"Five Survive," by Holly Jackson

Five Survive is a fiction, young adult, thriller novel written by Holly Jackson. It's based on six young adults named Red, Simon, Oliver, Reyna, Arthur, and Maddy. They are on spring break and decide to take a road trip from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Gulf Shores. Then suddenly their RV breaks down and they are stuck with no cell service in the middle of a remote road that goes on for miles in rural South Carolina. Holly Jackson’s first and most popular book is A Good Girls Guide To Murder, which is also a young adult thriller. She chose to write Five Survive because she was interested in writing a survival thriller instead of her other books that are about mystery and investigation. She also wanted to explore new ideas including having the book be in the time of 8 hours and the location being in an RV. 

The story begins with six young adults going on a road trip in an RV. They take a wrong turn into a remote area with no cell service and the RV breaks down. Seems like an accident until they all realize how serious this is with no help and no cell service. Weird events repeatedly happen to them the first few hours and they soon realize that they aren't alone. Throughout the night they have multiple plans on escaping and getting help while trying to stay alive. Secrets are revealed and the characters start to see each other differently. The conflict first starts off when they take the wrong turn and realize they are being targeted. They get more worried when they realize they don’t have any way to get any help. As they get more worried, they try and figure out what they could do to get some help, yet they have some visitors that are worried why their tires are popped and why they are in this very remote area. After being instructed to turn down the visitors' help by the people watching them afar, they quickly try to rush the visitors away. Arguments break out between the six friends and these arguments make it more difficult to survive. By the end of the story, the danger is resolved and there are no more consequences. The characters are not gonna be scared anymore of anything because of what they went through, they are different people because they went through this experience. Red is seen as quiet and distant. She is a part of the group, just not so loud and energetic. The members of the group find her calm yet secretive. They believe she keeps things to herself rather than opening up to them. As the stakes rise, Red becomes less worried about what people will think about her, and more of what can happen if anything goes wrong. She becomes more brave and assertive in certain situations throughout the book. The pressure on all of them makes her realize her inner strength. Over time she opens up to some secrets she's been holding onto, showing growth and how she's changed. By the end of the story, Red didn't know how much she would change from one road trip. She grew personally from her experiences. She came out of that RV stronger and more aware of how much can happen in one night, as well as how much can happen when you're under extreme pressure. 

One of the great parts on Five Survive is how fast-paced and intense it is when reading. It's hard to put the book down after an hour passes because of how she leaves all those cliffhangers and how much tension there is between chapters. The book stands out from the rest of the young adult thrillers because it reviews how a group works under pressure. Reading how the characters each reveal secrets and see that really brings out the characters’ real personality is one of the most intense parts. If you are into fast-paced thrillers with lots of tension, you will enjoy Five Survive. Holly Jackson’s writing style is suspenseful and engaging. She often leaves chapters on cliffhangers to keep the story moving quicker and each chapter wants you to read more. You should pick up the book if you enjoy thriller, fast-paced books. If you are looking for a book to keep you guessing who you can trust in certain situations than Holly Jackson’s books, specifically Five Survive is for you.