A review by gorgi
Five Survive by Holly Jackson

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

what a book full of emotions. five survive brings out the anger, joy, sadness and laughter all out of you. one moment you are loving life and then the next you are fearing for the lives of the characters. the betrayal in this book is so good and i love how it feels so real. the twists and turns and all the plot twists were done so well. you are sitting on the edge of your set the entire read. i love how the book is organized by the hours and so you go through it and it's 1am then the next section of the book is 2am. i thought that was done very nicely. i love how it was set in the woods once again because the woods always bring out the goosebumps and chills through your body and the story was made out to be different so i didn't feel like i was reading another repetitive book. the use of the 6 characters is done really well because even though the book is written in 3rd person from the main characters pov, its written in a way that you see get to hear and kinda see all the characters. all the characters are nicely mapped out to have their own personality and they are all unique in their own way. i liked all the characters but Oliver as expected. Oliver is the worst of worst. i don't think i have ever met a character that has annoyed me and that i have hated more than him. he really gets on your nerve and i threw the book multiple time across the room just because of him. i was screaming at him through the book. i despise him. i hate him so much. Worst guy ever award goes to him.

OMG, when he picked up red and flung her over his shoulders then chucked her out of the van, i screamed. i hate this guy. and just because he is the oldest he thinks he is in charge, i don't think so missy. and when he forces Maddy, HIS OWN GODDAMN SISTER, to go outside of the van and risk her life. literally forces her to go. ahhhhh, i wanted to strangle him so much. he promises her that she will be fine, but guess what, of course she gets shot. AND HE ISN'T EVEN SORRY. does not want to risk his life to go out and help her so he stays in the van to watch Maddy die. What the hell is wrong with this guy. and when he forces Red to strip. ahhhhhh. i can't express my anger towards him. he is a despicable character. i just wanted to kill him for the whole book. every time he opened him mouth i wanted to slam it shout, permanently shout.

i was so happy when i guessed the mystery because there weren't many facts to go off and it was mostly suspicion and belief i went off but, hey, i still got it. it was a greatly mapped mystery and very hard to guess.

i loved Arthur so much so when i found out it was him, i was screaming and jumping and kicking and throwing the book across the room. of course, i had guessed it was him, but it still came as a shock because i did not want to be right and i was shocked that i was right. also, when Oliver died. happiest day of my life. i jumped for joy. he was my guess for the one that was going to die purely because i wanted him to die, so when he did, i don't think i have ever felt that kind of happiness before.

  i also loved how the books end on a yes or no. like if you were to be in the position, what would you do. i love and adore when books end like that. i know what i would do but it's cool to see other people's opinions.

i would say yes and go to Arthur because i love him and don't really blame him for everything that happened, and he never wanted to hurt red and i believe that he truly did love her.

please pick up this book and read it. it's and standalone and it is so worth your time. what a great 4.75 read it is and i strongly recommend.