Tense road trip. Twists reveal the true intentions of friends. ( )

Five Survive by Holly Jackson

Six friends are driving from Pensylvania to South Carolina for spring break. When their (rented) RV breaks down in a rural area with no cell reception they find themselves in danger. Tires shot out, gas tank as well, they find themselves in a no win situation.

One of them is holding a secret, a secret that will ultimily lead to death. Decisions need to be made, loyalties tested, who can and can't be trusted, all this unfolds in the longest eight hours of their lives.

A fanstastic edge-of-your-seat compelling thriller. Moving at a fast pace builing to a slow burn. Shocking moments, events and secrets I did not see coming. I was guess until the end.

Overall I enjoyed Five Survive and highly recommend to Holly Jackson Fans. Suitable for Young Adult as well as Adults reads. A good read. ( )

I loved A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, so I thought this would be similar. This took me a while to get through, it was a very slow read. ( )

I read this novel after a Year 7 student told me it was her favourite. The entire story takes place over eight hours and is extremely fast-paced with many twists, especially near the end.

None of the characters were very likeable, but Oliver was the worst. He was totally obnoxious and a real bully. However, I did like the character development and discovering the secrets each of them were hiding. I was surprised at how dark the novel became once everything was revealed.

While I don't think "Five Survive" was as good as the "A Good Girl's Guide to Murder" series, it was still a gripping read with an intense ending. ( )

It's possible to write a high-concept thriller—in this case, a group of six high schoolers on a road trip trapped overnight in an RV by a mysterious sniper—and not have it come across as unduly contrived. Holly Jackson doesn't succeed in doing so in Five Survive. Nothing about this works as a story—neither plot, "twists", nor epilogue; the characters were all irritating in a way that I don't think was intentional—and the prose was just incompetent. Some examples at random: "'I have to pee.' She suddenly remembered, voicing it as she did."; "This is fucking stupid," Simon said, taking two angry steps toward Oliver, letting go of his phone, the device sliding against the others to find its own space"; "Oliver’s nostrils flared, eyes flickering as they jumped between Red and Maddy, head hinging on his neck. Dark circles in his eyes like fat beetles, legs skittering up his eyelashes." I'm not expecting stylistic feats in a thriller, but I shouldn't have to ask myself if part of the book was generated by ChatGPT by someone who was getting paid by the word. I will grant that Jackson writes with pace and this is a quick read, but I'm kind of irritated that I gave up a spot in my library hold queue for several weeks to this. ( )