*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication Date: March 31, 2026
Pages: 279
Genre: YA thriller
Rating: 4/5
What We Did to Survive is a pulse pounding survival suspense novel that kept me on the edge of my seat practically the whole way through. Hannah has been enjoying spring break in Mexico with her best friend Emmy and her family. Toward the end of their trip Emmy meets a rich boy, Ben, who charters a private boat for them to enjoy a day on the ocean. Despite the weather looking horrible and no other boats going out for the day, Emmy, Ben, Hannah, and Emmy’s brother, Jackson all go out on their charter with the captain.
I love how the constant action was paired well with background info and flashbacks with our characters. There are a lot of relationship dynamics at play between the five people on the boat and Lally did a great job balancing it all out. The stakes were consistently high throughout this whole story and it has so many standout edge of my seat moments. The ending also took my breathe away and I was surprisingly emotional over a YA thriller.
I’m finishing up this review months after reading this book and I can still vividly picture parts of this book. I have always heard people rave about Megan Lally and it is praise well earned. I cannot wait to read more from her in the future.
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