Red is going on a spring break trip in an RV with her best friend, Maddy, their friends Arthur and Simon, and Maddy’s brother, Oliver, and his girlfriend, Reyna. They lose service before they get to their campsite and get lost in the woods. All of a sudden, all four tires are shot out and they are stuck and afraid. A walkie-talkie appears and they are told by a sniper hiding in the woods that someone has a secret on board the RV and he needs to know what it is. Turns out all of them have a secret, and it begins to wear them all down, turning them against each other. Is the danger outside worse than the danger in?
💭Thoughts💭
I do not get easily spooked by books but DAMN was this leaving me constantly on edge. I really loved everything about this book except for Red’s character. She lacked a spine all throughout and was so annoying with her thought patterns. We get it, the RV was 31 feet long. 🤪 The author did a great job though of making you paranoid and keeping you guessing.
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⌛️Favorite Moment⌛️
My favorite moments were seeing how resourceful these kids were. They tried so many different ways to escape and bend the rules. My favorite thing was when they tried to build a stick person out of a mop and beach ball to trick the sniper.
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🎉 Theme Ideas 🎉
All they ate on the RV was chips and tequila. I would highly recommend not going on an RV trip after this book. Maybe watch a slasher film, this book was classic slasher horror.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhousekids for the free book in exchange for my honest review.

If you know me, you know I LOVED Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. It is my number one recommendation to all my friend la that enjoy thrillers or true crime. Needless to say I was so excited to read Jackson’s newest book which is coming out this November.

This book follows Red Kenney and her five friends while they are on their way to spring break. They get lost on the way and get into trouble when it turns out one of their secrets is the reason they got into the mess in the first place.

My favorite thing about Jackson’s writing is that she is an expert in twisting the story so that you are not expecting how the ending turns out. This was a great YA thriller and if that is something you enjoy, definitely pick this up. Five Survive comes out November 29!

4.5/5⭐️

I haven’t read any of Holly Jackson’s other books but this one has sold me on her as an author! I want to read more from her!!

This book is SUPER fast-paced, the fastest i’ve ever read. It takes place over the course of eight hours, you get every single detail of every moment. I loved this!

At first, I struggled distinguishing the characters from one another, since there are six main characters in total. It was kind of difficult to establish each of their roles in the story, but once i caught on it all made perfect sense!

The twists are amazing, i was on the edge of my seat the entire time. If you want a fast-moving, YA thriller, with lots of twists and turns, and super suspenseful, PICK UP THIS BOOK.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc, in exchange for my honest review.

Talk about a road trip gone wrong! This novel will have you checking your back, feeling the sensation of unseen eyes upon you, and cringing and dodging waiting for the inevitable CRACK of a sniper rifle. Spring break will never be the same.

Six friends, all with secrets and lies, head out for a Spring Break trip in an older RV. That is until they take a wrong turn, their wheels are shot out, and the hunt begins.

Steeped in lies and betrayals, friendships and foes, this thriller will keep you turning through pages, racing along in hopes of beating a snipers deadly bullet.

This is a fast, fun read, and perfect for anyone who loves YA thrillers and mystery books. I will definitely be recommending it to readers that enjoy a fast paced cat and mouse type thrill ride when released in November of 2022.

Thank you so much to #NetGalley, the publishers and author for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

My full review will be posted to all my social media sites, blog platforms and retail sites upon release day.

I’ve been digging books like this lately, and Jackson’s book is definitely added to my favorites. Engaging p,it and characters, some great twists- overall, a very fun read

Six friends headed on a spring break trip in an RV. One wrong turn leads to being in a dead zone area, then they get a flat. Thank goodness there is a spare, and the kids were able to change the tire (the only part of this book that wouldn’t be real) and they get going again. Then all four tires blow. The next 5 hours are a thrilling spiral that lends notes to lord of the flies, reminded me a bit of If We Were Villains, and was just very good!

When I first started this, I was thinking “where the heck is this headed”? You start getting snippets of Red’s trauma, and start to question who you think the bad guy is. Ooh and the suspense just keeps building! I made many correct assumptions along the way, but they didn’t unfold exactly the way I thought they would. Actually, I’m going to rephrase that and say there were a handful of things I did not see coming until they were happening. VERY GOOD.

I haven’t read anything by this author before, but now I’m going to have to pick up the other book(s) they’ve written!

I am very disappointed by this one. I am a huge fan of A Good Girls’s Guide to Murder series. Those books grasped my attention from the beginning. Five Survive has way too many characters from the beginning and I couldn’t follow through. It seemed a bit immature and more YA than previous novels from this author.

I really, really wanted to like this book since I enjoyed books 1 and 2 of TGGGTM series so much, but it was just okay. The characters fell flat for me, and I really hated how Red was portrayed not only as unreliable, but also just irritating, immature, and overly childish. The "twists" were incredibly predictable (in fact, in my book notes, I predicted things at only 15% into the book), and I grew to REALLY dislike several of the characters more and more as the story went on to the point of not caring whether they lived or died.

I thought that the high-tension aspect was decently well done, but I found the description of EVERY little action and reaction to become repetitive after a while. Also, I can't be the only one who was irrationally annoyed by the fact that we never even get to solve the mystery of what the heck the pattern in the curtains reminded Red of...after all of that obsession with it

This was such a fun read! Holly Jackson never disappoints. I read this in one sitting because it was so engaging. I did figure out half of the twist early on, but the other part was a surprise!

"Eight hours. Six friends. One sniper."

I absolutely love the way this book was set up. An hour by hour account of some of the most horrifying moments in Red's life. It kept me interested and wanting to devour it in one sitting. I found myself still thinking about what was going to happen next when I had to put it down to run errands or finish up some work. It was that suspenseful and compelling. The only reason I am giving it four stars instead of five is because it just was truly an unrealistic storyline. And there were questions that went unanswered about Catherine Lavoy and her involvement. It could have been made a little bit more realistic. But it was an excellent read, nonetheless. If you're looking to escape the horrors of the real world for a while and not have to fear that this is something that could happen to you, this is definitely the book to get lost in.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review and opinions.

📖Arc Review📖
Five Survive
by Holly Jackson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Coming November 29th

Brief Summary:
It’s spring break and Red and her friends are headed to the beach in an RV. They soon find themselves lost and stranded. Now there is someone out in the dark sabotaging their vehicle and shooting at them. One of them has a secret the shooter wants and giving him the information is the only way to survive.

The problem is everyone on the trip has their own secret. Will they be able to escape without giving their secrets up? Or will they be willing to let go of theirs to save the rest?

My experience:
It took me about three weeks to get 20% of the way through this book. I hit that 20% mark today and the rest of the book just clicked and I had a great time with it.

Jackson did a really good job of making you feel like you had this book figured out, only to find you were incorrect multiple times. I did not guess the ending and I enjoyed the ride.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had mixed feelings about this book. The plot was intriguing and I couldn't guess the "secret" and I didn't see some of the twists coming which I enjoyed but I felt that it was just too long which unfortunately made the book drag in parts. That said I am sure I will read any new books of Jackson's in the future as I enjoyed her previous works.

This is a mystery thriller about 6 teens on their way to spring break in a RV when they become stranded in the middle of nowhere with a sniper holding them at gunpoint. The premise sounds really out there, but I decided to go along with it. For me, the characters all fell flat and were unlikeable. The MC, Red, had some nonsensical inner monologues and I still don't understand her obsession with the curtains or why she kept emphasizing that the RV was 31 feet long.

I saw some of the plot twists coming, but I will say there was one that I didn't suspect. Overall, I would have found this more of a tighter read if the characters were more fleshed out and if the ending wasn't so predictable and implausible.

The description of the book was not what I thought the book was actually about for me. I read the first chapter and knew immediately that it was not something I would enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children's for a digital copy of Five Survive in exchange for an honest review. All I have to say is WOW! This book kept me up all night. I couldn't stop reading it! My heart pounded, I bit my nails, I got angry, I felt relief, I was shocked, this book had me feeling all the feels. What a fun read!

Coming from her infamous AGGTM, Holly Jackson returns with a YA-mystery action-packed novel. Kit is one of six friends on a spring break road trip, when suddenly everything seems to go wrong and now they're stuck in the middle of no where, with no cell service, and someone on the outside who knows more than they've let on. Fighting for their lives, both from the outside and inside threats, the six must figure out how to survive the night.

I would consider this book more suspense/action rather than the marketed mystery. There is definitely more gore and horror in this novel than her previous work. I did enjoy the overall mystery, but some parts did seem not feasible. The characters are enjoyable and you really do feel their panic all throughout the novel.

This is a gripping novel that hooks you in from the start, perfect for fans of the genre or AGGGTM. I do wish there was more emphasis on the mystery side of things rather than the action/gore in the RV.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the ARC. Five Survive comes out November 29!

I’m a big fan of the Good Girl series so I went into this with high hopes, but in the end, it just wasn’t for me. There’s a little more action than actual mystery, with long descriptions of what’s happening that took me out of it. I couldn’t really grab onto the characters, and I didn’t love the reveal of what’s actually going on here — it shifts things into another genre that I’m not super interested in. That being said, I did read the whole thing! I wanted to know what was happening, and the cliffhanger chapter endings keep you going, which I found fun. I could see other people loving this, unfortunately it just wasn’t for me.

5 stars. Wow. This thriller. Wow. Five Survive is everything that I want on a thriller. With that said, if you’ve read AGGGTM and were hoping that Five Survive would be similar, you might be disappointed. The books are very very different. For starters, Five Survive is a true thriller, while AGGGTM feels more like a mystery. Pip and Red are wildly different characters. And for that matter, so are Ravi and Arthur. But if you got into Five Survive hoping to read an exceptionally well written thriller filled with twists and suspense, then you’re in luck. Because that is exactly what Five Survive delivers. The book is told entirely from Red’s POV, and we do have a bit of an unreliable narrator situation going on. It follows Red and five of her friends who are traveling via RV for a spring break trip. Everything is going well until they make a wrong turn, and then end up stranded in the woods… with a sniper. All of the characters have secrets, and there’s nothing like a closed door setting and a guy with a gun to force those secrets out into the open. If YA isn’t your thing but thrillers are, I still say give this a chance. Yes, the characters are in high school/ college, but the story and the writing are so tremendously engaging. This will go down as my favorite thriller of the year.

What a great fast paced thrilling YA novel. Another great book by this author. A stand alone about a group of kids on their way to enjoy spring break when their RV breaks down and they suddenly find themselves in a terrible predicament. Good story, lots of action and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next. Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for letting me read this one early. You can find this one on sale on 11/29.

As someone who adored A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER series, I jumped at the chance to read Holly Jackson’s newest book. This one is not part of the series and features all new characters. I had a hard time connecting to these guys and at the same time felt like I got a little too much from the main character, just a lot of internal monologue that I felt was unnecessary. It felt predictable and it felt familiar, this one reminds me of a movie but I just cant put my finger on which one. I was an enjoyable read and I think it’ll do well but it won’t top any of my lists. Is this one on your TBR?