The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

From Goodreads:

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.

Rating: 4 Stars

I am a few years late in joining in the hype surrounding The 5^th Wave by Rick Yancey. I recently borrowed the audiobook of this book from my local library. I usually listen to audiobooks during my daily commute; this book was so great I found myself wishing my commute was longer just so I can listen to it more each day. I will purchase a physical copy of this book because I must add this to my personal library.

I would like to start this review by addressing the cover; I find it to be breathtakingly beautiful. I absolutely love the simplicity and the sinister feel it affords. The girl in the forest making her way to a sweltering city, perfectly captures the complete state of anarchy the world finds itself in. This is the first book in a great trilogy, followed by The Infinite Sea (already available) and The Last Star (available May 24, 2016).  While this is considered a young-adult novel, I believe the content will appeal to adult readers as much as teens. If you are a sci-fi geek, regardless of your age, this is the book for you.

This was my first Rick Yancey book and my first alien invasion novel; and, I was completely blown away by this read. Rick Yancey is an amazing storyteller that created an apocalyptic world that left me quite scared. The book is narrated from different perspectives, mostly Cassie and Ben, our main two characters, with a few chapters narrated by Sam, Cassie’s little brother, and Evan, a boy Cassie meets at a critical time in her journey.

As I said before this is my first alien invasion read, but based on the movies exploring this subject it appears that the aliens usually want to destroy our planet and wipe us all out in the process.  In Yancey’s rendition of alien invasion, the aliens are not here to destroy our planet at all. They actually go to extreme lengths to make sure that the planet is preserved as they need it so that they can live here. However, they do want to wipe out the entire human race. They do this in the most gruesome ways, each terror unleashed on humanity being referred to as a “wave”.  At first, when the first alien ship appeared, our beliefs that humans aren’t alone in the universe were confirmed. When nothing happened for a while, most people believed that this was a good sign, that we would make peaceful contact with the inhabitants of these ships, and most went on with their life, unconcerned by these creatures; but then, the first wave hit and all power was off, then the second wave wiped out large cities on the coasts with huge tsunamis, the third wave was a horrible plague, followed by a few other surprises until there were hardly any humans left. Going through each wave from the main characters perspective transported me into a very frightening world. I found myself very engaged and invested in the story and what becomes of each of the characters.

As I write more and more reviews, I find that the best books are the hardest to discuss, because they are usually very intricate and everything can be a spoiler. All I can say is that during this horrible time when the aliens appear to be successful at wiping out the human race, when humans are stripped of their humanity, a boy and a girl fight the impossible to protect a little kid. The novel is filled with action and tons of plot twists that will leave you breathless. Yancey’s take on alien invasion is quite dark and disturbing. The characters created are very well developed. Each character has a very unique voice; by switching between narrators we get a glimpse into their lives pre-alien invasion and we get to embark with them on this apocalyptic journey in which each develops and grows into unforgettable characters that you would want on your side if an alien invasion would occur.

The entire book kept me guessing. I never knew who to trust and I kept second guessing every decision the characters made. The novel focuses mostly on raw human emotions, exploring the lengths people are willing to go to in order to survive. Yancey is an excellent writer and a brilliant story teller, who captured my interest from the very beginning and kept me at the edge of my seat until the very last word.

·         Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers; Reissue edition (May 7, 2013)

·         Publication Date: May 7, 2013

·         Sold by: Penguin Group (USA) LLC