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A review by sophiesometimesreads
Five Survive by Holly Jackson
5.0
I've seen a lot of people talk about this recently and wanted to reread it to see how I felt about the lead up to the twist, now knowing how the book ends. Obviously, it didn't pack the same punch second time around as I knew what was coming but I still had a fun time and still felt the suspense at times. I can see why people think the ending/resolution isn't super realistic, but I thought it all came together in context of the rest of the book. In saying this, I'm very much someone who just needs the book to make sense within itself, instead of being completely realistic, so if you want something that's realistic then you may feel differently.
I'm opting to leave my rating as the original rating I gave this book (5 stars), as it's hard to change my rating knowing how the book ends, and that's really what thrillers hinge upon. I had a great time both times around though.
Original review of paperback edition in Feb 2023:
I can properly review this now Harper Collins and the Union have signed a contract, yay!
I really enjoyed this book. It was intense, the stakes were high, my heart was pumping and it was definitely thrilling. I haven’t been this engaged in a book for a long time, I literally ignored all my adult responsibilities just to finish about 60% of this book in a day.
I felt a lot for the characters, so much so that I even teared up at parts of the story which I did NOT expect going into a thriller. I also wanted to rip my hair out at some of the characters and their decisions but that just made it even more fun. I can appreciate absolutely horrible characters as long as they make you feel something and have a purpose in the story.
Maybe I should have seen some of the twists coming but I was so engaged in the story and was devouring it that any small details that may have hinted at the twists just went under my radar because I was distracted by other things. That’s something that I find Holly Jackson does really well and this is no exception. The plot may have been a bit out there and not completely realistic but I could suspend disbelief enough to enjoy it and ride the roller coaster that was this book.
The writing style was different but I think it was a great choice to highlight the important parts of Red personality that played a big role in the rest of the story.
Overall, I had an excellent time with this book and I’d recommend it to anyone who is a fan of thrillers. Somehow I felt scared, angry and fearful and cried at the same time, which is definitely a feat for me.
I'm opting to leave my rating as the original rating I gave this book (5 stars), as it's hard to change my rating knowing how the book ends, and that's really what thrillers hinge upon. I had a great time both times around though.
Original review of paperback edition in Feb 2023:
I can properly review this now Harper Collins and the Union have signed a contract, yay!
I really enjoyed this book. It was intense, the stakes were high, my heart was pumping and it was definitely thrilling. I haven’t been this engaged in a book for a long time, I literally ignored all my adult responsibilities just to finish about 60% of this book in a day.
I felt a lot for the characters, so much so that I even teared up at parts of the story which I did NOT expect going into a thriller. I also wanted to rip my hair out at some of the characters and their decisions but that just made it even more fun. I can appreciate absolutely horrible characters as long as they make you feel something and have a purpose in the story.
Maybe I should have seen some of the twists coming but I was so engaged in the story and was devouring it that any small details that may have hinted at the twists just went under my radar because I was distracted by other things. That’s something that I find Holly Jackson does really well and this is no exception. The plot may have been a bit out there and not completely realistic but I could suspend disbelief enough to enjoy it and ride the roller coaster that was this book.
The writing style was different but I think it was a great choice to highlight the important parts of Red personality that played a big role in the rest of the story.
Overall, I had an excellent time with this book and I’d recommend it to anyone who is a fan of thrillers. Somehow I felt scared, angry and fearful and cried at the same time, which is definitely a feat for me.