Member Reviews

Holly Jackson does it again! The suspense, the secrets, the lies!! If this wasn’t on your TBR list, it should be now. I didn’t see the twist coming, and I feel like I usually can spot the mystery from a mile away. If you want something that will rack your brain AND leave you on the edge of your seat the whole time, this is the book for you.

The characters and the drama were amazing! I wanted to stand up and yell at half of the characters the whole time I was reading this. I was so engrossed and I loved every minute of it! Definitely one of my new favorite books.

Was this review helpful?

five survive is another nail-biting thriller from the queen of plot twists, holly jackson! demolished this one in less than 24 hours as i did with each installment of the a good girl’s guide to murder series

six teens in an rv on a spring break road trip, what could go wrong!? set over eight hours, things quickly start to go awry as all four tires on their rv get shot out in the middle of nowhere. no cell service and a sniper hiding in the woods willing to kill for information from someone on that rv. somebody’s got a secret, well everybody’s got secrets. you’ll just have to read to find out what they are 😉

this book had me on the FLOOR!!!!!fighting for my LIFE!!!! not gonna lie the beginning was a little sluggish for me but once the action starts you better strap in. fans of agggtm will love this and i can’t wait to see all the hype it gets when it comes out later this year.

a very solid 4.5 for me. thank you netgalley and random house for the e-arc!

Was this review helpful?

I am so grateful to Random House & NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this wonderful ARC. I recently read the A Good Girl's Guide To Murder series and loved it. I was so pumped when Holly Jackson announced this new Thriller, Five Survive. This book is about six friends who head out in an RV for spring break. While on their way, their tires go flat and they realize someone has done this to trap them. These friends must learn how to survive the night. There are secrets, bullet holes, lies, twists and turns, deaths, and so much more!

This book was very fast paced which I loved. The book takes place over one single night which makes you fly through it. While reading this, I was at the edge of my seat the entire time. The characters are all so very different which makes the book super entertaining. I applaud Holly Jackson for writing such an encapsulating book. I was worried it would not be as good as A Good Girl's Guide To Murder series but somehow it was even better. This book felt more of a Thriller, not just for YA. I think anyone will enjoy this book and they will be gripping the pages the whole time.

5 star read for sure. Thanks again!

Was this review helpful?

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A new book from the author of the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series, which is a favorite of mine.

Six friends leave on an RV trip for Spring Break, but only 5 survive the night. Someone in the group is hiding a secret. All they have to do is admit it. But can they trust each other?

This book is fast-paced. It takes place over the period of less than one day. It’s a definite thriller.

I only stopped reading when I was too tired to keep my eyes open and had to go to sleep. This book would make a good movie!

Was this review helpful?

5/5 Stars

The Good Girls Guide to Murder is hands down one of my favorite thrillers of all time and also just one of my favorite series of all time in general. I will read literally anything Holly Jackson writes.

I do not give out 5 stars lightly, the book has to be nearly perfect for that miracle to happen.

What else can you expect from a Holly Jackson book other than fast-paced, high stakes and being at the edge of your seat from the very first page. I had no idea what was coming and this was one of the very few thrillers that my guess was wrong. In these classic who-dun-it kind of stories you can usually guess who the killer is or who betrayed who half way through the book. But not in this. I had no idea what to expect next and for the most part what was going, and that is what a thriller a good one. THE ENDING, she’s done it again. After the As Good As Dead ending I did not think I could take another ending like that again. But here we are and honestly I am mad about it. It fit the books perfectly.

In Five Survive you have 6 friends aboard an RV on a roadtrip to the Gulf Shores for their spring break. What they thought would be a fun trip turned out to be quite the opposite. The tensions are high, the betrayal! The Reveal! You will be shook.


Thank you NetGalley and Holly Jackson for providing me an ARC!

Was this review helpful?

Holly Jackson has done it again! I am such a huge fan of her writing style. I was worried that this book would read too closely to the voice in AGGGTM, but this felt like an elevated move further into the thriller space. Jackson will stay one of the only YA thriller authors that I can not only tolerate as an adult, but enjoy. The plot twists were unguessable and the book held a pace that felt unputdownable! I’m so excited to see what’s next from Holly Jackson after experiencing a new side to her writing. 5 stars! Would recommend to fans of AGGGTM, Truly Devious and the work of Tiffany D Jackson.

Was this review helpful?

I'm going to be pretty brief here. I was ridiculously excited to receive an ARC of this book. Sadly, this wasn't for me. I suspect Holly Jackson's legion of devoted readers will adore this book. However, between her last book and this one I feel like I am reading a completely different author than the one who wrote AGGGTM and GGBB. I won't list everything I didn't like BUT special mention of her new love of the word 'sniff' has to be made....It's everywhere. Everywhere. What -is- that? Do her characters need tissues? An allergy pill? I really have only one question, is Holly Jackson okay?

Was this review helpful?

I received an ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and were not affected by the free copy.

Red and her friends are on a road trip to the beach for Spring break, but their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. When their tires are shot out, they realize that this was no accident. Someone among them has a secret, and the sniper wants it.

I really, really wanted to love this, especially since I hated how the AGGGTM series ended. And to be fair, I did like it more. But unfortunately, it just didn't do it for me. This was more of a mystery thriller than a murder mystery, so that might be part of the reason I didn't love it, I'm on a murder mystery kick.

The good: the storyline is well-paced. I never felt bored and it only took me a couple of hours to get through it.

The OK: The plot was decent. They give up the first reveal so early in the book, and I did manage to predict all of the twists, but they way the twists were reveal was pretty good. I wanted more from the ending though. Technically, it was all wrapped up, but I didn't enjoy how it was accomplished.

The bad: I never identified with a single character; in fact, I hated basically everyone. We had a psychopath, a couple of enablers, a trauma victim (which was written really well, I just didn't like her), a party boy, and a friend that wants to be more. With all of the characters, you'd think I'd like someone, but in the end, I liked the random neighbors the most. They seemed genuinely nice.

If you liked AGGGTM, you'll probably enjoy this one. This book did manage to undo some of the betrayal I felt with As Good As Dead, so I will probably continue to read Holly Jackson's future works.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this title.

The story got off to a bit of a sluggish start for me, but was ultimately filled with twists and turns and nonstop action after the book gets started. I liked the book and think that teen suspense/thriller fans will like it as well.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Was this review helpful?

I have enjoyed all of Holly Jackson's books, and this one is no different! Five Survive was a tense and captivating thrill ride. The story is told from the perspective of Red, a teenage girl with a traumatic past. I was able to guess some of the reveals, but I did not guess the main twist. Other than the usual suspension of reality that I have with YA titles (my adolescence looked NOTHING like this), I thought it was a really fun book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the copy to review.

Was this review helpful?

Jackson is a master at building tension and giving the big reveal. A very tense and exciting book, though she does like to leave things on a cliffhanger...

Was this review helpful?

A tense YA thriller, six friends with deadly secrets trapped in a RV with a sniper outside wanting one of them. They both work together and then suspect each other as the tension grows. While the situations were unrealistic and so many of them, the growth of the main character redeemed the story. Didn't like it as well as her earlier books.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks NetGalley and Delacorte Press for this eARC, these opinions are my own. This books was super intense and kept me hooked! Red is on a road trip for Spring Break, with her best friend Maddie, Maddie’s older brother Oliver, Oliver’s girlfriend Reyna, Red’s other friend Simon, and her crush Arthur. Along the way they end up in a forest alone… thinking it is just a series of mishaps they soon find out it’s much more dangerous. Trapped by a mysterious shooter that wants the secret one of them hide, will they all survive? I liked they way Holly Jackson interwove Red’s past with her present! And let me tell you Oliver, he’s a real piece of work! A lot of twists in this one that kept me on the edge of my seat needing to know what was coming next! I’m a sucker for books where secrets unfold so I loved that aspect! I did feel that there were some slow parts for me, parts where it felt a little bogged down in details. But the intriguing parts kept me going through those and far outweighed the slow parts! I think this is a great follow up to the A Good Girls Guide to murder series. If you enjoyed those or like mysteries in general I highly recommend checking this one out! Can’t wait to read it again!

Was this review helpful?

Holly Jackson has turned out a YA thriller that is fast-spaced, creepy, and suspenseful! Six friends set out for a spring break trip in a borrowed RV find themselves lost, trapped, and the target of a sniper. Jackson transports the reader inside the RV right beside the characters as the unraveling of secrets, accusations, and tension increases. Plot twists keep you on the edge of seat turning pages as fast as you can to see what is going to happen next. The ending does not disappoint as Jackson neatly wraps up all the loose ends. A fun and fantastic read!

Was this review helpful?

*3.5 stars*

Holly Jackson’s ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ series was thriller-y YA at its finest. Pip and Ravi were a dream team and the wild murder cases at the heart of the saga had me rushing to read each one. So when I heard about Five Survive, Jackson’s latest foray into YA crime — a thriller about a group of friends who go on a roadtrip only to end up being hunted by someone — I was so pumped. And when I got the ARC, I dove in, eager to be drawn back into Jackson’s engaging writing and fictionalized true crime genius.

Now here I am, truly disappointed to report Five Survive has absolutely nothing on Jackson’s debut series. Instead it’s got a lot less of everything that made AGGGTM sparkle. Less mystery, less plot devices that drive tension, less who-done-it overall bewilderment and less investment in the characters themselves.

Everything starts out promising. Red, our MC, is a shell of her former self, her family life in shambles as both she and her dad are still reeling from the unsolved murder of her mom a few years back. Her best friend Maddy has convinced her to come on a cross-country road trip to meet their classmates for a spring break getaway. The two girls are making the trip via RV, accompanied by Oliver, Maddy’s pompous older brother, his sweet girlfriend Reyna, Simon, Red and Maddy’s childhood friend, and their newest friend Arthur. But the group never make it to their destination, instead finding themselves stuck in a broken-down RV in the middle of nowhere, forced into a deadly cat-and-mouse game with a mysterious, armed stranger that wants something from them. And of course, it’s worth killing for.

Just like AGGGTM, Five Survive is well-written and fact-paced. Jackson knows how to keep her readers turning page after page, wondering what will happen next. But unlike AGGGTM, she gives up the clues to the core mystery too early on. No spoilers here — I would never— but it was frustrating to figure out what was going on and what the stranger wanted from them halfway through. Also, that antagonist? I am no true crime sleuth, so I hated that I worked out who it was and why already at the beginning.

Another crucial element that’s missing here is what’s below the surface of the other key characters. Aside from Red, we never get much of anything about most of them — dimension, motive, what makes them who they are — which results in little attachment to their survival. Still, Red’s inner dialogue alone was interesting and complicated enough to keep you invested — I just wish the other characters were as developed, too.

Five Survive was good, but it had the potential to be great. What would have pushed it to that next level would have been a major plot twist, or at least an ending that made me go ‘wait WTF!’ Instead, everything was relatively predictable and the stakes too low throughout.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Was this review helpful?

HoJay has done it again! Six kids on a road trip in an RV. Several secrets. Four shot out tires. One knife. One walkie talkie. Eight hours. Only Five Survive. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

Was this review helpful?

wow wow wow.

this book was absolutely gripping. it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time! i haven’t read agggtm, so i was expecting this to be more of a ya mystery but NOPE. this is 100% a thriller and i loved every last bit of it.

the setting was so creepy and claustrophobic. it added an extra layer to the story to make it even better. i was worried with 6 characters that it may get a little redundant, or i might mix people up but NO. the characterization for each and every character was so well thought out and sculpted. it felt every emotion reading this book.

i did have high hopes for this book, and it completely soared past every hope. it was so much better than i was expecting it to be.

the plot twists were So good. i genuinely had no idea where the story was going. around the 60% mark i thought the main conflict had been resolved - i was so wrong. this book keeps giving until the very last page.

it’s tough to give specifics because i think it could possibly give too much away honestly. i think this is a book you need to go into blind.

overall, 5/5. loved loved loved it.

Was this review helpful?

4.5 stars

Exactly what I want and expect from Holly Jackson. A good solid thriller, with high tension and suspense. This one felt a little darker than previous ones, but in a good way. I definitely recommend!

Was this review helpful?

This one is pretty creepy for a YA thriller but I really liked it! Six friends take a relative's RV on a Spring Break trip but no one could have predicted what would happen when they never make it to their destination! Secrets, lies, fractured relationships...what could possibly go wrong? Well, in a word EVERYTHING! And what if you were put in the position to decide whether to kill or not to kill one of your friends you thought had betrayed you? Enough questions. Now go find the answer in this fast-paced, tension-filled novel that will have you staying home on your vacation!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Was this review helpful?

Holly Jackson did it again!

Ever since it was announced that the queen herself was releasing another book, I knew I had to read it.

This was a good tension book that kept me on my toes the entire time! I was hooked from the very first chapter. The title Five Survive tells you so much about how the story unfolds and it was exciting to see exactly what the title meant.

I did a mistake at the beginning and that was comparing this book to a good girls guide to murder. this is nothing like that and I was a bit disappointed at that. But I put agggtm away and tried enjoying the book, which I’m glad I did.

This book was absolutely amazing. The writing style and the suspense it on another level. There’s plenty of secrets and plot twists as well and they’re all shocking.

Thank you to Holly Jackson and Penguin Random House for this advanced reader copy. Never been happier about an arc in my life

Was this review helpful?