Review: The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave
(The 5th Wave #1)
by Rick Yancey

May 7, 2013

457 pages

Goodreads  Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Review

I picked up The 5th Wave because I wanted to read it before the movie came out. I can say for sure that I'll be watching the movie even though the book left me with conflicted feelings. The concept was interesting but the execution was slightly confusing.

This book was told in multiple POV- something I completely did not expect. Imagine my confusion when the story ceased to make sense then my surprise when I realized I was in another character's head. I had to figure that out on my own since Rick Yancey gave no warning whatsoever. While I recognize that's perfectly normal, a little hint would've been nice to spare me from wasting time on being confused and re-reading a chapter :(

The story started off rather slow but I was always interested to see where we were being led. We get to know the world through flashbacks and memories woven into the now. I wouldn't say I loved the writing style but the modern everyday tone felt real and true. The book was much easier to swallow once I became used to that.

I loved Cassie's snarky, sarcastic persona. She was unapologetic and fiercely protective of her little brother Sammy. In fact, her promise to him was the fire that kept her going. Her will to fulfill that promise kept her moving on her feet. "Because if I am the last one, then I am humanity. And if this is humanity's last war, then I am the battlefield." (p.101). The fact that she felt she was the last one prompted her to fight harder for her life. Cassie was both afraid and unafraid and I totally wanted to give her a hug.

One of the POV was tough to read. It's a spoiler so I won't name who but that life sounded like hell. What they go through is basically glorified abuse. Nothing like an alien invasion and humanity facing extinction to motivate someone and harden their resolve to fight.

I breathed a sigh of relief when Evan found Cassie. Finally another human being and I can see some proper interactions lol. The push and pull between him and Cassie was yummy. It was hard not to be suspicious of Evan though. Things were too coincidental for me to not notice his impeccable timing. After hearing his thoughts and explanation I can't help but sympathize and love him. I don't care that he's technically an alien (shady area), he deserves to be happy. For what he does at the end, he is more than worthy of being loved.

Clever aliens and their 5th Wave- using human children to destroy the last of mankind. Ironic that they're suppose to be the future. What a surprising turnout that the Dorothys weren't so insane afterall. Thank god for people like Ringer with their sharp wit that humanity has a fighting chance. The escape scenes where the two sides merged together felt very anticlimactic. It lacked excitement. I didn't exactly expect a sappy reunion but it was so far from what I pictured I was disappointed. Though admittedly, it was nice to see things come full circle.

Even though I feel the story was more of a 3.5 Cats I gave it 4 Cats because it left me wanting to know what happens next. Particularly I need to know if this one person survived. Overall, after reading the book I'm even more excited to see the movie and how everything will be brought onto the big screen!