It was an interesting/quick read -- or listen to, I should say. I liked that it took place mostly just in an RV for about 99% of the book. I listened to it in about two days. It read easily, good to understand, and a fun little twist. SPOILER - This is about the third book I've come across in the past two months where the mom is the problem - so that's interesting! It was a wrapped up little ending, where the bad people died and the good people lived. I forget his name already, but the annoying brother in the RV, I was glad he was killed, which I know the author set us up to want anyway! Good little twists but nothing overly shocking. Fun, easy read and would recommend! ( )

Red and her best friend Maddy are in an RV headed off for a spring break with four others - Maddy's brother Oliver, Oliver's girlfriend Reyna and Oliver's friend Simon and his friend Arthur. They have taken the RV instead of flying because, unlike the rest of them, Red is very poor - (her mother was a cop murdered on duty 5 years ago and her father is now an alcoholic). During the night, they take a wrong turn and end up down a dead-end dirt road with no phone reception and a flat tyre. But after they fix the tyre and try to move, Red sees a red dot appear - a sniper's gun sight - and all four remaining tyres are shot out! The 6 scramble inside and barricade themselves and then hear the crackle of a walkie talkie. They unhook it from where the shiper has placed it on the door, and he tells them they need to spill a secret and he'll let them live. Oh and he also says that there are 2 of them...
One by one, the teenagers crack under the pressure and reveal the secrets they think the sniper wants...
Gripping, suspensful look at teenagers coping with a life or death situation and how they react. Jackson spends a lot of time on the character of Oliver who proclaims himself the leader of the group and comes up with all manner of terrible schemes that end in disaster. His refusal to accept the truth as it is slowly presented to him is so in character and I liked how his paranoia about there being a "mole" in the group was SPOILER ALERT actually proven true in the final chapters. I liked how the book ended with another character completely different from Red's point of view rounding out the story. It would have been interesting to have seen this book written from multiple viewpoints the whole way through and not just the end
One for mature readers as the F word is written on nearly every page while they are in the hostage situation. ( )

Okayyy, so Holly Jackson's books keep getting darker--but I'm here for it! The characters weren't very likable, and some could have used more depth, but still a quick and enjoyable read! ( )

No one from Philly would call Delaware Ave 'Columbus Boulevard.'

This story read like a high school kid wrote it. So many clunky adverbs. So many dumb character choices. The Korean-American character says, "i'm Korean' out loud. The endless step-by-step descriptions of every stupid step of every plan. The 'twist' you see coming from the first chapter. Christ I could go on forever. Skip this book. ( )

teen suspense fiction. six teens plan to drive an RV from Philadelphia towards te AL coast for spring break, but instead become trapped on a deserted stretch of road by a killer who won't let them leave. Narrator has frequent memory issues and signs of prior trauma. TW/CW: gun violence, potential knife violence, organized crime/mafia, loss of parent, alcoholism.

very suspenseful and a quick read but some of the twists aren't that surprising; however there are still plenty more twists to keep one guessing. what's-his-name ought to also apologize to the others for putting them through trauma; also I hate that kids have to be so familiar with the term "active shooter" ( )