Title: The 5th Wave
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Pages: 480, Hardcover
Goodreads Rating: 4.15 stars
My Rating: 5/5 stars
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.
MY TAKE
I absolutely LOVED The 5th Wave!! Honestly, this is the best book that I’ve read in quite awhile. The book kept you guessing (there was a major twist in the middle of the book that caught me completely by surprise) and was full of action, intrigue and self-sacrifice. I didn’t want to put this book down!
The story revolves around Cassie, who feels like she may be the lone human survivor in a world that has been taken over by aliens (kind of along the lines of The Host where the aliens take over the humans’ bodies. Because of this, she has forced herself to live in solitude, not trusting anyone, never knowing if the person she might run into is human or not. Still, she has hope. Her little brother, Sammy, was “rescued” and taken away to an army base nearby and Cassie promised him that she would come to him. It’s a promise she can’t break. When she meets Evan, she finds herself finally trusting someone and she hopes that with his help she will be able to get to her brother.
I loved Cassie – I thought that she was real and funny in a wry sort of way even when the situation was desperate. She brought us a unique teenage perspective – sarcastic but scared, vulnerable and yet strong, hopeful at times and despondent at others. She was likable and smart. I also appreciated the other characters – especially Zombie, who finds himself at the army base along with Cassie’s brother Sammy. The book is told from Cassie’s perspective about half the time and Zombie’s perspective almost half the time with two sections thrown in telling the story from another character’s perspective – this bothers me in some books (switching perspectives to characters for just one section of a book), but it seemed to work in this book and I could see why Yancey did it.
The 5th Wave is a thrilling book that I didn’t want to put down. I think it will appeal to many different people, YA and adult alike (I even got my husband listening to it on Audiobook!). Highly recommended! 5/5 Stars.
I am so excited for this book! I’m seriously thinking about going out and buying it right now even though I have a large review pile to read through, lol! Thanks for your review – now I’m even more hyped to go get my hands on a copy. 😀
Sometimes you just have to put aside the planned reading and go with that book you can’t wait to read! 🙂
You’ll have to come back and let me know what you think after you’ve read it.
So true! That’s what I did with Splintered as soon as it arrived in the mail. I pre-ordered it and had to dive in right away! 😀 I’ll let you know when I read it!
I really loved this book too! Great review 🙂
Eveline’s Books
You loved it as much as meeeeeee!!! I know you reviewed this some time ago, but I really really dug this story. I just made a note to find the 2nd in the series. I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook, and it was well done, so maybe I will be lucky enough to find the second in the same format!!
Lily
I haven’t read “Ender’s Game” as well, alas. –Those sneaky plot twists, I never see them coming!
This reminds me that I still need to finish this series!