Five Survive

Holly Jackson is one of my favourite authors, always giving us an easily digestible story with a lot of mystery and nuance throughout.

Having read the agggtm series, I did spot a few similarities - No one ever believe Holly if she says she's fine. Pip and Red are so similar in their thought patterns, especially with being distracted by their ptsd, but they're also different in their backstories, it was a little frustrating as I'd be really into the story and then Pip would pop up in my imagination instead of Red. 

I did guess that Arthur would be involved in it all but I'd only guessed he'd have the secret, just because he was the most likeable character and that always sets off red flags for  me as a reader in a story like this. Although with how everything panned out, he wasn't really the big bad villain as it would be easy for an author to lean on. I think that's why I like Holly Jacksons books so much, there's so much nuance that the bad guys aren't really that bad and the good guys aren't really that good Oliver is the true villain in this, he was so ready to sacrifice everyone in that van for his own sake, like mother like son I guess. And yet, he was not involved in anything that put them in the situation so technically he's not at fault, just an awful selfish human being and thankfully he had a satisfying ending.

Any greys anatomy fans: Did anyone else's imagination of Catherine Lavoy change to Catherine Fox as the book went on?

I did find that the story dragged on at times when they were trying out different escape attempts as they were described in more detail than necessary, but I also understand that the pages long explanation was so you felt the time moving along as though you're actually in the situation aswell, it just got a bit old after a while cause you knew it wouldn't work. 

The twists and turns at the end made this book worth reading until the end, and it definitely did not disappoint. If you're looking for an easy read, which makes you feel a little scared, upset for the characters and left feeling satisfied with the outcome, this is the book for you.