Five Total Strangers by Natalie Richards is a book about Mira, a high school student trying to get home to see her mom for Christmas. An incoming blizzard cancels her flight home, leaving her with one option: driving home with four strangers. Everything that could possibly go wrong during the blizzard goes wrong and keeps setting the group back from getting home.  

Mira’s issues back home kept her mind off of the fact that she is in the middle of a blizzard.  Her Aunt Phoebe’s anniversary of her death is coming up and she can’t stop thinking about how her mom is grieving. She can’t wait to see her mom, but her priorities shift when a stranger in the car doesn’t want them to get home.  The roads worsen and the passengers’ items go missing throughout the drive, making Mira more and more paranoid. 

Towards the end of the book, Mira finally realizes who was after her the entire time and who she could consider her allies and enemies, leaving her shocked. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I would describe it as a slow burn thriller.  It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat as the book progressed. I would recommend it to anyone that is down for a good mystery book. Five Total Strangers was the most read Read for a Lifetime book this year. If you are interested in checking out this book and obtaining more information about the Read for a Lifetime program for next year, head to the library!