We Won't All Survive was a good book but, not great. The premise sounded really good I went into it expecting a lot of action and suspense, and there was some, but not as much as I was expecting. The book was well paced, I enjoyed trying to figure out who to trust and who not to trust. Because of this it definitely kept me interested I was just hoping for more.

Thank you Netgalley for the early copy!

I tore through this. It was such a page turner, such a cool premise and filled with twists. I really liked all the characters too. This was such a fun thrillwr and I really could not put it down. I wasn't even really searching for what the twist was at the end because I was enjoying the actual story so much. So well done.

I really loved this book! The author wrote all of the characters to be empathetic and suspicious so I really didn’t know who was bad til the reveal. This book had its hooks in me! I thought about it when I wasn’t reading and was anxious to get back to it. There’s so much to say but I really feel like I can’t without spoiling things that got my attention as a reader.
I will say after reading this on the netgalley app they have some bugs to work on with the app. I kept losing my place and the bookmark function did not work. I am thankful for the opportunity to read the advanced copy though!

Major typo: There is a typo at the end of chapter 15 where a person who is missing is mentioned and doesn’t actually show back up for another chapter. There were a few more small typos but since this is an ARC I’m betting your editor will catch them. :)

read if you like:
📺 survivor or other reality shows
🙋🏻‍♂️ physical challenges
👣 PTSD and trauma

summary:
I love Kate Alice Marshall so jumped on the opportunity to read this ARC! It follows Mercy, the hero of a mall shooting, who struggles from mounting medical debt and decides to sign up for a “Survivor”-like reality show, hosted by TV personality and billionaire Damien Dare (I pictured him like the guy in Fyre Festival). Once she arrives, she finds herself with seven other contestants in the middle of nowhere, in a man-made survivalist “community”. When one of the contestants ends up dead, Mercy realizes the game is not what she expected, and there is more than meets the eye to the challenge itself — and the other contestants.

This book feels like the perfect balance between Survivor and Fyre Festival. Marshall does a great job of describing the setting and surroundings, which almost makes you feel like you’re part of the game itself. We learn a lot about the other characters, and what binds them together, and I couldn’t help but root for their success and their friendship, as it feels like they have a genuine kindness and compassion for each other. The story moves very quickly, and although there are a lot of red herrings and baits and switches in the middle, the ending is relatively predictable. Despite this though, it’s a very easy read that keeps you on your toes until the end, without making it overly complicated or difficult to follow.

if you love reality shows and want a quick read, check this book out when it releases on July 29! Thanks to Penguin Group, Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

3.5 stars rounded up. This was a fun story overall, even though it felt really familiar to me. I felt like one I've read before, but I couldn't immediately pinpoint which book(s?) it reminded me of. It was a solid story overall though and moved along quickly. The characters kind of blurred together for me at first, but I eventually sorted them out and found myself rooting for them to survive. It was the kind of YA book that seemed like it would make a fun, twisty TV show.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.

I was a little worried when I first started reading this book. A few of the main characters were dude bros and the host of the show was also one. But once this story got going it literally got going. It built such a visceral sense of dread and the main character, Mercy, was so perfect for her role. I have never rooted for a MC so much in a thriller as I did for her and her backstory just had me. I usually read these types of books as palate cleansers between heavier books and I will happily add this to my shelf come publication day. It was never boring, had stakes that kept getting raised, and ultimately a likable set of characters.
Thanks Netgalley for sending me this arc and the publishing house for approving me.

We won’t all survive is an addicting, fast-paced read. A group of teens who have each survived a traumatic event are brought to a ghost town for a survivor show. Something seems off from the moment they arrive which adds to the tension. From there, a cascade of events transpire making the reader guess and second-guess who Mercy should trust. This is one of Kate Alice Marshall’s best work yet.

3.5 stars rounded up

Mercy finds herself in an abandoned town competing with a handful of other contestants in a new survival show to win $100,000. Shortly after arrival it seems nothing is turning out as it should be.

Overall the “pulse” of this book was fairly flat. There weee some bumps of excitement or thrill but nothing that gets you really excited or makes you feel like you just have to keep going to find out what happens next. There were for sure some good twists you didn’t quite anticipate but some parts just felt implausible (which I can’t quite explain without major spoilers).

Part of me wonders if my feelings towards this book are because it was written as a YA book so could explain the “flatness” I felt.

I will keep picking up Kate Alice Marshall’s books as I loved What Lies In The Woods and have enjoyed A Killing Cold and No One Can Know as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released July 29, 2025.

I was super excited about the premise of this book, a survivalist thriller reality show? Yes please!

However, We Won’t all Survive was a book that should have been exciting but wasn’t.

The premise sounded incredible and right up my alley, but in reality it was too slow and dragged on too much for me. It struggled to keep my attention and for me to care about anything that was happening.

I’ve never read this author before, but looks like she has a lot of fans so I’m sure I’m in the minority on my opinion for this one! 2 stars for cool concept though!

( 3.5 )

Mercy is a young adult who went through a traumatizing event, and spends every day trying to make amends. In search of this, she takes an opportunity to make money by joining a survival reality show. As soon as she gets there, she realizes it’s not what she signed up for…

This was such a quick and fun read. The plot was pretty brilliant, and the idea couldn’t have come at a better time than after MrBeast’s show came out recently. Mercy’s backstory was so interesting, and the author was able to give tiny tidbits as the story went on that made the reveal of her story so interesting. She was someone that you rooted for.

I liked a lot of the other characters. There was a girl that at first glance was shallow and cruel, but the more Mercy learned about her, both you AND Mercy fell in love with her.

The only problem I had with this is that there were a good amount of characters, and they were all introduced at once! Each character got a few sentences to begin, and then nothing very concrete about them after. There was about 3 male characters that I didn’t know who was who, so it was hard for me to feel any sympathy for them because I didn’t connect to them all. Those I KNEW though, I loved!

Definitely recommend this. It was fun!

E-arc provided by Netgally

I think this is my favorite of Kate Alice Marshall's, and while I saw a major reveal a mile away I still enjoyed the journey to get there. Overall a really solid thriller

I’m in the minority here, but the premise for this book was just way too out there for me. I keep rolling my eyes and thinking “REALLY?”

….but my adrenaline was pumping the entire time, so in that way, this book was a success.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just wow. Countless twists & turns, you couldn't guess what was going to happen next even if you wanted to.
Definite page turner! I finished in a day & a half. It was that good!

ᴡᴇ ᴡᴏɴ’ᴛ ᴀʟʟ sᴜʀᴠɪᴠᴇ
In this Post Apocalyptic Survival TV Show 8 contestants set out to an unknown location set in a western style old town completely deserted. What each contestant comes to find out is that each of them have survived something horrific & that is exactly the reason they are selected for this show. With the winning being one hundred thousand dollars for each player that 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴.
Everyone must work together but like in most situations under pressure can they all be a team and stay focused?
Throughout the story we gather bit and pieces from each player and what they survived and endured.
Thoughts : I really enjoyed this story I liked that the game host selected these player because of there adolescence. Having the idea that they haven’t yet been corrupted by society and will make better decisions based on that premises. Each different challenge within the game had me on the edge of my seat knowing that if they didn’t complete the challenge they wouldn’t have the items needed to survive. I really felt connected to the characters and felt for what they had been through.
ᴛʀᴏᴘᴇs
🗝️ ᴛᴠ ɢᴀᴍᴇ sʜᴏᴡ
🗝️ ɢʜᴏsᴛ ᴛᴏᴡɴ
🗝️ ᴘᴀsᴛ ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ
🗝️ ᴜɴᴅᴇʀ ᴘʀᴇssᴜʀᴇ ʙᴏɴᴅɪɴɢ
If you would like insight on each player past continue read some light spoilers more or less a brief description ⬇️
Thank you for the ARC EBOOK @netgalley @PenguinTeen
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

👟🩶Main FMC Mercy Gray survived a mall shooting
🛥️ 💜Alethea was lost at sea
🚂🖤Colby was involved in a commuter train being derailed
🔥💙Eli house was set on fire
🔔 💛Harrison witnessed a girl being attacked
✈️🧡Milo was forced to fly a plane
⛰️💚Piper was lost on a hike in the wilderness for two days
🚙 🤍Spencer endured a car accident that ended up in water

We Won't All Survive by Kate Alice Marshall proved to be action from the start, it's quite the plot line and moves at such a quick pace that you can't help but read it in one sitting. The characters are intriguing, though not totally realistic for the age and setting. Though some almost 20 year olds do make incredibly stupid decisions, I think the ones here, with their traumatic pasts, just wouldn't act that way. Mentally, they would have grown up much quicker than their peers, so it made the story more unbelievable, outside the crazy plot. But since the pacing still keeps things moving and something happens in every chapter, I had to keep going. For regular readers of the mystery thriller genre, it's pretty easy to predict the twists and ending but it's still a fun ride.

I really love the way Kate Alice Marshall tells a story - even when it's a story that I feel like I've read 5 times already in the past year, she manages to make it engaging and seat-of-your-pants exciting. The basic storyline is certainly not a novel one these days - reality TV gone horribly wrong - but I still found it an interesting and pulse-racing read. The characters were a solid blend of personality tropes, many of which were unsympathetic and irritating, yet her unique knack at presentation meant that each leapt off the page (even when I didn't want them to!).

On the whole it was a fast-paced read that kept me wondering right along with the characters what, exactly, was going on. As with many of her novels, you have to suspend disbelief a fair bit, but I've never found that to be an issue in her books. I suspect it's largely because of her imaginative picture-painting. You're right there with the characters in every nail-biting moment, and as a result you almost don't have time or opportunity to question why anyone would behave in a certain way or say a certain thing. It makes for a very enjoyable read every time!

I was so graciously given an ARC of this title.

This is my first book I've read from Kate Alice Marshall and I really enjoyed it! It had a good pace and it kept my attention the entire book. I would definitely recommend it.

Truthfully, I didn’t realize at first that this was Kate Alice Marshall's upcoming YA novel. It turned out to be an engaging read. The story follows eight young trauma survivors who are chosen to compete on a reality survival show created by a tech billionaire. The characters’ backstories are interesting, and seeing how they handle the challenges of the competition kept me interested. This had 'Hunger Games' vibes with a more modent twist. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I cannot provide feedback for this book as I was unable to read it. I tried all available options to view it and none of them would work for me. I’m so sorry.
It was a very anticipated read for me, so I’m definitely bummed. I rated it 3 stars for the sake of having to rate, and I don’t want my review to drop the overall rating.

When your past traumatic events are the reason for a “reality show” chances are you might not be able to tell reality from fiction. We Won’t All Survive is a page turner where you don’t know who to trust. You don’t know who is going to turn on you or who is going to have your back when things start going downhill. Mercy who is labeled a hero for saving not only her sister but others as well doesn’t accept the whole hero title being her main goal was to save her sister. Now when stranded for this “show” can she finally accept that she truly is a hero to not only her sister but her new found friends as well? Trust me you are going to want to read this to find out who survives and who doesn’t.