I LOVED this book. I wish I could say that I read it in eight hours for the challenge but I actually read it much faster than that because I could not put it down. Five Survive is a stand out amongst YA thrillers, coming at you full force with the grit and stakes of an adult thriller whilst simultaneously catering to its teen audience with scary realism.

This was a fun mystery to solve! I loved the entire concept of the book. The friends stuck in an RV, the secret, which of the friends does not make it out alive, etc. I will admit that it did take me a minute to get into it. I felt there was a lot of fluff that was dragging things on a bit, but once I got past that, the twists just kept coming! I did NOT see the ending coming! If you like mysteries, this one will be a good one for your TBR!

This one is so hard for me to review - I wanted to love it. I really truly did. But I didn’t. The characters felt superficial. This was a whole different writer from the one who wrote a good girls guide to murder. Gah!

It unfortunately wasn’t the satisfying read/mystery I was looking for.

Five Survive, a horror novel by Holly Jackson, is fine. The character's don't really develop much and the relationships are more tell than show, but they're fine. I get who they are supposed to be, but like a generic horror movie they are there for the trope, not the development.

The basic premise is that five teenagers/young adults are held basically hostage in a RV until one of them reveals their important secret. While doing so, more than needed reveal their secrets...but usually its extraneous to the actual plot of this book.

We experience the story and the danger of the sniper through the point of view of Red, who I think is supposed to extract the reader's empathy for her sad life, but again, with more telling than showing, I never really felt that connected to her and just found her odd and frustrating. The twist at the end also carried less weight as there was no connection to the character involved.

I did stay up late to finish reading because I did want to figure out the whodunit and not have my dream brain try to figure it out and keep me up with sniper-y nightmares. Overall, it was fine. Kinda like watching a bad horror movie in the background. Don't really need to pay too much attention, and it all wraps up (albeit oddly) at the end.

Thank you so much NetGalley and publishers for letting me read this eArc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Omg the adrenaline rush!! My heart was beating SOO fast reading this. I was honestly getting freaked out right along with all the characters. I kept trying to figure out the plot twists and EVERY TIME I thought I had it, I was proven wrong. And as much as I HATE being wrong, I LOVED being kept on my toes the entire time. There was never a boring moment reading this. It was full of so much suspense and twists and turns and DRAMA. Goodness I loved the drama in this. I know that sounds bad but this book was so dang entertaining. I did find myself getting annoyed with one particular character though. I don’t know if it was intentional that you this person so dang annoying or if it was just me being driven insane from this character. But either way, I loved this new thriller, that was equal parts heart-pounding and heartbreaking, that Holly Jackson blessed us with. Seriously a fast-paced, page turner that will keep you second guessing from start to finish. Definitely read this when it’s published!

Ok I very much enjoyed this book just like I have Holly Jackson's other books. I find when I pick up one of this authors books I don't want to put it down until I'm done!

Some of things in this story were rather predictable however the writing keeps you entertained and guessing the entire time. Oh, and the ending I didn't really expect and who was involved, though it was clear to see there was a mole. The character Red was so relatable to me and I thought she was a great MC and well written. Oliver's character was very realistic in a scary but believable way that someone in that situation might respond when they are under too much pressure. All and all I really enjoyed this book and read it in 2 days. I'd recommend to people who enjoy real life suspense and mystery books.

Holly Jackson's new thriller is her first book I have read outside of her first series of highly entertaining teenage sleuth books that began with A Good Girl's Guide to Murder.

Five Survive is a fast paced thrilling book about eight hours on a road trip with six characters. As the title suggests; there will be murder, there will be twists, and there will be action. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It is one of those books to read quickly in one sitting if you have a few hours to devote, you will not be disappointed!

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing a review copy of this book.

I totally loved this one! It was my first thriller of the spooky season and it did not disappoint. I honestly did not see some of the twists coming and it made me love it all the more! It was the perfect balance of suspense and terror and so fast passed you just devour it!

In short: you need to read this one!!

Pretty sure this one is gonna have to be a physical book on my shelf when it comes out 😍

Officially 4.5!

No one does thrill and suspense like Holly Jackson. I went into it like "oh the plot is gonna be predictable, I know the twist " but I was SO wrong.

Props her for keeping it interesting and keeping me on the edge of my seat, despite it being set in an RV for 100% of the time.

It was gripping, it made me think and even doubt myself, and made me anxious... everything a thriller should be!

I am such a Holly Jackson fangirl so I just HAD to get my hands on her latest thriller. It did not disappoint!!! Five Survive was fast-paced, full of betrayals and secrets, and off the walls crazy. 90% of my predictions were dead wrong, and every time I thought I had the ending figured out, something crazy was revealed, leaving me grasping for straws.

This story begins when 18 year old Red and her friends leave in an RV for spring break. Eventually they get lost in the middle of nowhere, with no cell service, in the middle of the night; the ultimate trifecta. However, things really take a turn for the worse when an unknown sniper shoots out the wheels one by one. A deadly game of cat-and-mouse plays out as the group desperately tries to get help and to work out which of them is the sniper’s real target. Buried secrets are forced out, and tensions within the group quickly rise.

I devoured this book, reading it completely in one evening. This novel takes place over a grand total of 8 hours, and in one very cramped RV (31 ft long, apparently). However, even though it takes place in a short time, with one setting, Jackson fleshed out all six of our characters so well that they were easy to picture and understand. Some of the characters were so easy to love (like our MC, Red) whereas others I wanted to shake. Watching them all slowly unravel and descend into madness seemed so realistic and like we were a fly on the wall.

Last but not least - THE ENDING!! I could not have tied it up better and given it a more fitting ending if I tried! As with all of Jackson’s other novels, I loved the use of other forms of media to really tie the whole story together.

Five Survive is the perfect thriller - fast paced, high stakes, and full of complicated, realistic characters with their own motivations. If you enjoyed the GGGTM series, or YA Thrillers in general, then this one is for you!

When I saw that Holly Jackson had another book coming out I knew I HAD to get my hands on it. I LOVED “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” and let me tell you this book did not disappoint!!!

Holly Jackson managed to make the book face paced (but not too fast), give you characters to love (and hate), and give you a crazy ending with so many twists and turns! Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next, there was another twist.

This YA thriller is a MUST READ this fall! And I must say, I think it would make an excellent movie!! If you love a crazy thriller with a shocking ending, you have to read this book!

Great read! This is more like a locked room thriller that takes please in an RV. Fast-paced and gripping. Highly recommended for lovers of Y/A and/or suspense! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

You know that feeling when you're watching a good horror movie and your stomach is turning with anxiety and your heart is beating smile a minute because some stuff just got real? That is exactly how I felt reading this book.

A thriller/horror set in an RV spanning the course of eight hours? How could I not say no? When their spring break abruptly comes to a screeching halt in the middle of nowhere, six friends quickly fix their seemingly flat tire and turn back around to find their way out. But all thoughts of having a relaxing break suddenly come to a close when all four of their tires are shot out by someone lurking in the woods around them. The sniper in the woods wants something from the-a secret only they know-and the clock is ticking.

Holy moly, the tension in this book is off the rails. I have this thing about horror movies where anything involving real-life monsters (especially guns) truly gets to me. But I am a glutton for punishment and watch them anyway. This book scared the poop out of me. The red dot of the sniper rifle, not knowing who could be shot next had me gasping for breath. Not only that but the six protagonists slowly begin to turn on each other. With every reveal, the tension grew thicker and thicker.

I'm amazed at how Holly Jackson managed to put all my horror fears into one book and execute it with such finesse. I'm constantly on the lookout for books that scare me (those are few and far between), but I think I found the one in FIVE SURVIVE.

Edit (possible spoiler): I may have missed it (and need to reread) but did Red ever find out the characters on the curtains? HOLLY PM ME PLEASE.

3.5
Here's the thing. This was a super quick, enjoyable read. I definitely wanted to know what happened. However, I don't think it'll really stick with me. We follow a lot of different characters, and although we spend 400 pages with them, I never felt particularly attached. You definitely had to suspend your disbelief at times, and the dark tone paired with the young writing style often had me wondering who, exactly, this book's ideal reader would be.
If you fell in love with Holly Jackson for her GGGTM bubbly, humorous writing style, this is not a return to that. This felt very reminiscent of As Good As Dead, which was a bit of a let down for me (and many other people, I believe). We have a traumatized main character who has repetitive thoughts about a secret that we don't find out about for farrr too long.
I didn't guess the ending, but you also can't really guess the ending because we're left mainly in the dark.
I'm curious if this is going to be a series.
Thanks to the publishing and Netgalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Holy plot twist! I did not expect anything that happened and the ending was insane, yet satisfying . I loved AGGGTM but I LOVED this one. A locked room (or better yet RV) mystery, high stakes, fast paced, YA thriller. I don't think I could ask for any more. I couldn't put this down and finished it in a day. It definitely did not feel YA besides the fact the main characters were all teenagers, this was a top tier thriller for me. I fully believe you should go in this one blind, it makes it so much more suspenseful.

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press/Random House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts are my own.

This is by far my favorite Holly Jackson book. I couldn’t put it down. I read it in one sitting and it kept me on my toes all the way until the end. I’m still trying to recover. All of the twist, like my lord. Just when I thought I had it figured out; Holly was like sike false alarm. This will seriously keep you guessing until the end.

I wish it was longer too because that ending left me unsatisfied. I have got to know what happens next between Red and Arthur.

Easiest 5 stars I’ve given in a while.

I ended up really liking this one! I couldn't help but compare it to AGGGTM in my mind and I feel like it held up but in a really different way. Five Survive struck me more as a traditional thriller and more of a departure from the YA vibe of AGGGTM, while I would still consider this YA. I think Red took me a while to get used to as a main character but as the book goes on I found her very endearing. This book honestly gripped me and was so fast paced I didn't want to put it down. Definitely recommend!

Eight hours. Six travelers. 1 red dot from a sniper rifle.
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Red, her best friend, her best friend’s brother and his girlfriend, and two other friends are on their way to Gulf Shores for Senior Spring Break. They’re driving an RV, but reach a dead zone and struggle to get service for directions. When one of their tires blows out they pull over to change it when all four end up blowing out too. In the confusion they realize they’re being shot at by a sniper. Static from a walkie-talkie has their capture asking one question: what’s your secret? As night bleeds to dawn each person must tell the truth in hopes of figuring out what the killer wants and the ending will leave you speechless.
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What a whirlwind this trip was! I read this YA thriller in one sitting—I was that invested. I love books that happen with a small cast in one time frame like No Exit. It read like a play, which I absolutely loved and could definitely see this one being made into a movie. Fans of HoJay’s A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder series will love her newest thriller book out Dec. 8!

CW: murder, blood, death of a parent, death, hospitalization, gun, alcohol use, physical assault, violence

4.5 ⭐️

This was absolutely incredible!! I struggle a lot with reading books on my phone because I just don’t comprehend it as well for whatever reason, but this one was so so good I could not put it down!

It was overall a super easy read but so suspenseful and exciting and amazingly well-written. I love Holly Jackson’s writing so so much. Some mysteries tend to get convoluted (like A Study in Charlotte) but none of Holly Jackson’s ever are. Clear writing and thrilling and terrifying with satisfying resolutions are her mysteries and I love them!! So much fun and so quick to read, I absolutely loved this book and I can’t wait for it to come out to get a physical copy!!

So I grabbed this just on instinct because I liked the first two books of Holly Jackson's Good Girl's Guide to Murder series so much (we do not speak of the third book). I didn't even read the description before requesting it, but once I did I was a little nervous about the premise - a group of six people in their teens and early twenties are taking an RV from Philly down south for Spring Break, when they get lost and then become the targets of a sniper who shoots out their tires and threatens them if they don't share the secret that one of them is carrying. The main character, Red, is the one you get to know best, and you see the entire terrifying night stuck in the RV through her eyes. Things unfold kind of how you would expect when people are stuck in close quarters being hunted by someone whose motives aren't actually all the clear. This was compelling enough that I read it all in one sitting, and the resolution was interesting if not completely believable, but it was so claustrophobic that I don't think I'd want to revisit it. Definitely more of a thriller than a mystery, and a really different tone and mood than the previous trilogy.