“I don’t care what the stars say about how small we are. One, even the smallest, weakest, most insignificant one, matters.”

Title: The 5th Wave

Author: Rick Yancey

Series: The 5th Wave # 1

Publication: May 7th 2013 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Pages: 457

Source: Christmas bookhaul

 

Summary 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.

My Thoughts:

Well, that just happened and I really don’t know how I feel about it. I loved it, I really really loved it. But… the ending has left so many questions in my head that I honestly can’t think straight. The 5th Wave hits theaters in the US this Friday, so, I had to make sure I read the book before I went in to see it this weekend (shhh… don’t judge).  I have to say, The 5th Wave surprised me for a variety of reasons. One: how much I loved Cassie as a narrator. Two: The depth of Cassie’s devotion to Sam. Three: How much I really didn’t care about anything other than Cassie and Sam’s story. and Four: The complete and utter absurdity that was the entire book. But, like I said, I still loved it.

“Cruelty isn’t a personality trait. Cruelty is a habit.”

Cassie is a special sort of narrator. I honestly think she is unreliable, especially in the middle of the book when she is seemingly delirious. When reading, I had no idea what was actually happening versus what were simply the thoughts in her head. I have no idea if it was the writing style or what, but it was interesting and unique – so ten points to Gryffindor. I think my favorite part about her, though, was the fact that she has a clear purpose and she sticks to it – even if that purpose is only to get through the day or simply to cross over the next street. She attacks her objectives with an admirable ferocity, and I loved that. The other characters weren’t as striking as her – not in the least. I really didn’t care for any of the other point of views or story lines – except for maybe Sam in the beginning. The instant we get a Birdseye view of Camp Haven it sort of went down hill from there. I started off with Cassie in the lead, and I really wanted it to stay that way.

“How do you rid the Earth of humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.”

One of the hardest parts to get through in this book was reading Cassie’s retelling of the waves. Well, that and the fact that I figured out what was going on before any of the characters did and the entire time I was internally screaming for them to all tuck tail and run. The aliens, The Others, whatever they are called, are cruel and sadistic bastards that I hate immensely and I literally want to see them wiped off the face of the earth. Who does that sort of crap! Ugh, brutally smart they are – and it sucks. The humans are losing so badly it makes the college football games from the other week look like all star football. The humans don’t know who is who or what is what. Everything is an enemy and nothing is an enemy all at the same time. It’s a total clusterfuck and it was actually painful to read because it seemed so real.

“That’s what you do when the curtain is falling–you give the line that the audience wants to hear.”

I do have to give props where props are do. Some things about this book might not have sat well with me, but the world building was undeniably fantastic. I actually believed what I was reading, no matter how bizarre it started to get. This dystopia was so set in our world, I mean it was solid, that you can’t not believe it could actually happen. It’s not far fetched, it isn’t crazy… it just is, and that’s terrifying.

“God doesn’t call the equipped, son. God equips the called. And you have been called.”

The 5th Wave surprised so much that I, despite the flaws I have found, have fallen utterly in love with the chaos. This book is a roller coaster I will not soon forget and I cannot wait to get back in the saddle with The Infinity Sea when I go home next. The wait is going to kill me.

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