Five Survive reached number one in the New York Times Young Adult Hardcover Besteller list, week commencing 19/12/2022. This is told from the point of view of Red, a girl whose police officer mom was killed in the line of duty. Red drove me nuts--she can't remember anything, basically acts like a bumbling weirdo, and I never warmed to her at all even though I was supposed to like her. I also hated Oliver, the oldest and most annoying character.

Simon- Honestly, he was the best of them. The humor he brought to the story was so easy to like. He was balanced, never overdoing anything and keeps the reader sane.There wasn't really a romance much in this, but thankfully, I didn't hate it when it was presented, I just felt indifferent towards it. Pip and Ravi are still, and always will be, my favorite couple in a murder mystery/thriller book because as I've said before, I HATE romance in mystery books, but I'm just glad that this wasn't the main focus in this, though that ending letter sure was....interesting. Five Survive is set over eight hours and follows six teens as they travel across the country in an RV for spring break. Around 10pm, their RV comes to a halt as each of the tires are shot out. There’s an assassin somewhere around them and nobody is getting out alive unless they give him what he wants - a secret. Something that someone is holding onto in the RV. They know who they are and what he’s looking for - but what good is a secret if it’s told? With tensions in the RV at an all time high with even higher stakes, the six friends have a choice to turn on each other or air their dirty laundry in a desperate attempt to escape. And the REVEALS? The BETRAYALS? I screamed. Maddy and Simon were probably my favorites, I just liked them both a lot. Simon more so than Maddy, because I feel he had more personality and he made me laugh multiple times. Reyna used to be one of my favorites because she seemed nice and fun but then some things were revealed and let's just say, she isn't one of my favorites anymore.

If you love true crime, murder mysteries, and unstoppable young women, this is the perfect easy-read thriller.”— Business Insider but the reason i gave it 4 stars is bc the story goes so fast and it’s incredibly enjoyable even with some of the characters driving me crazy and i actually quite enjoyed it. As a game of cat-and-mouse plays out, the group desperately tries to get help. Buried secrets are forced to light and tensions within the group reach deadly levels. Only one thing is for sure. Not everyone will survive the night . . . As the tension climbs, the people inside the RV begin turning on each other. Will they all be able to make it out of this alive, or will only five survive? The beginning of this book was fairly exciting and really captured my interest. A group of six young adults are in a motor home heading for a spring break trip. They take a series of wrong turns and end up stranded in the woods in the middle of nowhere with no cell service. Then someone shoots out all of their tires and their gas tank. They are given a walkie talkie and are given a short amount of time to come up with the answer to a secret or they will be killed. Who is holding the secret? Is there a mole in their midst?Speaking of Arthur, I am confused on how to feel about him. He did some messed up stuff, but when dealing with the mafia, he seems like he didn't have much of a choice. Not justifying what he did, but i still kind of liked him. he was sweet to ren and he helped her learn the truth. he seemed to care about her beyond the mafia stuff- he didn't have to do some of the things he did to "gain her trust". or it could be i HATE oliver so much everyone else looks amazing. what happened in that RV was awful. it shouldn't of happened. but of it didn't- it leaves you wondering whether the truth would've REALLY come out. i hope ren meets him at the pier. i hope she SLAPS him, and then i hope she kisses him. maybe i have been reading too many mafia wattpads... idk I liked this book. I liked Red's character development, and I liked how fast paced this book was. Regardless of how fast paced it was, it did however feel a little slow in some parts, leaving me to skim read over the descriptions of items like a mirror. I liked how it developed, I liked the ending and plot twists. I guessed 2 of them, which I was proud of myself for, however I did not see all the others coming!! With eight hours until dawn, the six friends must escape, or figure out which of them is the target. But is there a liar among them? Buried secrets will be forced to light and tensions inside the RV will reach deadly levels. Not all of them will survive the night. . . .

But anyways, I'm glad I read this!! It was a fun read that gave me multiple thrills and freaked me out way too many times, and I loved it!! Overall, my expectations for ‘Five Survive’ were well exceeded; that scene with Red and her mother at the end?? I was crying like a baby, it was so beautifully done. Everything was tied up perfectly, while still leaving an open end for us to decide what happens, possibly my favorite way for a book to end. Once they begin communicating with the individual holding them hostage, it becomes clear, this person knows them. How did they end up here? Was this entire thing planned? This can't be a coincidence. Reyna- Yeah no. Wasn't a fan. She's forgettable. Her sob story had no effect on me, I don't like cheaters. The entire plot takes place over the span of just 8 hours. Are you kidding me !?! Who writes a murder thriller mystery of just 8 hours with a lots of twists and turns.

Oliver- Oof, he's the most complex characters of all in my opinion. I hated him. But at the same time I appreciated how the author wrote him. Let me explain, you think you know someone all your life but things happen, life threatening ones, and the person you knew is no longer there and instead an absolute stranger and a selfish guy is in front of you. I liked how real and truly disturbing Oliver was. He is the typical Mr Know It All guy who can't do shit. Anyway, what am saying is that it's his crap that made other characters interesting and brought more life to the book as a whole. Tho, I hope I never meet someone like him in reality 👀😅 Oliver is a complete psychopath, and I'm sure that he was acting out of fear, but still, that was crazy, and so is he.

There is a lot to really enjoy in this story and there is great energy to the writing, as well as some fine characterization' - Peter James, award-winning and no.1 bestselling crime thriller author of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace series The characters are almost entirely without personality including the protagonist. The secondary characters are interchangeable with the exception of one being so awful that I kept hoping the rest of the characters would toss him out of the RV just so we didn't have to hear from him again.okay i HATEDDDDDDDDDDDDDD OLIVER WITH SUCH A PASSION. it's been a hot second since I hated a character as much as him. I swear i clapped when that sorry excuse of a man died. he was the worst. He was he main villain when he thought he was the main character. I liked Arthur wayyyy more and we know what he did. Red- I really liked her!! 🤩🤩 I thought she was a very solid protagonist- her development throughout the book was good and she felt easy to connect to & sympathize with 💜💜 I also really liked learning more about her past! Redford Kenny or Red. Her story had me bawling my eyes out. She deserves so so much better. She deserves everything 😭❤️That scene with Red and her mother was so beautifully written and I was just crying and crying while reading that part. It really was a lot painful. It’s a long drive but spirits are high. Until the RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere. And as the wheels are shot out, one by one, the friends realise that this is no accident. There's a sniper out there. He's watching them and he knows exactly who they are. One of the group has a secret that the sniper is willing to kill for.