Five Survive is a book full of mystery. The book gives small hints of Red’s past to keep you interested and eager to learn about what exactly happened in her past and how it relates to the trip that she and five other people took for spring break. There are 6 people stuck in a Van in the middle of nowhere, but this title says 5 survive, which leads the reader to the question of who doesn’t survive? Overall, in the beginning of reading this book I felt as if it was slow paced but all the sudden in chapter 8, it began to pick up when there was danger on the rise and as tension went up as all of them began to fear the killer hiding in the darkness. Jackson also includes a bit of comedy in order to relieve some tension and you can really tell that her target audience is teens. The end of every chapter leaves you in suspense and there are cliffhangers which make you want to flip to the next page and not want to put the book down. With every cliffhanger you lose patience, and you lose motivation to continue reading. The book gets sadder and sadder the more Red’s past is revealed.  As truths begin to be revealed the tension between everyone increases and the truth really shocks you. Holly Jackson can build up tension between the characters really well and can really provide perfect imagery of what’s going on and the emotions of the characters under this stressful situation that it really keeps you enticed into the book.

 Overall, the ending consisted of a lot of plot twists, and it all became connected which overall was very shocking and intriguing to read. I rate this book overall a 7/10 because the beginning was very slow paced and I grew impatient at times, but the plot and overall story was amazing and well written. Holly Jackson is a very talented writer and I enjoyed reading this book just as much as I enjoyed reading “a good girl’s guide to murder” series, I felt like even though the beginning takes a bit of patience, the story always turns out amazing and she has a talent for including plot twists which are my favorite. One thing I also really enjoy from this author is that when you get so caught up in the story and watch it play out in your head, reaching the end and returning back to reality all you really can say is “wow.” She also includes maps and floor plans in her books that are also really cool to look at and help better understand the imagery going on in the book. Last but not least, another thing I love about Holly Jackson is that she has a talent at making you feel so much emotion towards these characters whether it’s hating them, liking them, or even relating to them. I would definitely recommend this book especially to people who also enjoy mystery and thriller books and are always up for a casual read to pass time that you’ll grow to love.