Survivor is a gripping and intense novel by Tom Hoyle, and definitely deserves 4.5 stars.
Survivor is set in outback Australia and follows the story of George. After saving a baby from a burning building he gets the opportunity to go on the 'Ultimate Bushcraft Camp', with other kids around his age. Everything is going fine until the first victim dies. This is taken as a terrible tragedy, but when the second, third and fourth go its clear that no-one can be trusted.
For me the first couple of chapters were a bit confusing, as the set-out was unexplained, but as soon as I realised what was happening it was really interesting. After seeing a chapter through Georges eyes, then the author re-writes the chapter in the killers eyes. This is very fascinating as you get to see both peoples perspectives on the situation. Also the font and writing style of the killers chapters are crazy and messy, which accurately represents the characters mind.
Also Georges chapters seem to be written as a court statement of sorts. It is written in past tense and he sometimes talks to the reader, which makes it seem like he said this and a police officer recorded it down. Also in between the two chapter styles their is also Things like Witness statements and statements from friends, which give the impression that George is the suspect, and that they think that he killed all the people on the camp.
Also the way that the story is written never lets the reader know who the killer is until George finds out, which makes the read even more intriguing because you want to find out who it is. At some point during the killers chapter (he/she) might drop a clue to who they are and you (the reader) think that you've worked it out, only to find that it cant be that person or that it could easily be someone else. It keeps you guessing and trying to work out things like who did that and how did they do it?
The author does a brilliant job at keeping the book interesting, as I don't think there was a single dull chapter, or even page. the chapters are also quite short, which is a really good thing, because I always found myself wanting to find out what the next witness statement said, or what the killer was thinking when George did something.
It was a genuinely gripping book that makes you connect with George and the killer, even though you don't know who they are. You want to keep reading, and honestly if I had more time I probably would have read the whole book without putting it down. For these Reasons and the reasons above I am giving this book 4.5 and recommend it to anyone of a mature age who doesn't mind books with murder in them. This one is probably not suitable for younger children because some of the things the happen are genuinely frightening and worrisome. This is a great book a I enjoyed it extremely.