4/5 Stars

So having loved “A Good Girls Guide to Murder”, I was super excited to read Holly Jackson’s newest book and she did NOT disappoint! I made the mistake of starting this book before bed thinking I could get a few chapters in and then sleep but this book grabs you within the first few chapters and does not let go.

I’ll admit that some of the twists were predictable but others you will NOT see coming!

The premise seems to be this: on a spring-break trip, a group of 6 friends encounter some trouble on their path and soon realize they’ve been set up. Now it’s up to them to figure out why they’re there and who is doing this.

I want to say that Jackson really did a great job of isolating the characters and making sure that we felt their panic. Red is also a great character because it’s clear she has a lot of trauma and isn’t at times the most likable but you still root for her all the same!

The only negatives I will say is there were some aspects of Reds past that felt unexplored that may have given more connection to her than we got and maybe made some of the twists more “twisty”. It was a case where we were told too much over being shown anything and it really diminished the effect of some of the reveals. And without giving anything away there are some aspects of the twists that fell flat for me because they were really underdeveloped while some the characters felt very one dimensional.

That being said this book sucked me in and had me finish it in a single sitting to figure out what was going on! It checks all the boxes for a great YA Thriller stand-a-lone and I’d definitely suggest it!

Thank you to Holly Jackson and Netgalley for the advanced read of “Five Survive”. All the opinions and reviews are honest and my own.

“Red hadn’t found her mom’s voice on channel six, or any of the others she’d tried. But it was harder when the person you were looking for wasn’t alive.” -From Five Survive

5 stars

Jackson has a way of writing a thriller that demands you keep reading, and this newest installment is no exception. I read this within 24 hours, and you probably will too. It’s a closed room (or rv) mystery that keeps twisting until the end. Just when you think you know all the secrets, there is another layer thrown at you. The characters felt fresh and intriguing, especially Red. I really felt her anxiousness and grief. If you are looking for a YA thriller you can’t put down, put this on your TBR.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV to go on spring break. Red has already faced tragedy in her life when her law enforcement officer mother was killed execution-style five years ago. After that, she effectively lost her father to alcoholism. Thankfully she has her good friend Maddie and newer friends like Arthur.

When they get lost in the middle of the night and the middle of nowhere, their phones don’t get any reception, so they can’t call for help. All of their tires get shot out and they realize they are being ambushed. The sniper tells them via a two-way radio (walkie talkie) that one of them has a secret, and until they reveal the secret, they’re trapped and won’t be getting out alive.

Confessions among the group start pouring out. Oliver, Maddie’s older brother, and his girlfriend Reyna have a secret. The RV belongs to Simon’s cousin, who isn’t always on the right side of the law. Oliver and Maddie’s mother is about to argue a case against the mafia that could ensure her election to DA. All of their schemes to get away safely, at the behest of Oliver, who takes control of things in an increasingly Lord-of-the-Flies manner, go wrong.

This is tense and requires a little stretching of the imagination to make it work, but it’s a fun, quick read.

NetGalley provided an advance reader copy. The book will be RELEASED NOVEMBER 29, 2022.

FOUR STARS. I'd actually call it 4.5, but you can't do half stars, and it wasn't quite five stars.

Why did I detract a star (or half-star)? Honestly, it dragged just a bit. It got to be a bit repetitive with conflict, panic, accusation, etc. I think we probably could have gotten away with one less round and nothing would have been lost from the book.

With that being said, this was a GREAT YA thriller book. It's hard to find one that is as enticing while still being age appropriate. While there were some profanities, all of the characters in the book mostly acted their age (high school seniors, for the most part). Though, there is no earthly way my parents would have let me go on a cross country road trip in an RV for spring break without (real) adult supervision.

This book was eerie and gave me goosebumps. If you're looking for a spooky read, definitely pick up Five Survive.

(Also, yes, the title kind of gives something away, but I promise the ending is gratifying.)

es, just yes! Another fantastic book from Holly Jackson. What starts off as 6 friends going on an RV trip for Spring Break, turns into a who done it that leaves people changed forever. I believe this is Holly Jackson’s best book by far and all audiences will enjoy it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Red Kenny and five of her friends are on a road trip to Florida for Spring Break. Thanks to a cell tower accident, all of their phones lose service and they are unable to follow the GPS. When they turn off down a forest road, they hear a crack and realize that all four of their tires have been punctured…more surprisingly the tires had been shot out. Soon after, they are given a walkie-talkie by a sniper who says that one of them has a secret and he wants them to come clean. They spend the rest of the night attempting to escape and eventually who has the secret that could save their lives.

I love the way Holly Jackson writes her stories; there is always drama, angst, and a really good plot. As in A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, this story kept my interest from beginning to end. There was always a connection with the characters even though at times I despised some of them and their actions. I consider it a good read when I find myself invested in the characters and how they will ultimately end up. I can't wait to read more of Holly Jackson's writing.

A fast paced thriller that I really enjoyed. It kept me hooked from chapter one. Friends on a road trip and there is a sniper This is a young adult fiction.

Probably a decent read for actual young adults but I didn't enjoy this as much as Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. It was definitely spooky!

I felt trapped by this book. I felt like I was their seventh friend that was also there and I was being hunted alongside my friends. Holly Jackson has a talent for building up tension in such a way that when things inevitably burst, you are just as devastated as the characters. It was such a good thriller and I feel like I need approx. two business weeks to recover from this book. READ IT!

Gripping!! Thrilling!! And left me on the edge of my seat!! Holly Jackson does it once again! Jackson has quickly become one of my favorite authors!! I’ve been a huge fan of her books since her AGGGTM series and this book was no exception!

"There was danger outside the RV, and now there was danger inside it."

When I tell you I SCREAMED at the end of this novel, and flew through it so freaking fast I was afraid I would catch the pages on fire (if it weren't digital)??? I'm not even joking.

For someone who is *extremely* hit and miss with thrillers, I absolutely devoured this. This is one of those thrillers with a simple enough background that allows you to hyper focus on the more horrifying aspects of 'no-one-is-safe' and 'one-of-us-is-next'. Five Survive is the type of thriller where you can't guess what is happening from one page to the next, and each new development is as shocking and terrifying as the next.

Within an eight hour period, Holly Jackson immerses readers in the cramped RV alongside our six teens, stranded in the middle of nowhere on their way to spring break. The catch? An assassin is hiding out in the dark, and no one can leave the RV alive unless they give the killer exactly what they want. A secret. One of them is hiding something. Tensions run at an all time high and the stakes heighten with each passing hour, leaving them no choice but to turn on one another, and force their dirty laundry out into the open in a desperate attempt to save themselves and survive the night.

From each reveal to each betrayal, I was GLUED to the page and couldn't stop myself from reading. Was I supposed to be working? Absolutely. Was I? Absolutely not.

Six teens. Six secrets. A life for a life, but is it worth it? Can they all survive the night, or will some of them end up dead, trying to escape with their lives AND their secrets?

Five Survive is set to be published November 29, 2022. Thank you to Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

#netgalley

Wow. What a ride.
Rv trip with 6 teenagers. Some more well off than others. All of them have secrets.

One wrong turn and life will never be the same.

This book was so easy to read. I didn't want to put it down. Stayed up until 1am to finish it.

Poor Red.

I could not put this down! I don’t know how she does it but Jackson’s writing literally makes me tense because it’s so suspenseful. I want to hide my eyes! Well written characters and a good mystery.

A fast-paced thriller from the author of “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” about an spring break trip of 6 teens in an RV for spring break. After missing a turn, they find themselves stranded with a sniper taking aim at them. But there are secrets amongst the teens and the sniper want them exposed. Of the 6 in the RV only 5 will survive the night.

I really enjoyed it and appreciated the quick read that really kept me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhousekids for the ARC.

Themes: 🌑night, 🚐RV, 🔪killer, 🆘, 🛑, ⚠️
My thoughts: 😳🫣😬😵‍💫👍🏻👍🏻

#readmorebooks
#goodreads
#netgalley
#readersofinstagram
#booktok
#bookstagram
#mybookishlife

I absolutely DEVOURED this book! I went into this knowing how well-loved Holly Jackson is, but never having read anything by her. Five Survive was so fast paced, well thought out, suspense filled, and so unpredictable that i just honestly couldn’t read it fast enough.

The book literally takes place over the course of 8 hours while the characters are on their way to spring break driving in an RV. On their way to the destination, they take a wrong turn and end up on a deserted dirt path when suddenly one of their tires blows out. No big deal right, just throw on the spare and get back on the road. SIKE. once the spare’s on, the tire blows again. and then another. and another and another. All four tires popped. and not by debris in the road but a sniper. That’s right. A hidden assassin is hunting them, but why?

Isolated, trapped and fighting for their lives, the six characters on the RV are forced to communicate with their assailant through a walkie -talkie. Turns out, someone on the RV is hiding a secret and a secret that they want to know. The only way to survive the night is for the person holding the secret to fess up, but the problem is, who is the one holding the secret?
There is so much betrayal, so much revealed, and so much tension in this book i was sweating. Considering this all took place over a few hours, you’d think it would be hard to give such a good representation of each character and who they were, but Jackson does such a good job at making you see each and everyone of them for who they really are. I was left with feelings of joy, sadness, shock and horror after coming to the conclusion and i would read it all over again just to pick up on anything i missed cruising through this book the first time.

If you loved A Good Girls Guide to Murder, you have to pick this one up when it comes out!! I give this a 4/5 stars only because i’m selfish and wanted more more MORE!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of Five Survive!!

Five Survive
Holly Jackson
Six friends, all teenagers head across the country in an RV for spring break. Their trip begins in PA, they plan to overnight at a campground in SC. They make a wrong turn and attempt to turn the 31-foot RV around. Suddenly one of the front tires went flat. Red hears something moving in the darkness but doesn’t see anything. They change the tire and turn the RV around. Then they heard a crack and hiss the other front tire was flat. Then the two back tires were flat. The six teens stepped out in the dark to inspect the RV and Red saw a red dot. They heard a crack and there was a hole in the RV’s gas tank. The sniper shot out a window. With no cell service they had no way to get help. They were in the sight of a sniper, an assassin. The sniper knows who they are and is determined to get what he is after. One of the friends has a secret; they have something the sniper wants. “One of you knows something. A Secret. You know who you are, and you know what it is.” The RV seems to be closing in on them as they wait out the night. The teens start accusing each other, demanding answers. If no one volunteers, they will be forced. This tale takes place over an eight-hour period. When under such pressure they turn on each other.
Author Holly Jackson is a master at characterization. I felt I knew each teen and how they would respond to the strain. This was a fast read because I could not lay it down. I was glued to my ereader eagerly turning the pages. The book ends with sort of a cliff hanger. I wanted to know how the recipient of the letter would respond. I question the sanity of the writer. This is a 5 star-must read tale.

This book. I’m not even sure where to start. It drew me in so fast. It was infuriating, it was annoying at times, but it was so hard to put down. I love Holly Jackson’s writing and this book fits right in.

The only issues I had was Red narration at times. She was so repetitive with a few things & it did get a little annoying. The overall story of it though saved it & I ended up really enjoying it even though one of the characters made me so angry. But that’s when you know it’s a good book, when it makes you feel things even if the feeling is anger.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Five Survive is the story of a spring break road trip gone wrong. 6 teenagers set off in an RV on a roadtrip to the Carolinas, but as the title indicates, only 5 survive. Ambushed on a dead end road in the middle of nowhere, the teens are left trapped in their RV with no way out and no way to call for help.

I do appreciate the fresh take on a locked room mystery. The setting of an RV in the middle of the woods introduced some interesting elements to the story. A waiting threat outside and a directive to figure out who among them is hiding a secret is reminiscent of a Saw movie combined with Karen McManus's One of Us is Lying.I also appreciated how there were no punches pulled when it came to danger and stakes, which is rare in YA novels.

The writing in the first half of the book showed Red (our main character) to be easily distracted and forgetful. I wasn't sure if Red was meant to be neurodivergent or just suffering from the effects of trauma based on the writing style surrounding her character. This writing became very inconsistent in the back half of the book, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it, especially because it was never really addressed.

I also found the plot twists to be extremely unsurprising, particularly because of the heavy-handed foreshadowing. If you've ever read a mystery or thriller before you'll likely have it all figured out in the first half of the novel.

Overall, this book was okay. I perhaps had set high expectations coming off the author's A Good Girls Guide to Murder series (I really enjoyed the first 2 in the series, with the 3rd being a bit of a letdown). This still might be worth picking up if you're looking for a quick read or enjoy other similar YA thrillers, but it wouldn't be at the top of my list of recommendations in the YA thriller category.

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5049575505

The author has written a few novels, but I believe this one might be her best yet! What a ride! An excellent thriller by one of the top young adult authors, but anyone of any age would enjoy the twists and turns and the brilliant original plot. Wonderful, captivating writing gives this novel the depth and ability to pull in any reader. I highly recommend this author and all of her other books I have read have been nothing less than fantastic. She is definitely an auto-buy author for me, and I can't wait to own this novel in print.

I have a few of Holly Jackson's other novels on my TBR and after this one I am likely going to have to start reading those. Her writing is captivating and keeps be turning the page. I can't even say how long I stayed up reading this a few nights ago. It was worth the lost sleep.