Five Survive
ISBN: 9780008507237
Description
Eighteen year old Red and her friends are on a road trip in an RV, heading to the beach for Spring Break. 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.
Reviewed on 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.