Five Total Strangers

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.