In the end, I’m still not exactly sure how I feel about Arthur Arthur and Red together to be specific.

I do wish we got to see more of Arthur and Maddy’s personalities, but I understand that it was important for them to not be explored in depth until the end for the sake of the plot, and the reveals definitely made that worth it! Loved every page!Īs far as characters go, I thought Red and Oliver in particular were very compelling and well developed the latter especially was increasingly terrifying as the book went on, and I loved the juxtaposition between the him and the sniper as different kinds of antagonists. Jackson is quickly becoming a favorite YA author of mine it’s so hard to find adults who can write realistic teenage minds and interactions, and she hits the nail on the head every time! This novel was such a fantastic exploration on trauma, guilt, and how people transform once they're in a life threatening situation.

I love solving something correctly to boost my ego a bit, while also having to scrape my jaw off the floor at times it’s the perfect combination! There must be some kind of magic in this book, because how in the world can you write 400 pages in the same setting, over just 8 hours, and somehow make it a page turner? A risk was taken, and the payoff was amazing! I think the secret and at least one of the reveals was a bit obvious, but I was shocked by the other plot twists and the balance between the two was incredibly enjoyable. Could I be the victim of a sudden paper allergy? Was someone cutting onions nearby? Either way, ‘Five Survive’ had me hooked to the page and more invested than I ever consciously realized. I’m not sure what exactly I was expecting from this YA thriller, but having tears stream down my face towards the end was NOT on my agenda.

Five survive holly jackson amazon