(book review)

`Five Survive` is a thriller novel, making you feel anxious and nervous throughout the story. It was published in Ukraine by `ReadBerry` after successful sales of author Holly Jackson’s debut book `The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder`. The story begins with an innocent trip of six friends on a vacation in honour of spring break. This adventure, which was supposed to be a pleasant memory for everyone, became a terrible experience that did not leave the heroes who they were.

Six friends turn a camper the wrong way on their way to their overnight stop. This mistake drives them into the killer’s trap, who is already waiting for them.  Tires are shot, phones are out of service, and there is nowhere to run. The killer makes his demand, in exchange for which he will give liberty — he only needs the secret of one of them.  But who keeps a secret so terrible that it is worth killing?

The story unfolds around Red, although the narration is not in the first person, we clearly see that the author describes the events through her prism. Readers follow a forgetful and distracted girl who is haunted by dark memories. That immediately plunges into a sufficiently mysterious and dark thriller atmosphere, which Holly Jackson maintains until the end. Over time, it becomes clear that she likes this because of her traumatic experience. In an effort to escape from reality, she begins to be distracted by trifles. This helps her not to think about the most painful situation that once happened in her life, and does not allow her to live on. The description of events from the third person, but through a certain prism, adds sympathy and empathy to the character, because this way, we see her through feelings, and not through an internal monologue. This technique also leaves space for the reader to make his or her own judgments about each character and creates tension through the uncertainty of their own assumptions.

In addition to Red, Holly Jackson shows us five more characters. The author, against the background of the risk of death for these characters, shows how the moods in the camper change throughout the story, how they show sides that were not so visible before. The reader sees how noble virtues grow into unbearable, and how any ideals and beliefs are destroyed. Someone, through self-confidence, loses their mind because they cannot admit their complicity in the whole situation.  Someone is faced with wounds that have not yet healed, and this prompts certain actions. We see a good description of the transformation of personages depending on their character. There are some flaws with character development, such as some being painted better than others. We hardly get to know one character, because in general, he performs the actions that he is ordered to do and does not reveal his thoughts about what is happening. Mostly he just drinks or makes jokes, and even though we learn his secret, the character is still quite ghostly. Nevertheless, you still feel the characters, especially towards the end, when you find out who they are and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Although the reader may have some understanding and empathy for these six throughout the story, they will still be suspicious of them, because the author gave reasons for this when she added moments where she divided the campers into teams.

The plot has unexpected twists and turns and tense moments. You get the feeling that you are in a closed 31-foot camper together with the characters, where everyone can be the cause of all this. The author gives hope for freedom and then breaks it down into small pieces that turn into despair and despondency. Some of the readers’ guesses may be true, but they may already be disappointed before Holly Jackson reveals them. The fact that all the characters’ actions, even their habits, eventually made sense and were justified adds to the plot. The text itself is easy and fast to read, but questions arise only about the location of the characters in space. Although there is a map of the campervan in the book, the movement of the characters is still unclear, because when they move in one direction, they end up near objects on the other side.

The finale of `Five Survive` is very dynamic and unpredictable. It doesn’t understand till the end, who won`t survive, what will be the reason for this. The story doesn’t end with revealing the secret, because it has more meaning than will from murder. Apart from elements of thrillers, there are also dramatic ones. The author touched upon human relationships, forgiveness of oneself or someone else, the importance of listening to oneself and the ability to say no. Some of these elements will make the reader want to cry at the end. So the book evokes a wide range of emotions, from anxiety to tears, and is worth reading for thriller fans.

Finally, I would like to mention the production of the book by `ReadBerry`. This edition pleases with high-quality printing and paper, beautiful design, and color cut. This design encourages readers to keep the book in their hands and enjoy every page.