A review by cryptofauna
Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

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

2.5

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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