Reviews with content warning for Violence - Five Total Strangers

im so sorry via i really wanted to love this one.
it was just. weird and kind of mediocre. the main vibe that i got is that the author read intensity (or some other thriller novel w travel elements) and then wanted to wring out everything that made that book good into watered down ya fiction. there are just so many better ya thrillers than this one that you could go read instead.
i didnt really find any of the characters interesting, and the plot felt very predictable. the writing was pretty good and i was generally interested in figuring out where it was going, especially because it was so short and fast paced. the letters from her admirer felt so random and had no connections to who it turned out being, but it was so obviously him because he was the only one she trusted somewhat and kept playing up how cute he was.
knocked it out in two hours during a storm at camp but i really wasn't hyped about finishing it.

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andy2_27's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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annamwallace66's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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shmayjoy's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

This novel reminds me of every awful time I've ever had to sleep under a charging station in an airport. If, like past me and a million other traveling students, you have ever had to face the usual miserable "delayed due to a blizzard" winter break lay overs, you can easily slide into the protagonist's shoes...even if you would never accept the ride she decided on.
Five Perfect Strangers takes an ordinary teen who needs to get home to her mom for the holidays, and the four college students heading the same direction. Richards throws us into the back roads of Pennsylvania to remind us not to trust a person solely by their appearance.

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moabgirlie's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I think I would have liked it more with a different narrator, but it wasn’t enough for me to stop listening. The story was good, had me guessing the entire time. Finished the audio in about 3 days

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sianrho's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

It was a bit slow to get going with the suspense, and I wasn’t a huge fan of some of the internal monologue (almost too juvenile and repetitive). But overall, the story was interesting and there were many possibilities for the ending.. made for a good plot twist.

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