Five Survive by Holly Jackson

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⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5) Book Review: Five Survive by Holly Jackson

📖 Grab your copy of Five Survive here 👉 Amazon link

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🚨 Trigger Warnings

This book includes:

• Murder & gun violence 🔫

• Blood & gore 💉

• Alcoholism 🍺

• PTSD references

• Death of a parent 💔

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🌀 My Thoughts

Okay, so first off — this was twisty, suspenseful, and unputdownable. 🙌
Yes, Red obsessing over that curtain pattern was a bit much (girl, we get it 😅), but otherwise, I was hooked.

I had to know: Who is the sniper? What’s the secret? And why does everyone suddenly hate each other when bullets start flying?

The ending got a little cheesy (YA tends to do that), but the reveal about Catherine being the one who killed Grace? 👀 I did not see that coming. That twist alone made me forgive the melodrama.

Final verdict: 4 out of 5 stars — messy in parts, but gripping, wild, and satisfying.

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📚 Spoiler-Filled Plot Summary (Buckle up 🚐💥)

Six friends pile into an RV for spring break:

• Red Kenny (haunted by her mom Grace’s death)

• Simon (the sketchy one with a car-thieving uncle)

• Maddy (Red’s bestie, sister of Oliver)

• Arthur (the crush-worthy guy)

• Oliver (Maddy’s control-freak brother)

• Reyna (Oliver’s girlfriend, not exactly loyal 👀)

What should’ve been beaches + beer turns into bullets + blood when a sniper blows out their tires and gas tank in the middle of nowhere. They’re trapped. No cell service. No escape.

The sniper tosses them a walkie-talkie and says: One of you has a secret. Spill it, or die. 😱

Secrets start exploding like popcorn:

• Simon admits the RV is stolen.

• Reyna confesses she was cheating with Jack Harvey (awkwardddd).

• Oliver claims he killed Jack in “self-defense” but is clearly spiraling into full dictator mode.

• And then the big bomb: Red’s testimony in a mafia case was a lie. Catherine (Oliver’s mom!) made her do it.

Turns out Catherine isn’t just ambitious — she’s a straight-up villain. She murdered Grace (Red’s mom), framed the mafia, and tried to use Red as her pawn. 💀

Meanwhile, Maddy gets shot (yep), Oliver loses it completely, and Arthur reveals HIS secret: he’s actually Frank Gotti’s son (yes, that Frank). Oh, and the sniper outside? That’s Arthur’s brother, Mike. Family reunion from hell.

The night spirals:

• Oliver chokes Arthur.

• Red gets shoved outside as bait.

• The sniper refuses to shoot her (hmmm).

• Don & Joyce, sweet old bystanders, get shot. (RIP 💔)

• Red’s life is unraveling, but she keeps fighting.

The Climax 🔥

Red tries to save Maddy, rebuilds the broken walkie, and nearly escapes. But chaos erupts:

• Oliver runs after Arthur to kill him.

• Sniper Mike shoots Oliver instead.

• A cop arrives, mistakes Red’s walkie for a weapon, and shoots her. 😬

As she’s bleeding out, Red finally “hears” her mother’s voice again, a bittersweet moment of closure.

The Ending 📜

Don’t worry — Red survives. 🙏 In the final “found documents” section (newsletters, transcripts, Arthur’s letter), we learn:

• Arthur kills Catherine in revenge.

• Arthur + his dad leave Red money for her recovery.

• The sniper is caught, but Arthur’s name stays hidden.

• Arthur writes to Red, asking her to meet him at Pier 68…

Cue dramatic YA fade-out. 🎭

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📝 Final Takeaway

Five Survive is like if “The Breakfast Club met a sniper.” Friendships fracture, secrets spill, and people get shot — a lot. Despite some repetition and a slightly cheesy bow-tie ending, it’s tense, dark, and addictive.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4 out of 5) from me.

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📖 If You Liked Five Survive, Try These:

• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

• One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

• The Fear by Natasha Preston

• Deadly Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes