photo credit: screenshot of audiobook's last "page" taken by K. Reyes 2/2021
Bibliographic Information
Title: Five Total Strangers
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Narrated by: Devon Sorvari
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, Sourcebooks Inc.
Copyright Date: 2020
Run time: 7h 56 min
Title: Five Total Strangers
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Narrated by: Devon Sorvari
Publisher: Dreamscape Media, Sourcebooks Inc.
Copyright Date: 2020
Run time: 7h 56 min
Genre: horror, mystery, thriller Format: Digital Audiobook
Awards or Honors: None as of 2/2021
Reading/Interest Level:
Reading/Interest Level:
- Age Range: 14 - 18 Reading level: HL610L (Lexile.com, 2020)
Plot Summary:
This entire story happens in one day and on a road trip gone completely awry. 18-year-old Mira is headed back to her mother back East for Christmas when her connecting flight plans don’t work out due to inclement weather. During her flight, she meets Harper and they strike up a conversation and hit it off. With her connecting flight grounded, Harper decides to rent a car and invites Mira to join. By the time they get the car rented, there are three other stranded passengers who join them: Brecken, a pre-med student attending Berkeley, Kayla, a quiet, lethargic and strung-out-looking person, and Josh, reserved and reading a book during most of the ride.
Mira realizes that none of the people in the car actually know each other. They are caught in a terrible storm and almost wreck several times as they try to reach their destination. They also encounter trouble when they gas up in a small town that does not accept credit cards and none of them have cash. They drive off without paying and their troubles multiply as the very angry, gun-toting gas station owner hunts them down. Strange things start happening in the car beginning with Harper losing her wallet, Josh his book, then Mira her phone, Brecken his charger, and Kayla something she won’t name. Mira thinks someone in the car must be trying to sabotage their car but she needs to get back to her mother and that singular thought of returning to her grieving mother compels her to stay with this group and in this “road trip.” She just needs to survive the trip.
***watch the official trailer***
Author Background:
Natalie Richards is from Ohio where she lives with her husband, three children, and two dogs. She has written six other YA mystery/horror books: What You Hide, Six Months Later, One was Last, Gone too Far, My Secret to Tell, We All Fall Down (Richards, 2021). According to the website Fantastic Fiction, which catalogues bibliographies of best selling authors, Richards won her first writing prize in second grade (Wands, 2021).
My favorite response comes from her FAQ section where someone asks for advice for aspiring writers and she says: “I believe it boils down to a few basic things. Read a lot. Write a lot. Let yourself make mistakes. Allow messy first drafts. Discipline yourself to edit objectively and to receive criticism with an open mind. Share your writing. Trust your gut. And above all of these things, if you want to be a writer don’t let go. Dust yourself off and try again. Publication takes time, so don’t give up!” (Richards, 2021).
Natalie Richards is from Ohio where she lives with her husband, three children, and two dogs. She has written six other YA mystery/horror books: What You Hide, Six Months Later, One was Last, Gone too Far, My Secret to Tell, We All Fall Down (Richards, 2021). According to the website Fantastic Fiction, which catalogues bibliographies of best selling authors, Richards won her first writing prize in second grade (Wands, 2021).
My favorite response comes from her FAQ section where someone asks for advice for aspiring writers and she says: “I believe it boils down to a few basic things. Read a lot. Write a lot. Let yourself make mistakes. Allow messy first drafts. Discipline yourself to edit objectively and to receive criticism with an open mind. Share your writing. Trust your gut. And above all of these things, if you want to be a writer don’t let go. Dust yourself off and try again. Publication takes time, so don’t give up!” (Richards, 2021).
Author's website: http://nataliedrichards.com/
Critical Evaluation for Books and Non-Print Items:
This story is ideal for audiobook narration. As you progress through the story, the mystery surrounding the missing items and attempts at sabotage escalates as every passenger, including the narrator, is a potential suspect. If you’re a frequent mystery reader, you could probably easily guess who the culprit is. Listening to the narration adds a twist to the guessing game as there is only one female voice narrating the story. There are three females and two males in the car. So listen carefully.
Richards uses analepsis to provide us with some background on the possible motives behind the danger everyone in the car now faces. Because the narration is done by a female, one instinctively assumes that it’s either Harper or Kayla or Mira herself who is the prime suspect.
This book is ideal for someone who enjoys a good mystery thriller of the PG-13 variety. Listening to this story is a preferred mode of enjoying this story. I purchased my audiobook from Chirp which is an alternative to the more expensive subscription based Audible. The quality of the audio in the first few chapters for this particular story sounded somewhat tinny as though being narrated from inside a giant oil barrel. I’m not sure if that was because of the vendor (Chirp) or if it was intentional as a way to set up the story because eventually, the sound improved in the subsequent chapters. Overall, I would recommend this to students who enjoy mystery/thrillers in a lite version.
Creative Use for a Library Program:
This book will be on display in October when I do a mystery/horror book display. Stalking and stranger danger are important topics to discuss and we usually have an annual visit from our local police discussing school safety. This book could be a discussion point in breakout groups.
Speed-Round Book Talk or Short Book Trailer:
How desperate would you have to be to hitch a ride in a car with four other strangers? You really need to get home before Christmas day because your mom is suffering and you have to be with her. Too late to back out now. You’re in the car with perfect strangers on a long road trip to home. Your phone disappears, someone else’s charger disappears, your laptop gets broken. Someone is sabotaging this car ride. Find out if anyone makes it home.
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation:
There’s stalking and psychological manipulation happening here and a reader could get potential triggered. I would actually give a quick warning about this to any student who may want to read this.
Reason for Inclusion:
I always have students asking for thrillers that are not Stephen King level and I don’t have many titles in my repertoire so adding this audiobook fills this gap.
This story is ideal for audiobook narration. As you progress through the story, the mystery surrounding the missing items and attempts at sabotage escalates as every passenger, including the narrator, is a potential suspect. If you’re a frequent mystery reader, you could probably easily guess who the culprit is. Listening to the narration adds a twist to the guessing game as there is only one female voice narrating the story. There are three females and two males in the car. So listen carefully.
Richards uses analepsis to provide us with some background on the possible motives behind the danger everyone in the car now faces. Because the narration is done by a female, one instinctively assumes that it’s either Harper or Kayla or Mira herself who is the prime suspect.
This book is ideal for someone who enjoys a good mystery thriller of the PG-13 variety. Listening to this story is a preferred mode of enjoying this story. I purchased my audiobook from Chirp which is an alternative to the more expensive subscription based Audible. The quality of the audio in the first few chapters for this particular story sounded somewhat tinny as though being narrated from inside a giant oil barrel. I’m not sure if that was because of the vendor (Chirp) or if it was intentional as a way to set up the story because eventually, the sound improved in the subsequent chapters. Overall, I would recommend this to students who enjoy mystery/thrillers in a lite version.
Creative Use for a Library Program:
This book will be on display in October when I do a mystery/horror book display. Stalking and stranger danger are important topics to discuss and we usually have an annual visit from our local police discussing school safety. This book could be a discussion point in breakout groups.
Speed-Round Book Talk or Short Book Trailer:
How desperate would you have to be to hitch a ride in a car with four other strangers? You really need to get home before Christmas day because your mom is suffering and you have to be with her. Too late to back out now. You’re in the car with perfect strangers on a long road trip to home. Your phone disappears, someone else’s charger disappears, your laptop gets broken. Someone is sabotaging this car ride. Find out if anyone makes it home.
Potential Challenge Issues and Defense Preparation:
There’s stalking and psychological manipulation happening here and a reader could get potential triggered. I would actually give a quick warning about this to any student who may want to read this.
Reason for Inclusion:
I always have students asking for thrillers that are not Stephen King level and I don’t have many titles in my repertoire so adding this audiobook fills this gap.
Listen to Natalie D. Richard's advice for writers.
REFERENCES
FIREreads. (2020, September 15). Advice for writers from best selling author Natalie D. Richards [Video file] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JESahoDW15Y&feature=youtu.be
FIREreads. (2020, September 25). Official Trailer for Five Total Strangers by Bestselling Thriller Author Natalie D. Richards [Video file] YouTube. https://youtu.be/J6WYlVEMkDU
Lexile.com. (2020, September 18). Find books at the right level. Lexile Framework for Reading. https://hub.lexile.com/find-a-book/book-details/9781492657217
Richards, N. D. (2021). FAQ [web log]. http://nataliedrichards.com/faq/
Wands, D. (2021). Natalie D Richards. Fantastic Fiction. https://www.fantasticfiction.com/r/natalie-d-richards/
FIREreads. (2020, September 25). Official Trailer for Five Total Strangers by Bestselling Thriller Author Natalie D. Richards [Video file] YouTube. https://youtu.be/J6WYlVEMkDU
Lexile.com. (2020, September 18). Find books at the right level. Lexile Framework for Reading. https://hub.lexile.com/find-a-book/book-details/9781492657217
Richards, N. D. (2021). FAQ [web log]. http://nataliedrichards.com/faq/
Wands, D. (2021). Natalie D Richards. Fantastic Fiction. https://www.fantasticfiction.com/r/natalie-d-richards/
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