This one was mainly lows for me; it just didn’t deliver.

Red’s constant PTSD issues were so all-encompassing that it hindered the progression of the plot. Then, mixed with what I’d guess with ADD, it was almost painful to try to follow her throughout the story. Oliver and Maddy were incredibly unlikeable, beyond just providing obstacles to add drama. The naivety of 6 people failing to recognize the immediate implications of 4 simultaneously blown tires was also laughable.

Reyna’s intelligence and Simon’s humor were the strongest points. And, eventually, the story did pick up. It was nice to see some ingenuity as the crew worked to try to piece together how to survive.

Then the ending hit. The “let me just lay out every detail” monologue was lazy. The letter to “wrap up” loose ends was also lazy. And it all made me feel silly for WANTING to like the story.

This is YA. And maybe I’m being harsh looking at it with adult eyes, but I don’t think I’ll have students fight their way through the book AND be satisfied with the ending.

I’ll tell my students about: language, death of a parent, murder/violence/gore, mental health issues, trauma

**Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for the free ARC prior to publication. All opinions expressed are my own.**

Wow! What an amazing thrill ride of a book! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! All the characters in this book are so different from one another and are so memorable in their own right. I usually have a tough time keeping track of who’s who when there is 4+ main characters but that wasn’t the case for FIVE SURVIVE. The whole premise of the book is terrifying, six friends are stranded in an RV while on a road-trip, but then it gets worse when they realize the RV didn’t break down on accident… I could go on and on about why this has become one of my top favorite books but first and foremost… THE ENDING! Now that’s how you end a book! Holly Jackson has truly done it again. She has brought readers another amazingly thrilling YA book!
Be sure to stop by your local bookstore on November 29th to pick up a copy of this future bestseller!

Thank you NetGalley for sending me a digital copy of this book.

In exchange for an honest review, I received an ARC from Netgalley & Listening Library. I held my breath through most of my reading of this book even though I figured out the mole fairly early on in the intense standoff. The biggest question through out my reading was which of the group would survive? We know from the title of the book that 5 will but which five was constantly on my mind. I was not surprised at the end which of the five did survive. For some reason, that campfire story of boyfriend and girlfriend's car breaking down on a desolate back country road and he leaves her in the car to get help only for her to start to hear scratches throughout the night. I think we all remember how that ghost story ends up. I kept waiting for one of our group to end up outside the RV and we would start to hear scratches on the roof of the RV. I guess for this story to ring a bit more true for myself. I would like to have had more of flashback episodes of them in Philly. It would have helped the revelations made at the end more impactful than kinda coincidental. While I would probably rate this read as a B/B-, I will always read a Holly Jackson book when it comes out.

I absolutely loved Holly Jackson’s A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder trilogy. I was so very excited to read this new book. It was a bit slow for me in the beginning, but once it picked up I was hooked. I did figure out what was going on early in the book, but I still enjoyed it. Holly Jackson is definitely becoming an automatic buy author for me!

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.

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.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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!

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!

*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.*