE TO MURDER, so I was VERY excited to see her come out with another thriller/mystery so soon. This is a locked door mystery/thriller which aren’t my favorite and at almost 400 pages this really dragged in some parts. The twist and turns did keep me engaged enough to keep turning the pages.

✨Book Review ✨

⭐️⭐️🌑🌑🌑

*I was provided this book free of charge by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I was very excited to get to read and review Five Survive by Holly Jackson, but I was pretty disappointed by it.

From the beginning I had a difficult time getting into the book. Honestly, I think part of it is that for whatever reason, I didn’t like the name of the main character, Red. Every time I read it, I thought of Red Foreman from That 70’s Show, who is a grouchy, middle aged, father of 2 and military Veteran. So having the name fit someone who was a senior in high school didn’t quite fit for me.

**Spoilers ahead!**

But the name wasn’t the only thing that was hard for me to get behind. I was curious how Holly’s plot was going to play out because it seemed like it would be difficult to get the characters to be stranded in a field in the middle of nowhere. About 1/3 of the way through the book, I gave up and looked up some spoilers because I just could not motivate myself to finish the book. When I read the spoilers, I knew I should try and finish just to figure out how Mrs. Lavoy could be the bad guy. It wasn’t until about 2/3 of the way through that the book finally started to get interesting. The whole book, I was just begging for the sn!per to take Oliver out because I could not stand him- that being said, I really didn’t like any of the characters. I really appreciate how Arthur was both the bad guy and the good guy. I really want a continuation of the story- more of a happily ever after for Red and Arthur. They seemed to understand each other and want the best for each other even after everything they’ve been through.

Overall, I would read a sequel to see if Arthur and Red end up together, but I don’t understand how this book was voted best book of the year by several retailers. I really wanted to like this book more than I did.

#netgalley #fivesurvive #mystery #murder #romance #arc #hollyjackson
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This was a fast paced thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. It also caused me some emotional damage and yet I want more! There were so many shocking twist that kept me up at night reading. Hoping for a sequel🤞🏾This is my first book by this author it will not be my last I love her writing style. Release date is November 29th! Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Five Survive follows a group of friends who's RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. If that isn't bad enough they learn that someone out there wants them dead. And the RV breaking down was no accident. Six friends must escape before dawn but soon they learn not all of them will survive. But soon the friends might turn against each other.

Holly Jackson is one of my go to YA authors. I really enjoyed this one. It kept you on the edge of your seat the whole time. It felt like you were in the RV with these characters fighting for your life. I highly suggest this book if you are looking for a good thriller to read. T​hank you Random House, Holly Jackson, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Will read anything Holly Jackson writes. This book kept me on my toes and guessing until the very end!

GREAT Mystery book that middle school students will LOVE! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. Holly Jackson knows how to write books that will appeal to the YA demographic.

“Retrace your steps, Red. When did you last see your mind?”

I love the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series so I was so excited to be able to get an ARC of this one. Holly Jackson is such a great writer and I was anxious to see what she would do with a new cast of characters.

Six friends are on a road trip to the Gulf Shores for Spring Break when they take a wrong turn and get stranded when their RV breaks down. They’re in the middle of nowhere with no cell phone reception, and there is a sniper watching them, demanding one of them reveals a secret. What unfolds is a contentious mystery that tests the limits of friendship.

Red is a really interesting protagonist, and we get the story from her point of view. From the start, we see the disparities between her and her friend group, so once they find themselves trapped by a sniper, the chaos and mistrust unfolds quickly. Someone has a secret, and the sniper will not let them leave until he gets it. The setting is so unique, with the friends stuck together in a 31-foot RV. It’s claustrophobic and cramped, and the tension escalates quickly.

The tension is built so well throughout, and though you can sense who has a secret, it takes time for everything to unfold. You can felt the unease between the friends in the RV as they start to question their relationships with each other and who could have the secret the sniper is after. Olive is truly insufferable and he immediately tries to take charge, but he clearly doesn’t take his time to think things through, causing more problems for the group.

The only issue I had was I wanted a touch more depth. I didn’t feel particularly connected to any of the characters, and I felt like I needed a bit more context between the characters and Red’s history. I was able to pick some of it up as the story progressed, but I still wish I was able to connect more to the characters.

The ending was pretty great and I loved the way everything came together. Once the pieces fell into place I started to put it together, but it definitely didn’t happen early on. I can see how someone may put it together, but there were parts of the ending that I didn’t see coming, and kept my interest.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

five survive is an eight hour account of six teenagers roadtripping one night when suddenly their four tyres and fuel tank are shot out, leaving them trapped and at the whim of a sniper in the woods that they can’t see and is set on tormenting them until one of them fesses up to a certain secret.

overall, this was a fast paced mystery read that did its job. i had high expectations after being a very big fan of the ‘a good girl’s guide to murder’series from the beginning. it’s unfair to do this, but it’s very hard to separate and not compare an authors two works. i think for this book, it downfalls can be attributed to two main reasons:
1. we are literally stuck in one location for 95% of the book, and
2. there was nothing special about each of the characters, apart from the role they had to play in the story. i’d be more scared the entire time about one of them getting shot (please refer to the title) if i actually cared what happened to any of them (maddy i love you though). even though this is only a standalone, so there is less time to connect to the characters, i was a lot more attached to the pip and co. in book 1 of AGGGTM.

despite this, holly jackson managed to sustain my attention for the entire book, and whilst the reveal was a tad underwhelming, i did appreciate the pov switch right at the end. red’s forgetfulness was also very relatable.

*Thank you to NetGalley for sending me a digital copy of the ARC Five Survive by Holly Jackson.*

Six friends. One RV. One killer. Many, many secrets.

It's Red's senior year, and her friends are embarking on a RV road trip to Florida for spring break. Red, her best friend Maddy, their friends Simon and Arthur, Maddy's older brother Oliver, and Oliver's girlfriend Reyna have been driving all day, and are nearing their campsite for the night when they suddenly lose service, and therefore their map. Going off instincts, they drive the RV deeper into the woods. With tensions already high, one of the tires goes flat, causing the friends to get out and change it. But once they're inside again, they find that all four tires have once again gone flat--but this time they've been shot.
The next eight hours are hell. The six find a walkie-talkie hanging from the side mirrors, and thus begins their communication with the sniper in the woods, the man who refuses to stop shooting and let them go until one specific secret is revealed. Of course, rather than talking to each other and figuring out the secret, chaos ensues as they attempt to escape. Oliver, ever the self-preserving asshole, immediately takes charge, refusing to listen to any ideas other than his own, and placing blame on everyone but himself. Reyna, his girlfriend, keeps shooting looks at Red, and seems uncomfortable with Oliver's decisions, despite the fact that they seem like the perfect couple. Simon won't stop drinking, Maddy can't seem to choose to follow her psychotic brother or her best friends, and Arthur is the quiet but protective presence in the corner.
Out of all of them, Red has the most knowledge about the subject. Her mom was a police chief, and Red and her used to play pretend cops all the time when she was little. Before her mom died. But despite Red's expertise, Oliver refuses to listen, and Red can't seem to escape the guilt and traumatic memories of her mom's death.
As the hours increase, the shooter gets more and more impatient, and as the violence grows, so do the tensions. Eight hours trapped in an RV changes people, and the friends will never be the same if they reveal their secrets--or will they?

I LOVED the A Good Girl's Guide to Murder trilogy. I really connected with Pip and found her to be a very compelling protagonist and storyteller. I loved the romance and ongoing, connected mysteries, and the small town it was set in. However, this book didn't have the same magic as AGGGTM. I didn't find Red to be as good of a narrator, and the single setting "locked room" scenario made for a somewhat repetitive plot. I didn't particularly like or connect to any of the characters, and while the story was terrifying, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and the twist to happen. Nevertheless, I did really enjoy this book, and I do hope Jackson writes a sequel or makes this her next trilogy, purely because the ending left me wanting more of a conclusion (which I hope indicates her plans to continue). I think Red and Arthur have potential to be a good pairing, and would love to see where the rest of the mafia plot goes.

Overall, Holly Jackson continues to be one of the best YA mystery writers, and I will always read her work with a vengeance. I'm excited to see where this premise goes, and would love a trilogy, as I think the sequels would have a great opportunity to build on the mafia plot.

Let me start out by saying I don't love thrillers, but I did like Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, so I decided to give it a go. It's YA. How scary could it be? Answer: Very scary. Reading through my fingers scary. I knew what was bound to happen, but I really didn't want to see it. This is billed as a YA book, but I would say that should be aimed at older YA and maybe even New Adult. All the characters are Seniors in high school or older. The narrator is 18. So yeah, definitely older YA.

I don't love thrillers, but I also couldn't stop reading. I put it down to go to bed at 86% and then just picked it up and finished it. The plot is tight as a drum and the twists elicited actual gasps that worried the people in the room with me. The ending is told in mixed media format, and I can''t tell you what or it would spoil it. The characters are well done, particularly the narrator, Red.

Red is an 18 year old girl living with the guilt of her her last words to her mother being "I hate you," before she was killed in a mob-style execution. Her father fell apart afterwards and has not climbed out of the bottle he climbed into. She and five of her friends are on a road trip to Florida in a borrowed RV when they get lost and end up in a woody area in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. Then someone starts shooting at them.

The title of the book is Five Survive, so you know someone doesn't make it, but you don't know who it is until the very end. It could be anyone.

Fair warning, it is pretty bloody; not just in the events in the current timeline, but throughout the story, Red is thinking about how her Mom died by gunfire, so those scenes are gory too.