Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - The Only Survivors

Megan Miranda is adept at weaving together the past and the present; the twist here is a bit stronger than the first book of her’s I’ve read, because it feels a bit more foreshadowed as opposed to being kind of sudden. I’m starting to notice some themes that appear to be recurring in her work that interest me, like the nature of being an outsider, the choice to protect people you love, and the complex feelings of someone who has been made to feel invisibilized. I really enjoyed the setting—both the Outer Banks vacation house and the Tennessee ravine feel very vivid and integral to the book as settings. The audiobook in particular is stunning; the full cast helped keep the flashback chapters distinct and Allwine’s voicework here was a lot stronger than in The Last to Vanish.

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lpdx's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.5

I was very into this because the story that unfolds and what these kids had to deal with is like Hunger Games-style gnarly. I also thought the relaying of the events through the POVs of each of the characters was really interesting. I felt a really serious tension when everyone was in the beach house, and I felt like it kind of broke when people started leaving. I also, and maybe I wasn't listening closely enough, had a bit of a hard time keeping all of the characters straight, since there were so many.

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beckyremillard'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? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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readingwithmeredith's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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luverbyrd'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? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Wasn't hooked right away. Probably took 70 or so pages into it to get invested in this group of characters. When you read the Past excerpts, you start to understand them a little better.
The thrill, mystery aspect was fun but it kind of fell flat for me by the end. Things just didn't make sense completely still, I have questions on motives and the chain of events...I guess I wanted more answers by the end and I didn't get the ones I wanted.
I did have fun reading this though and flew through the last few chapters.

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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

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ckloiland's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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