Five Survive Book Review

Written By MK

Five Survive by Holly Jackson Book Review and Recommendation.

Date: 4-14-25 Post Written By: MK Overall Rating: 7.7/10

Five Survive book cover

Book Cover Rating: 9.1/10

(My personal opinion)

Author: Holly Jackson

Pages: 388

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Thriller

Subplots: Mystery, Horror

Romance Level: 0.5/3

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Published: 2022

Number of Editions: 51

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook, Audio

Awards Won: Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction

Goodreads Rating: 4.1/5

# of Goodreads Ratings: 220,339

Amazon Rating: 4.3/5

# of Amazon Ratings: 8,086

Common Sense Media Age Recommendation: 14+

Movie/TV Show?? : No

Book Type: Standard

POV Type: Single, First Person

Pacing: Fast

Generally: Six friends trapped in RV with sniper outside, lies, secrets

Blurb:

Red Kenny is on a road trip for spring break with five friends: her best friend and her older brother, his perfect girlfriend, Red’s secret crush, a classmate—and a killer.

When their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, they soon realize this is no accident. They have been trapped by someone out there in the dark, someone who clearly wants one of them dead.

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. . . .



My Review

Going Into It:

Going into this book, I was super excited to read another book by Holly Jackson!!

Main Characters:

  1. Redford Kenny- Red is the main character of this book. She is seventeen years old. She is generally a good person, but deals with immense trauma and self-doubt. Her family is poor.

  2. Madeline Lavoy- Maddy is Red’s best friend. Maddy is also seventeen. She is rich and generally has a flat personality.

  3. Oliver Lavoy- Oliver is Maddy’s brother. He assumes he is in control, and feels comfortable ordering others around. He seems to be completely confident, but in reality has insecurities and can make morally questionable decisions.

  4. Reyna Flores-Serrano- Reyna is Oliver’s girlfriend. She is calm and levelheaded. She tries her best to be a peacekeeper.

  5. Arthur Grant- Arthur is the least close to the others. Simon is really the only one he knows before the RV trip. He seems nice and treats people well.

  6. Simon Jinsan Yoo- Simon has a naturally jokester, funny personality. He enjoys making others laugh. But, once he feels enough pressure, he can expose insecurities and vulnerability.

    Okay… In this book we definitely had six very different characters. I liked Red, the main character, but sometimes her past trauma was a little over emphasized. I also felt like some of the others had more potential than was used (REYNA!!). I almost feel like this would have been better with flashbacks/POVs from all six characters.

Character Rating: 5.7/10

Setting:

This book takes place in an RV in rural North Carolina.

Wow! This whole setting took place in just a few hours. The atmosphere of this book was AMAZING, thrilling, full of tension, mysterious, etc. I also really liked the idea to set the whole book in an RV….with six people….at night….with a sniper outside….

Setting Rating: 9.3/10

Plot:

Hmm…. I LOVED the basis of this book/the idea behind it. I think it was pretty well executed, and there were some moments that I loved within this book. On the other hand, there were some significant parts that felt undeveloped.

Plot Rating: 7.0/10

Writing:

Holly Jackson is an amazing young adult author, and did a great job with this book. I was never confused, and always engaged in the story.

Writing Rating: 9.2/10

Ending:

To be honest, I did guess a couple of the more obvious plot twists. But, others completely baffled me. I would say that overall I’m satisfied with this ending, but there was still definitely room for improvement.

Ending Rating: 7.2/10

The Overall:

Overall this was a good, young adult thriller. The setting/atmosphere was exciting and tense. But, I felt like the characters and plot had some room for improvement. The ending was satisfying, but nothing world-changing. Holly Jackson did a great job writing this young adult thriller. This was a good book that I’m sure fans of young adult thrillers would like.


Overall Book Rating: 7.7/10

I would recommend this book





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ChatGPT’s Opinion: Five Survive by Holly Jackson is a fast-paced, high-stakes thriller set over one intense night as six friends get trapped in an RV with a sniper outside and secrets unraveling inside. The claustrophobic setting and ticking-clock tension keep the suspense high, and while the mystery and character dynamics are engaging, some readers may find the pacing repetitive and the protagonist, Red, harder to connect with compared to Jackson’s previous lead, Pip. Though it’s a bit different in tone and depth from A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, it still delivers a gripping, twist-filled ride for fans of locked-room-style mysteries.

What did you think of this book??

MK https://alltruereviewsbymk.com
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