Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The 5^th Wave by Rick Yancey

The Fifth Wave #1

Release Date: May 7^th, 2013

Number of Pages: 480

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Source: Penguin Canada

GR – Amazon – BD – Chapters

The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.  

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.

I’m not sure where to start with this book. The 5^th Wave was one of the books I knew I had to read this year, since I only heard good things about it. You can be sure that it made its way to the top of my to be read pile, and I started it as soon as I was done with my current read. Starting a book with expectations as high as mine were can be risky. After all, I wanted it to be amazing. I needed it to be amazing. Luckily, this book does live up to its expectations. The 5^th Wave is definitely a book you need to check out this year. Forget about the Zombie Apocalypse, it’s the aliens you need to worry about.

I’m not even sure where to start with this book. There were so many things that made me love this novel. One of the things I really enjoy, even though it sometimes annoys me, is the multiple points of view. In The 5^th Wave, those points of view does not make the story confusing, but it instead creates a richer world. We see the different situations the survivors could end up in, and we can see how the world now works. The most predominant character in the story is certainly Cassie, I girl I definitely would want on my side if the alien apocalypse came to happen. She is a strong and powerful character that is driven by her loyalty to those she loves. You definitely end up rooting for her.

Other narrators do come out strong in this novel, but Cassie is the one that stood out to me. She is the one that drove the novel forward. This didn’t stop me from enjoying every points of view to a certain level. Every character kept me hooked.

Now, romance lovers will be happy to know that there is a little romance in this book. It is not a major part of the book, but it is still there and I couldn’t help but squeal a few times thanks to the great love interest we get to meet. And, of course, I can’t forget about the few twits this book has, twists that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

If there is one book you must read this year, it is The 5^th Wave. I feel like I keep you talking about this book forever, but I will let you discover the awesomeness that is hidden in its pages. One thing is for sure; The 5^th Wave is the kind of book that you will have trouble putting down. I’m definitely dying to read the sequel.

About the Author:

From Goodreads

Rick is a native Floridian and a graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago. He earned a B.A. in English which he put to use as a field officer for the Internal Revenue Service. Inspired and encouraged by his wife, he decided his degree might also be useful in writing books and in 2004 he began writing full-time.

Since then he has launched two critically acclaimed series: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, for young readers, and The Highly Effective Detective, for adults. Both books are set in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Rick lived for ten years before returning to Florida.

His Website

His Twitter