Title: Five Survive*
Author: Holly Jackson
Rating: 2.75 stars / 5 stars
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Favorite Quote: “Why was he kind to her? And why did that make her want to be un-kinder back?” Jackson, Holly. Five Survive. Delacorte Press, 2022.
Review: Thank you to the publisher, Delacorte Press,, and the NetGalley platform for the free e-ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.
Five Survive is a young adult novel that follows protagonist, Red, and a group of other young adults as they begin their journey to spring break in an RV. On their first night, they are forced off course and then held hostage throughout the night by a sniper intent on discovering the deadly secret held by one of the passengers.
Let’s talk about what’s working - Once the initial chapters were over - once the characters knew they were trapped - the pacing of the book was fantastic. This book takes place over (mostly) a single night, and it kept up the fast paced energy necessary for that to seem realistic given the length of the novel.
Now let’s talk about what’s not working - the character development was lacking, to say the least, and the plot was a bit slapdash. [SPOILER ALERTS INCOMING] - It was clear from the start that Red had a secret and readers are meant to wonder whether her secret was the secret. But, of course it was. And then having a member of the mob be in the bus and meant to pretend to get close to her but ultimately developing feelings is a trope that may work in romance novels (and don’t get me wrong, I do love a good romance novel), but seemed out of place in a thriller. And then there was the final climax - that the mother figure who convinced Red to lie in the first place is also the person who murdered Red’s actual mom and then sought to orchestrate Red’s own death as well. There was just a lot and if fiction asks readers to suspend their disbelief, this book was asking readers to do a bit more suspending than the average book.
About that Quote: Despite the flaws in this book (and please know I desperately wanted to love this book because I am a big fan of The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder), one aspect of the novel that Jackson does capture is the complicated nature of grief and shame. Following the death of her mother, Red was forced to reckon with her death while her father spiraled into his own dysfunction until Red was carrying the household on her own. She, understandably, became guarded. And this quote is one that captures the complexities of her feelings and identity. She necessarily has to keep people at arm’s length and that is confronted when someone shows her kindness.
Have you read Five Survive? Share your thoughts below!
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