Book Review of 'Five Total Strangers' by Natalie D. Richards

Premise:

A hitched ride home in a snow storm turns sinister when one of the passengers is plotting for the ride to end in disaster.

When Mira flies home to spend Christmas with her mother in Pittsburgh, a record-breaking blizzard results in a cancelled layover. Desperate to get to her grief-ridden mother in the wake of a family death, Mira hitches a ride with a group of friendly college kids who were on her initial flight.

As the drive progresses and weather conditions become more treacherous, Mira realizes that the four other passengers she's stuck in the car with don't actually know one another.

Soon, they're not just dealing with heavy snowfall and ice-slick roads, but the fact that somebody will stop at nothing to ensure their trip ends in a deadly disaster.

Page-turning and Twisty

With Christmas approaching, Mira wants to make it home to her mother for the holidays. On the airplane ride, she meets Harper, the person in the seat next to her. When they reach the airport, they find out that the layover is cancelled because of an oncoming snowstorm. Not just any blizzard, but a big, record-breaking one. But Mira is desperate to get home. 

So when Harper rents a car and decides to drive the remainder of the way home, and offers to drop off Mira on the way, Mira accepts. In the airport, Harper meets three other people: Kayla, Josh, and Brecken, who also need to get home in time, and Harper offers to drive them too. They’re willing to take the risk of intercepting the storm on the way. 

At first, everything goes fine, but soon it’s clear that one of the five are trying to sabotage the trip, and Mira doesn’t know who to trust. Harper is too friendly, and secretive. Brecken seems violent, Josh keeps sharing his suspicions of everyone with Mira, and Kayla seems like a drug addict. This book was a compelling read, but the ending did seem a bit rushed. Additionally, the characters could have had more dimension; they seemed kind of generic. But, all in all, it was a nice story, and you can figure out what’s going on if you pay attention. 

My favorite part of the book was probably the beginning, when Mira meets the other 4 characters. This book is intended for ages 13-18 years, and is plot-driven. The chapters aren’t too long or short, and the theme for this book could be trusting your instincts. On a scale of one through five stars, I would rate this book 4 stars.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

- Candria

Like my review on Goodreads!

Want to be kept updated on my posts? Follow my blog! (don't worry, no personal info will be taken)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review of 'Furthermore' by Tahereh Mafi

Image
Premise:  Alice Alexis Queensmeadow 12 rates three things most important: Mother, who wouldn’t miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. Father disappeared from Ferenwood with only a ruler, almost three years ago. But she will have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is Oliver whose own magic is based in lies and deceit. Alice must first find herself—and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss. Enchanting and Enthralling This fantasy story will capture you in it’s masterpiece and will hesitate you let you out, narrating a tale about Alice Alexis Queensmeadow, a social-outcast girl devoid of color and magic that eludes her, living in a town that uses color as currency and revolves and is run by colorful magic. With clear white hair and extremely pale skin, she is completely colorless except only for
Read entire post »

A Poem: The Sea

Image
The Sea The deep sea can sparkle like a gem, It can be calm, with whirling eddies, But the sea can also cause mayhem, The sea is large, it will not empty. The sea can be colorful, Different colors or hues,  The sea’s colors are wonderful, Aqua, turquoise, indigo blues. Full of different creatures, Possibly ones we’ve never seen, With a camera, the scenery, it captures, Seafoam blue or seafoam green. Stretching far across the horizon, More farther than anyone dreams, It’s then that I am enlightened, That the world is bigger than it seems.
Read entire post »

Book Review of 'The Thief Lord' by Cornelia Funke

Image
Premise:   Two orphaned children are on the run, hiding among the crumbling canals and misty alleyways of the city of Venice. Befriended by a gang of street children and their mysterious leader, the Thief Lord, they shelter in an old, disused cinema. On their trail is a bungling detective, obsessed with disguises and the health of his pet tortoises. But a greater threat to the boys' new-found freedom is something from a forgotten past – a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself. Touching and Mysterious      This riveting book will make you want to inhale it in “as few sittings as possible”. This book is about two orphaned brothers who run away. Their aunt, Esther Hartlieb, was willing to adopt the younger brother and send the older one to boarding school. However, not wanting to be seperated, they ran away to Venice, Italy since before her death, their mother told them it was the most beautiful place on Earth and would often describe it to them. After they rea
Read entire post »