“Five Survive” by Holly Jackson
Description: “Eight hours.
Six friends.
One sniper . . .
Eighteen year old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break. It’s a long drive but spirits are high. Until the RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. There’s no mobile phone reception and nobody around to help. And as the wheels are shot out, one by one, the friends realise that this is no accident. There’s a sniper out there in the dark watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for.
A game of cat-and-mouse plays out as the group desperately tries to get help and to work out which member of the group is the target. Buried secrets are forced to light in the cramped, claustrophobic setting of the RV, and tensions within the group will reach deadly levels. Not everyone will survive the night.”
Review: Five Survive by Holly Jackson hooked me right from the start. I was intrigued by the 6 teenagers who are friends but seem to have nothing in common. None of the characters are likeable but you don’t really need them to be likeable in this case. It was almost better to not like the characters because then you could speculate about each of them without feeling bad. All of the characters have secrets to hide and it was fun to try and figure them out.
I typically don’t enjoy books that happen in a quick span of time or in one setting but Holly Jackson did an amazing job. The story is fast paced and keeps you intrigued from start to finish. I thought I guessed a few of the twists but in the end I was taken aback by the final reveal. I feel like I can’t go into a very detailed review without giving away spoilers, so you should pick the book up for yourself and read it! I highly recommend this YA thriller for teens and adults.
*please note that I received an advanced copy of the book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.