Alphabet Challenge: E
★★★★
“How many of my decisions were my own and how many was I manipulated into pursuing? Every reality TV contestant had to ask themselves that very question. In this world of producers and manipulators, we were all asking it of ourselves every day.”
Escape! by Stephen Fishbach
To be completely transparent, this is the second “E” book that I read for this challenge. If you have read my posts on books C and D, which were 3-star reads for me, you may understand my dismay when the first book I completed as the E installment was another 3-star read. I was not excited to write an in-depth look at that book’s rushed plot and lack of character development. Even though it will take me longer to make my way through this challenge by repeating a letter, I am much more interested in breaking down this book instead!
Escape! is a new(er) release from January 2026! I do not exclusively read new releases so this was a nice change-up to the backlist titles I have reviewed so far. Stephen Fishbach is a two-time former contestant on the reality show Survivor and cohosts a Survivor-centric podcast. In addition to being on camera for reality TV, he has also worked on the production side of things. So when I heard on a bookish podcast that an experienced player had written a fictional tale about a survival reality TV show, I added it immediately to my TBR list.
While this book is completely fictional (Fishbach even includes an Author’s Note about how this isn’t a tell-all secretly bashing Survivor), it is informed by the author’s experience of living in the reality-TV bubble and actual stories he has heard from others’ experiences too.
Escape! follows three POVs: Kent, Miriam, and Beck. Kent has already had his glory days on a previous reality show and wants to relive that experience (and boost his relevance) by signing onto this new challenge show, Escape!. Miriam is an innocent, nerdy newbie to the reality-TV world; she wants to take on this endeavor to discover more of who she is and to prove herself. Beck is a producer trying to make comeback after a career-ending catastrophe. All three main characters end up on a tropical island fighting for their lives as the lines between what-is-real and what-is-show blur.
I found myself wanting to dive back into this book again and again- the plot moved quickly and it was easy to get attached to the main characters. Even if I did not always agree with their motivations, I wanted all three heroes to find redemption and a happy ending. Fishbach pokes at the invisible boundaries of how reality TV features real-life people who can be pushed too far and suffer real-world consequences for the sake of performance. It made me squirm reading through the power dynamics of producers manipulating “players” into the mold they wanted them to fit into all for the sake of entertainment. This book caused me to reflect on authenticity, integrity, and where I find my sense of worth and belonging.
Content Warnings:
Death on page, violence, misuse of prescription drugs, mention of child death, animal cruelty and death
While the sex scenes in this book are pretty much closed-door, there are multiple references to sexual acts and sexual terms.