Search This Blog







2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2025 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (6)
- Colorado (3)
- Connecticut
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (3)
- Kansas
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana
- Maine (3)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico
- New York (7)
- North Carolina (3)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (3)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Canada (3)
- England (14)
- France (2)
- Italy (1)
- Japan (1)
- Norway (1)
- Puerto Rico (1)
- Scotland (1)


2025 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge



2025 Build Your Library Reading Challenge









Saturday, December 12, 2020
Snowy Thriller Doesn't Quite Live Up to the Promise of Its Premise
11:57 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
A student at a special arts high school in San Diego, 18-year-old Mira Hayes is heading home to Pittsburgh to spend the holidays with her mother. Christmas Day will be the first anniversary of her mom's twin sister's death and Mira knows her mom's anxiety and depression will be through the roof. Mira needs to be there for her. As her plane descends into Newark, however, Mira gets some bad news: worsening winter weather has grounded all flights out. Phoning home only increases her worry about her mother's mental health, so when Mira's glamorous seatmate from the plane offers her a ride home in the car she and some friends are renting, Mira accepts.
It doesn't take many hours on the road for Mira to realize that something is not right with the situation. Not only are her four fellow passengers not friends with each other, but they're actually complete strangers. As the weather grows increasingly stormy and important items—like cell phones and laptops—go missing from the car, Mira finds herself more and more cut off from the outside world with people she's finding harder and harder to trust. With no way to contact her mother or anyone else, she's not just nervous, she's terrified. Discovering alarming secrets about each of her traveling companions only increases her fear. Although the storm outside is nasty and threatening, it's nothing compared to the danger Mira faces inside the car ...
The premise of Five Total Strangers, the newest YA novel by Natalie D. Richards, is a simple but compelling one. When I first read the plot summary, I knew I had to read this book. Unfortunately, the promise of the premise didn't pan out as well as I wanted it to. The novel is definitely atmospheric, with a tense, unsettling vibe that makes the story deliciously suspenseful. That's what kept me reading. It certainly wasn't the characters, who are almost wholly unlikable. As far as plot goes, the tale is engrossing and compelling, even if a lot of it feels contrived. Not all of the plot elements make logical sense—some of them go nowhere at all while others never come full circle. In spite of these irritants, Five Total Strangers sucked me in and kept me turning pages. I didn't end up loving it like I wanted to, but I liked it well enough to keep reading. Overall, it was just an okay read for me.
(Readalikes: Reminds me a bit of No Exit by Taylor Adams)
Grade:
Subscribe to:
Posts
(Atom)


Reading
Rabbit Rabbit by Dori Hillestad Butler and Sunshine Bacon

Listening
The Morning House by Maureen Johnson


Followin' with Bloglovin'

-
-
-
-
-
Sunday Salon: July 13, 20255 hours ago
-
The English Masterpiece by Katherine Reay8 hours ago
-
The Burgess Boys: Elizabeth Strout13 hours ago
-
History Lessons by15 hours ago
-
-
Week in Review #2818 hours ago
-
Bookish Quote of the Day!!21 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Book Quotes1 day ago
-
A Review of The Merlin3 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
Clean teen books for Summer1 week ago
-
Books read in June1 week ago
-
-
-
-
No Roundup this month2 months ago
-
-
Sunday Post #5682 months ago
-
-
February 2025 Reading Wrap Up4 months ago
-
One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery4 months ago
-
-
-
I'm Still Reading - This Was My October7 months ago
-
Review: The Duke and I10 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus11 months ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-

Grab my Button!


Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ▼ 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)


2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction
