This was the twisty, suspenseful book I didn’t know I needed. We’re not quite to beach reading weather where I live, but this is a perfect choice. Check out my Review of The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda.
The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda
To be published on April 11, 2023 by Scribner. Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review.
Book of the Month selection for April 2023!
Synopsis: A decade ago, two vans filled with high school seniors on a school service trip crashed into a Tennessee ravine—a tragedy that claimed the lives of multiple classmates and teachers.
The nine students who managed to escape the river that night were irrevocably changed. A year later, after one of the survivors dies by suicide on the anniversary of the crash, the rest of them make a pact: to come together each year to commemorate that terrible night.
Their annual meeting place, a house on the Outer Banks, has long been a refuge. By the tenth anniversary, Cassidy Bent has worked to distance herself from the tragedy, and from the other survivors. This year, she is determined to finally break ties once and for all.
On the day of the reunion, Cassidy receives a text with an obituary attached: another survivor is gone. Now they are seven, and Cassidy finds herself back with the group.
But something feels off this year. An impending storm means they’re facing the threat of closed roads and surging waters…again. And—as they promised long ago—each survivor will do whatever he or she can do to save one another. Won’t they?
What Else Has Megan Miranda Written?
I’ve been reading Megan Miranda‘s books since she wrote YA back in the 2010s.
In the YA genre, she’s written the Fracture series (2012-2014), plus Hysteria (2013), The Safest Lies (2016) Fragments of the Lost (2017), and Come Find Me (2019).
Megan Miranda’s first adult thriller was All the Missing Girls (2016). I think this might be my favorite of her books; it’s told in reverse. She published The Perfect Stranger in 2017, The Last Houseguest (2019), The Girl From Widow Hills (2020), Such a Quiet Place (2021), and The Last to Vanish (2022).
Review of The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda
On a day I was feeling a little out-of-sorts, The Only Survivor was exactly what I needed. It felt a little like I Know What You Did Last Summer meets And Then There Were None. The past/present storyline worked perfectly as the reader tries to figure out what exactly happened in the past while Cassidy and her friends are trying to figure out what is happening in the present.
Cassidy and her former high school classmates (high-achieving Oliver, charming Josh, solid Brody, sensitive Grace, free-spirited Hollis, and perfectionist Amaya) have gathered every year on the anniversary of a tragic accident. They do this more to check on one another than to remember, as one of them took their own life on the first anniversary of the tragedy. Then another died under circumstances that were less than clear.
Yes, this group are clearly still feeling grief over the accident and the loss of their classmates. But they also seem to be suffering from guilt, and not just survivors’ guilt. What are they hiding about what happened ten years ago?
At the same time, strange things are going on at the house in which they gather every year. Is someone out to get them? Is one of them coming after the others?
I loved that The Only Survivors kept me guessing until the end. I did guess who was responsible for some of the misdeeds, but only because I was reminded of a book I read last year.
I definitely recommend The Only Survivors. I thought the past/present narrative structure was very effective. I loved the Outer Banks setting. And I found the book really enjoyable to read.
Some readers on my spoiler post (below) have found it slow, and I agree that it is NOT a fast-paced thriller, so keep that in mind!
Let me know what you thought of this, or any other Megan Miranda book, in comments!
And please come join the Spoiler Discussion for The Only Survivors!
I’m about to start reading this today. I got it from BOTM. I read all my Megan Mirandas adult books and I have a love/hate relationship with them. I say about 50/50. I really didn’t like her last one but I have high hopes for this one.
Jessica! I didn’t want to say that in my review, but I agree. I have been reading MM since she wrote YA. While I really appreciate that she tries different things with her narratives, some of her books work better for me than others. But this one really worked for me. I enjoyed it a lot. Come back and let me know what you thought – I have a Spoiler Discussion for The Only Survivors here.