The 5th Wave
by Rick Yancey
Read: August 2-3, 2015
Published: May 7, 2013
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Two currently published
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.
Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother--or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. (Amazon)
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Why did you read this book?
My sister got this book almost a year ago for her birthday and it's been sitting on our shelf ever since. She wanted me to read it first, to make sure it was appropriate and all that jazz. You never know with young adult books. They can get pretty risque for a thirteen year old girl. Anyway, so I told her I would read it...and about nine months later...I did!
What didn't you like about this book?
The book switches between points of view at several places in the book and it's not always obvious whose point of view it is until the end of it (although, I think that's the point). It got kind of confusing for me. Also, be prepared for lots of inner thoughts and not much dialogue. Sometimes I'd find myself skimming through pages, waiting for something to happen. Don't get me wrong, things do happen, but I think this book is less about what is happening and more about how the characters react to what is happening (which, is actually a good thing...so I'll move on to that section now).
What did you like about this book?
Oh, there were so many things I enjoyed. Each of the characters are different and interesting in their own way, which I enjoy, of course. I especially enjoyed reading about Evan Walker. He's a bit of a conundrum in the story and that makes it interesting. The story moves along at a decent pace and Rick Yancey does an excellent job making it suspenseful. You try to predict what's going to happen, but then you're second guessing yourself and end up surprised even if you were right. I really liked the concept of this book, the whole 'aliens are taking over and there is little hope for humanity, until...' There's just something intriguing about a book where humans as a race take on overwhelming odds and (hopefully) win. Oh, and let's talk about that cover art. Isn't it great? That's half the reason I finally picked the book up...such a pretty cover!
This book reminded me of...
...The Host by Stephanie Meyer. It's the closest book to it that I've read before. They share the aliens coming to Earth and taking out humans/taking over their bodies, however The 5th Wave is much less about the romance. There's a bit there, but that's not what it is about. This one is actually about the survival of humans, and I appreciated that.
Bottom-Line:
This book gave me a lot of feelings and now I've got that empty feeling, you know, when you finish a book and you don't know what to do with your life? It was very good and I liked it enough that there's a good chance I'll buy it eventually (it all kind of depends on how the third book is...) If you enjoy science fiction and aliens, read it! If you enjoy overwhelming odds, I'd definitely recommend it. If you are one of my friends, you already know, I will recommend this book to you and be irrationally excited if you read it so we can talk about it and stuff.
Quick Note:
The second book, The Infinite Sea, was just as good as the first. I won't be doing a review on it because my likes and dislikes are still kind of the same at this point. I just need to know what happens!! The third book is coming out May 2016.
"...I thought the only way to hold on was to find something to live for. It isn't. To hold on, you have to find something you're willing to die for." -The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
