Review--What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally

 

A vacation in paradise turns deadly when four teens' sailing charter hits stormy seas in this propulsive new thriller from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Megan Lally!

Hannah is having an incredible spring break. A week at a resort in Mexico with her best friend Emmy and her family is perfect for de-stressing from senior year, even if it’s awkward being around Emmy's older brother, Jackson, who she’s had a crush on for as long as she can remember.

Still, the beach is gorgeous. So is the guy they meet in the surf. Except Hannah is now the third wheel in Emmy’s vacation romance.

Eager to impress Emmy, her wealthy new boyfriend charters a private sailboat to make the most of their last day in paradise, and Hannah and Jackson are invited along. As the clouds roll in and the skies darken, their boat is the only one leaving the marina. And the further they get into open water, the more unsettled Hannah becomes. A storm is brewing onboard that’s as deadly as the one racing toward them. Forget surviving graduation. Who will make it back to land alive?

I think it's safe to say at this point that I love Megan Lally's thrillers! They are so ultimately creepy and chilling and will forever have you second-guessing everything! Her latest one, What We Did to Survive definitely makes you want to rethink being friendly with others on vacation!

Hannah is enjoying her spring break of her senior year with her best friend, Emmy. Along with Emmy's parents and older brother, Jackson, who Hannah has had a crush on since forever. Things were going well and just as their days were coming to an end at the resort, the girls meet Ben, who charms his way into Emmy's heart. They decide that on their second-to-last day they would charter a boat and go on an ocean cruise/tour of the surrounding area.

And as you can imagine, everything that could go wrong, does. The first clue should've been the weather. Storm clouds were on the horizon and practically every tour boat and regular old sailor was staying off the water, but Ben manages to find a private cruise that was willing to brave the weather. The storm wasn't expected to hit until later that day, so there was plenty of time. But Emmy was insistent on going with Ben, Jackson, who also came along was going to keep an eye on his sister, so by default, Hannah decided to go as well.

It's not until later that everything goes south real fast. The storm gets closer to them and the waters turn rougher and it's basically the worst time possible to be on the ocean. And then that's when everything spirals out of control and becomes incredibly dangerous. Before we know it, the teenagers are on their own in open waters with no idea how to get back to shore.

This book was ultimately chilling and oh so twisted! I have a healthy fear of the ocean. I live in the Midwest, so I'm pretty safe from it, lol. But yeah, I grew up watching Jaws and no matter what anyone tells me I will not be getting into the water! Then there are all the other horror movies revolving around open water and sharks and movies based on true events that just have me terrified of it even more. The movie Cast Away gets mentioned quite frequently and in a sense, that's what this book turns into on the YA scale.

There were a few eyerollers in this one when it came to relationship drama. But honestly, coming from a YA novel, this fit the genre. Honestly, what kept griping me was why they went out on the ocean when everyone else with a boat was staying on land! I mean, that to me was the biggest red flag. Of course, there would not have been a story without them going out there, but I can almost overlook some of the other relationship dilemmas instead of this one. I mean if professional tour guides are staying on land, why would you go out to sea with an independent guy? But I digress. Lol.

There's not much of a whodunit to be solved. Scary stuff happens and you can easily pinpoint the perpetrator, but really, that's only the beginning. When we get to the end and all is finally revealed, I was flummoxed and yet...not. I was more smacking myself for not putting it together sooner. I had the clues and even questioned the evidence at the time, but for whatever reason I did not think of the answer! Which really, I should've because it fits with me and all the other "survivor" media I've consumed. 

Needless to say, Lally delivers yet another spine-tingling read that kept me on my toes and eagerly eating up the pages! If I hadn't have started this midday I could've easily read this in one day for sure! It was an on the edge of your seat page turner! Pretty much like Lally's previous novels. Needless to say, if you're looking for a summer thriller, What We Did to Survive is the way to go! 

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars