Behind: Five Survive by Holly Jackson
Written by Alannah Cannon
‘Five Survive’ is a young adult thrilling novel that will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time, written by Holly Jackson, who also wrote the bestselling series ‘A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder’. This book will take you on a journey full of twists and turns and by the end, all you can do is marvel at the genius of the plot.
What’s interesting about this book is that the events within the book take place within a single night. After a certain number of chapters, there is a grey page displaying the time. It begins at 10:00pm and ends at 6:00am. This is not a common concept for a book and it must be done correctly, but I have to say that Jackson perfected it.
This novel follows the narrative of Red Kenny and her high school friends as they take a journey to rural South Carolina, intending to meet with other classmates for a spring break holiday. There is her best friend, Maddy and her other friends Simon, Arthur, all accompanied by Maddy’s older brother, Oliver, and his girlfriend Reyna. These six friends really don’t know what they are in for during the eight hours of the night.
From the beginning we get an insight into Red, her mind and her life. She is clearly unhappy and kind of just going through the motions of life. We learn that money is tight for Red and her father, where Red is looking after her alcoholic father after the death of her mother. This is the whole reason they borrowed the RV from Simon's uncle, because Red couldn’t afford the trip otherwise. This also says a lot about Maddy, who made sure that Red would be able to go on the trip and is constantly looking after her. This immediately separates Red from the rest of the group. The only reason they are in the RV is because they want Red to go on the trip, but this causes conflict later when tensions are high.
Eventually the group takes a wrong turn after phone service cuts out. With Reyna driving, and Arthur directing, they end up down a very narrow road and a flat tire. They manage to change the tire, but somehow all four tires spontaneously become flat as they try to drive off again. During the investigation of the mysterious four flat tires, this is when they learn that there is a sniper. Red sees the red dot of the sniper's laser. She is familiar with weaponry and such due to her late mothers profession as a police officer. This is again relevant when the sniper gives them a walkie talkie for communication and Red is well versed and put in charge of it. Red is hyper aware of the danger that they are in and it is even harder for her because her own mother was shot and as a result died.
The storytelling is incredible throughout the entire book. It starts relatively normal, just a group of friends going on a trip and it slowly dissolves into chaos and mystery. The sniper wants one thing, a secret, but who has it? We as readers join the characters as they point fingers and argue to figure out who it is. We try to fit the pieces together, but no matter what you thought, I would be surprised if anyone guessed the actual climax and resolution of the plot. It is one of those books that you have to physically cover the next lines and pages to stop your eyes from wandering. I know I did multiple times during this gripping tale.
It turns out that Red had been harbouring a secret from everybody, even us readers. She told us about her part as a witness in the trial, but all of it was fabricated. I even think she might have started to believe it herself since she had it drilled into her brain for so long. Holly Jackson did an amazing job with this. My jaw was on the ground while reading this part, and the rest afterwards as everything unravelled. Everything that happened in the ending was extremely unpredictable. Every word left you hungry for more. Every turn of the page was quick as lightning to drink in every detail of the next.
One thing about Holly Jackson is her ability to stray slightly from traditional writing and format. There is a map of the RV and of their start and destination before the first chapter even begins. It is very intentional and I personally appreciated that we got a concrete image of the RV since it is the setting of the entire book and it helps bring everything together. We also get the dialogue of the police radio transcript in the last hour of the novel. Finally, she includes a letter from Arthur to Red as the closing of the book. Along with the hourly format, these extras bring some variety to the writing and really stands out among other young adult thrillers.
I rate this book five stars because of its impeccable plot, writing style and character dynamics and relationships. Jackson perfectly executed creating an entire world within a “thirty-one feet long” RV. You truly did not know what was going to happen in the next page and in an epidemic of predictable plots, this gripping novel is a breath of fresh air. ‘Five Survive’ is more than deserving of five stars and I highly recommend it to anybody who is looking for a good book that is exciting and original.