Book Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Source: Library

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.

(Courtesy of Goodreads)

My Review

What can I say, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, is set to be one of my favorite books I've read this year. I was blown away with the world, the characters, and the story. I loved how little things would be introduced early in the story that seemed of little importance, and then pop back up later and have such a deeper meaning. Seeing as much of The 5th Wave was concerned with world building, I am excited to see what the second book, released later this year, has to offer.

I can understand why some people didn't like the 5th Wave because, in my opinion, it read a lot more like an adult book rather than a typical YA book that it is marketed as. The story is primarily character driven with not a lot of action in the first three-fourths of the book. With many YA books these days being action packed, comparitively The 5th Wave moves slowly. However, that is not necessarily a bad thing. I think Yancey did an excellent job of bringing to life the characters and their backstories and motivations which is the meat of the story.

Speaking of characters, the main characters that we are given are fantastic. I loved how Cassie is such a strong female character but also has her moments of weakness, which is to be expected for someone in her situation. However, she rises above them because of the love for her brother and her promise to him. Without revealing too much, her interactions with the other three main characters of the story, are a big part of what makes the book so good.

One thing that was a bit of a weak point was the narrator switching that occurred, especially toward the beginning. At times, it was hard to differentiate between the different narrators voices and because I was not expecting a narrator switch and was given no indication that it had switched I wound up slightly confused for a few pages. However, as I got to know the characters better, it was easier to understand the nuances in their voices. And I think it was important that we got the different narrators because it gave more depth to the story.

Overall, I absolutely loved The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey and I can't wait for the sequel. There is still so much to learn about Cassie, Sammy, Ben, and Evan, and their world and how they'll deal with everything they learned in the first book in the series.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars