A review by keysmashhh
Five Survive by Holly Jackson

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Plot: 4/5
Character: 4/5
Relationships: 4/5
World-Building: 3.5/5
Genre: 4/5

  • finished in less than 5h - very fast paced and i didn't want to stop reading 
  • the plot felt....lacking compared to the AGGTM series 
  • perhaps its the format of the book, being over 6 hours rather than the AGGTM books which are kind of over a month-ish allowing for (in my opinion) a better storyline 
  • the characters were...alright but felt underdeveloped at times (simon was pitifully lacking in characterisation which is sad because i think he had the potential to be awesome)
  • the switch from the UK to the US was probably not noticeable to an American but as a Brit I have to say I missed the comfort of the UK setting of AGGTM, something about it just felt very warm and relatable 
  • the "big crime mob boss mafia" stuff just didn't hit for me - it felt a bit too out there and just odd
  • the "reveal" - was not unexpected, and didn't give me the total wow shock factor compared to some of the twists in AGGTM 
  • congrats to Holly Jackson for contructing Oliver: a character so punchable I had to stop reading at times - but sometimes his insufferable-ness was so overbearing i just could have done with it being toned down a smidge
  • red was meh as a mc, there were bits i vibed with (like trying to work out what shape the curtains were, and randomly having the Phineas and Ferb theme in her head) and some bits that just didn't work with me as much - let me just say she's no pip 
  • i was so pitifully indifferent to arthur so the "reveal" just didn't have any impact on me, also his non-existant relationship with Red was nothing in terms of romance so id be supprised if people got that emotional over it (i guess some people who are more die hard shippers of them) so the letter at the end was just meh and honestly i kind of just speed-read that bit 
  • I think this book just suffers the most as deep down i was always comparing it to AGGTM which is so hard to live up to but im intreaged to see what holly jackson does next