7th June 2025

Having read one of Holly Jackson’s other novels, and wanting to wait to first see the TV adaptations of the others in that series, I picked up this thriller in a charity shop. It was recommended to me a few years ago, randomly, and so I’ve been intrigued to find out what it’s like.

The answer is: stressful.

This is a thriller about six youngsters, mostly teens, trapped in an RV for eight hours, overnight, with no phone signal, and bad things happening outside. I found it hard to read as quickly as I would have liked, and I think as a result of leaving it on various cliffhangers it invaded my dreams and affected my sleep.

It took my a good few chapters to get into the narrative. The story is told from the point of view of Red - a teenage girl who doesn’t quite fit in with her friends, and we experience a lot of what’s going on in her head, which is a busy and traumatised place. I struggled at first, but after probably the first two hours of story time got into the rhythm of it and was able to read smoothly.

For me, I think this was too stressful and too dark. I’m much more interested in mystery I think, and so I’m slightly put off considering purchasing Jackson’s forthcoming book aimed at an adult audience, in case it’s more like this.

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15th March 2025

I’ve been contemplating reading this novel for years, and having watched the TV series decided that now was the time. So my reading is somewhat coloured by the acting and the way the characters were portrayed on screen.

It’s a well structured story with a likeable main character that kept me engaged as an older reader. There’s pace is fast, and there’s a lot of investigations packed in chapter by chapter.

It’s very noticeable where the TV adaptation made changes, and yet also feels incredibly familiar the rest of the time. And you can see why the TV changes work to make for something more visual, although in one case it seems like a whole plot thread was added to extend the length without adding too much more.

I’m glad I read it, but also glad I watched the series first. It made for a quite relaxing piece of escapism already knowing where things were going, which is nice in a book.

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