49 pages • 1 hour read
Natalie D. RichardsFive Total Strangers
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 13-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary
Brecken demands everyone get out of the SUV so they can search the bags. Brecken accuses Kayla of being the thief because she is the only one not missing anything. They all argue over the search, not trusting any person to conduct the search. Mira suggests they all empty their own bags. Mira empties her bag first, revealing a few art supplies and toiletries. Josh goes next, revealing a couple more books, some snacks, and school supplies. Harper is next, with clothing, toiletry bags, and a hair straightener. Kayla has a couple crumpled dresses and an old ID, but she panics and begins searching her own things, clearly missing something but refusing to say what. Brecken’s bag is the opposite of Harper’s messy bag, carefully packed and organized. Inside is Josh’s missing book.
An anonymous letter dated June 12 accuses Mira of ignoring or avoiding the writer. The writer knows she has been working on a bleak painting of a carnival and believes that it depicts the letter writer as part of the crowd. The writer insists that they can’t wait much longer to be together.
Chapter 14 Summary
Everyone accuses Brecken of being the thief, though they quickly realize that the accusation doesn’t make sense since Brecken was the one who insisted they search the bags. They see headlights approaching, so they all get back in the car. Kayla instantly falls asleep. Harper apologizes, saying she didn’t know Kayla had problems. Brecken elaborates by saying it appears Kayla uses drugs, but then Josh points out that Kayla is wearing a medical alert bracelet. Mira feels bad she didn’t notice it sooner, deciding Kayla’s unusual behavior must be related to whatever illness she has.
Brecken announces that they need to return to Route 53 to get to Philadelphia. Everyone balks because that will take them back toward the gas station, but Brecken insists they have no choice. Harper hesitates, but Brecken reminds her they need to get her home safe and sound. Mira again feels there is something secretive between Brecken and Harper, and it makes her uneasy.
Chapter 15 Summary
The group returns to Route 53 and passes the gas station without issue, but everyone needs to use a restroom. They drive for a few miles and stop at a public park with restroom facilities. Brecken goes to the back of the SUV to search his bag, and Josh pauses to get his wallet after dropping it. Mira follows Kayla and Harper into the bathroom, feeling uneasy and as though someone is watching her. Mira uses the facilities, and Harper and Kayla remain inside, one of them making noise like she’s crying. Mira steps out and nearly runs into Josh. Mira briefly thinks about her father’s advice and considers hiding until the others leave or running to one of the homes across the street. Before she can decide what to do, a truck comes into the parking lot. Mira recognizes it as the gas station owner’s truck.
Chapter 16 Summary
The truck pulls up next to the SUV. Brecken instructs everyone to get into the SUV. The gas station owner and his son, Corey, get out of the truck and confront Brecken, accusing him of stealing the gas. Brecken tries to reason with them, promising to mail a payment as soon as he gets home, but the gas station owner refuses. The owner approaches Brecken just as Josh comes toward the SUV. Brecken reaches inside the car and honks the horn. They yell for Josh to get in the SUV, but he’s hobbling due to his injury. Corey grabs Josh to stop him from getting in the SUV, but Josh kicks him. The owner punches Brecken and tries to pull him from the SUV, but Brecken punches the man in the stomach. Corey turns to check on his father, releasing Josh. Brecken sees an opportunity and turns on the SUV, throwing it into gear. Corey tries to pull Brecken from the SUV, but the owner pulls Corey out of the way and goes for Brecken himself. The SUV reverses with both Brecken’s and Josh’s hands on the wheel. The owner falls, and the SUV runs over Corey.
Brecken asks Josh over and over what he did. Josh insists that Brecken was in control of the SUV, but Brecken insists that Josh turned the wheel. As they argue, the owner of the gas station makes a call and then goes to his truck. Remembering the sign at the gas station, they all become convinced the owner is going for a gun. Josh urges Brecken to drive away. Brecken hesitates, ultimately deciding to speed off as the owner comes toward them again.
Chapter 17 Summary
Brecken pulls over half a mile away to be sick. Harper reaches for her phone, realizing that it did not charge. The group inspects the cord and finds that someone has broken it. No one has a phone with battery power. Josh reaches to get the map out of the glove box but finds it’s gone as well. They start driving again, but Harper insists they need to pull over. Mira realizes someone in the car doesn’t want them to call for help or find their way home. As they approach a bar, Harper instructs Brecken to pull over and insists that they call the police. Brecken and Josh again argue over who is responsible for running over Corey, with Josh insisting he pulled the wheel to stop Brecken. Harper shuts them down, arguing that it was only an accident.
An anonymous letter dated August 30 makes it clear the writer has been following Mira. They know she is only in high school and that she lies about not believing in love. The writer warns that they must soon be together.
Chapter 18 Summary
In the bar, Harper asks an employee for a phone so that the group can call in an accident they witnessed. A man on a stool introduces himself as Smitty and tells the woman behind the bar, Joyce, to get them drinks and pizza. Harper goes to call the police. Smitty makes a comment about the only other customer in the bar, and Mira looks over to see the man in the yellow hat they have been running into all day. She’s shaken by this. Mira goes to the group’s table, where Brecken and Josh are continuing to argue over who caused the accident. Brecken is worried he’ll go to jail, and Harper is stressed over the delay returning home. Joyce brings their drinks and tells them she doesn’t want trouble. Mira assures her there won’t be any.
Chapters 13-18 Analysis
The mistrust that has been building between the five strangers in the SUV reaches a boiling point when Brecken’s battery goes missing. Far from clarifying the situation, however, the search only raises new questions that deepen the sense of danger and suspicion: Kayla is evidently missing something but won’t say what, and the discovery of Josh’s book in Brecken’s bag makes no sense given that Brecken was the one who demanded the search. The entire situation highlights the theme of Obsession and Isolation. No longer only physically isolated, the characters are now emotionally isolated by their suspicion of one another. The thief encourages this, manipulating the travelers’ sense of reality and safety by stealing things necessary for connection with the outside world and by implicating Brecken as the thief.
The weather continues to propel the narrative, creating physical obstacles that force the group to go back towards the gas station. With this decision, the five place themselves in danger again by getting too close to the gas station and its angry owner. They also discover their only remaining source of directions, the paper map in the glove box, has gone missing. Without their phones or any method of directing their route or contacting the outside world, and with a quickly deteriorating sense of trust and safety, the characters are in a desperate, tinderbox situation. This ups the tension and sets the scene for the novel’s climax.
Mira’s role as an unreliable narrator becomes more visible when the five stop at a local park and Mira is frightened by the man in the yellow hat. Mira knows nothing about this man, but the mere sight and smell of him frighten her, and she allows that fear to determine her actions and undermine her safety. Mira feels the man is stalking her and her companions. Mira considers abandoning the car and contacting her father to arrange to pick her up, which shows that she no longer trusts Harper and the others. However, her fears around being left where the man in the yellow hat can find her prevent her from separating from the group, which would have been the safer choice. The suggestion that Kayla is battling a health issue other than addiction based on a medical alert bracelet she wears shows that Mira can also be easily manipulated by others. Josh points out the bracelet in apparent defense of Kayla—something that fits with his good guy persona but also contrasts with his quickness to cast suspicion on Harper and Brecken’s intimate relationship. Josh’s actions in regard to Kayla foreshadow the later revelation of their connection.
When the gas station owner and his son, Corey, confront Brecken and the others at a park, the confrontation is aggressive, as predicted by the gas station owner’s choice of décor. Once again, Brecken is at the forefront of the confrontation, just as he was in the decision to take I-80 and to drive off without paying for the gas. Brecken is behind the wheel when Corey is hit by the SUV, making it appear as though Brecken intentionally inflicted injury on this stranger to escape. However, Richards also introduces ambiguity and suspicion in this moment, as Josh has his hand on the wheel as well. Brecken accuses Josh of pulling the wheel, deepening the distrust among the five companions. Brecken looks either like someone who cannot take responsibility for his own actions or someone who is being manipulated by Josh.
Harper reveals her honest personality by insisting the five call the police. Brecken’s character is more ambiguous; he insists he did nothing wrong, but given the tussle for the steering wheel, it’s unclear whether this is the literal truth or an attempt to dodge responsibility. The implication continues to be that Brecken is the thief and possibly the letter writer. At the same time, Richards reveals two more letters that show the letter writer’s obsession growing. The letter writer is also growing angry with Mira for not responding to these letters, though the reader knows from previous chapters that Mira never received them. Not only do Mira’s fears and misperceptions cloud her judgment, but she is missing vital pieces of information regarding her safety in the car.
