Book Reviews
A Scroll column where writer Ella Hayes posts reviews for books and podcasts she has recently read and listened to and takes suggestions for more books and podcasts to review for future columns.
Book Ratings and Reviews
By Ella Hayes
Hello, everyone! Happy December and Merry Christmas to you all!
I’m back again this month for another round of reviewing YA novels that I have taken on this month. I hope you all are doing great and are looking forward to the holiday break from school! (I know I am. . .)
Here is a quick rundown of my column if this is your first time here: In my section of this column, I review some books I have read and the occasional podcast I enjoy listening to, along with some quick ratings and description about the books/podcasts. I also take recommendations for books people have read, and want to see reviewed in the column! For this month, I have one young adult thriller to share with you all.
Hope you enjoy, and happy Scrolling!
-Ella Hayes; Writer and Reporter
Where I Get My Books
Other than buying physical copies of books at local stores, I also check lots of books out online through the Josephine Community Library. Additionally, GPHS Library has great ways to get library books as well. (See the library page on the GPHS website!)
I use the app "Overdrive," and use my local library card to sign in. (If you have a library card with the Josephine Community Library, you can do this too!) The online library has thousands of books for you to choose from. It’s also easy to find exactly what you are looking for; using the search engine and filters, you can find books easily by their title, genre or format. You can check out books straight from your phone with the app, and read them on your phone, as well. If you prefer audiobooks, you can also check out audiobooks and listen to them with the app, too. If the book you want is unavailable, you can recommend the book or place a hold. If you have a library card, this is a great way to have access to many books for free!
Additionally, I’d like to mention the site Goodreads as a resource that you can use. This isn’t a place to buy books, but a good website to find new books and read reviews of books you are planning to read. Goodreads has thousands of reviews on many books, and it’s a great recourse to use when finding a book that you might enjoy. Additionally, with a Goodreads account, you can write your own reviews for books, or just keep track of your books and make reading goals. Altogether, it’s a fantastic source to use when searching for new books to read.
Book Reviews
As I talked about in the November issue of The Scroll, I’ve recently just finished reading the young adult fiction novel Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards. Published in October of 2020, this is the newest young adult novel out of seven total that Richards has published. A New York Times bestselling author, Richards typically writes teen thrillers and action books, including Six Months Later and One Was Lost. As accounted for by many Goodreads reviewers, Five Total Strangers followed a very similar premise to the novel No Exit by Taylor Adams. I very much enjoyed Five Total Strangers, so today you can read my rating and review for this exciting teen thriller!
Title: Five Total Strangers
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Genre: YA fiction, thriller, mystery, contemporary, holiday/Christmas
Rating: ✰✰✰ (3 stars)
Review: Mira desperately wants to get home for the holidays. With the recent loss of her aunt, Mira knows that her mom would really want the comfort of her daughter back from school to support her through her grief. However, Mira’s final flight home is cancelled due to a severe winter storm, along with all other flights leaving the airport. Though most travellers are making a last-ditch effort to find a nearby hotel room for the night, Mira isn’t ready to give up her attempt to get home. After discovering that a girl she knew from her last flight was organizing a car rental in an attempt to drive through the storm rather than wait it out in a hotel room, Mira makes a spontaneous decision to hitch a ride with her and three other strangers she met at the airport. At first, Mira does not even consider the danger that may accompany a long ride alone in a car with people she’s never met before. However, as the trip progresses and people’s stuff starts mysteriously going missing from the car, Mira begins to realize that one or more of her companions may be lying. One of them may be dangerous.
Though Mira is beginning to realize that this trip could end very badly, she can’t help but think of her mom: recently divorced and suffering from the loss of her dear sister. Mira can’t stand the thought of her mom alone on Christmas. This thought alone keeps her in the car, even after it becomes very apparent that someone in the car may be attempting to sabotage their trip. But why? How could an impulsive trip with young college students have a criminal motive? As people in the car start to take sides and become skeptical of one another, Mira must decide very carefully who she should or shouldn’t trust. Can she entrust a seemingly friendly (yet odd) boy, or a girl who is quiet, but clearly keeping secrets of her own? Over the course of this trip, the question in Mira’s mind changes from whether or not she will make it home before Christmas to whether or not she will make it home alive.
Overall, I would say this book is a simple, entertaining read. Richards did a great job with her descriptive writing style, which swept me up into the snowy Pennsylvania wilderness. I loved the idea of a winter snowstorm read, which seemed appropriate as we head into some colder weather here in Grants Pass, though I especially loved how this story took place on Christmas Eve, which differentiated from the typically Hallmark-cute Christmas story. I would have liked to see more aspects of the story that further placed this story in Christmas-time, but the idea itself was appreciated.
However, I felt there were too many faults to this story. First of all, some parts were pretty unrealistic, which alienated me from the immersion into the novel. To be more specific, what kind of parent would have such little care for the actions and whereabouts of their daughter? The fact that Mira went on this entire journey with complete strangers from the airport clear home without earning the concern of either of her parents is questionable from a reader’s standpoint. Additionally, there were far too many “coincidences” that occurred for me to find most of the plot believable. Every little thing that had to happen for the climax to occur was entirely too specific for the practicality of the plot. Richards even introduced a character to the story for the sole purpose of throwing readers off the scent of the real antagonist; the character was created simply to make readers suspect him when, in actuality, he had no real contribution to the plot.
Secondly, the ending was built up too much to be an intense let-down. So many loose-ends were left unresolved, the climax of the story did not resolve the majority of the plot points introduced earlier in the story. I found the reveal of the real culprit that has been stealing items and sabotaging the ride was entirely too predictable (as Richards tried too hard to make this character the “one you least expected.”) The ending felt rushed, and I was not satisfied with how quickly the last chapter was wrapped up.
All in all, this was a simple read. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for a less complicated, thrilling read, especially when someone is looking for a holiday read!
View the Goodreads review here.
