Five Total Strangers

August 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-High school senior Mira just wants to get home for Christmas. The one-year anniversary of her beloved aunt's death is rapidly approaching, and she must get home so her fragile mother isn't alone. After a massive blizzard grounds all air traffic, Mira reluctantly accepts a ride with her seatmate Harper, a chic, fast-talking college student who nattered to Mira the entire flight. Harper, Mira, and three other students climb into the rented SUV and head west from Newark, NJ, to Pittsburgh, PA. They are five total strangers driving off into one of the worst snowstorms in recent memory. But something isn't right-Mira can feel it. As feelings of paranoia and deep dread settle over the treacherous car ride, things quickly go from bad to the very worst. Richards has crafted a page-turning thriller that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Mira is a strong protagonist who is not a passive bystander. She is fully engaged even when she is ignoring every gut instinct to get out of the car. The resolution seems to come a bit too quickly; the action could easily continue for another 20-30 pages. VERDICT Richards's text sustains the suspenseful mood from the very start to the final pages-just the kind of fun book one needs for a hot summer day or a cold winter's night.-Elaine Baran Black, Georgia P.L. Svc., Atlanta

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2020
Getting home for the holidays turns into a nightmare for five strangers. High school student Mira Hayes has been living in San Diego with her dad while attending a prestigious art school. Now it's Christmas Eve, and all she wants to do is get home to Pittsburgh and her mom, who, like Mira, is grieving the death of her twin sister, Mira's aunt Phoebe. But a blizzard may thwart her plans. During a layover in Newark airport, Mira learns that every flight out has been canceled. Luckily, Mira's seatmate Harper offers her a ride in her rental car along with three other stranded passengers: Brecken, Kayla, and Josh, but Mira is uneasy from the start. Accepting a ride with strangers usually isn't her thing, but she's desperate to get home. However, snarled traffic forces them to resort to risky side routes, Mira feels like she's being watched, and the group's belongings keep disappearing. As their situation becomes more dire they make reckless decisions, leading readers to wonder if anyone will get home alive. Richards does a serviceable job of building tension, but aside from Mira, who narrates, the other characters are thinly drawn. Letters to Mira from a menacing stranger are sprinkled throughout, but their melodramatic nature detracts from the threat, and last-minute revelations stretch credulity. Everyone seems to be White except for Harper, who is Chinese American. This chilly road trip is woefully short on thrills. (Thriller. 14-18)

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