5+++ Review of The 5th Wave (Rick Yancey)

Hardcover, 457 pages
Published May 7th 2013 by Putnam Juvenile
Purchased from Amazon

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.

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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.

Rick's Website

The 5th Wave is PHENOMENAL. This book is in a league of its own. I savored every fascinating moment throughout the book. This was one of those books where you read very slowly because you never want it to end. It was full of mystery, suspense, deception, and romance. 

The 5th Wave is a young adult science fiction story that will grab you from the first page and still doesn’t let go at the last page. It is a story of survival in even the most dire of occurrences. It is realistic and captures humanity in a way that will grab you and not let go. 

The main character, Cassie, is a young sixteen year old girl who is just trying to live a normal teenage life when all hell breaks loose. She has to grow up almost immediately and fight to live each day. She is hunted, captured, and saved in so many different ways. Her will to survive is incredible and exactly what the world needs at this dark time. She makes a promise to her younger brother Sammy that she will find him and save him and she means every word of it. 

The “Others” who have came to Earth look just like humans and act like humans. They could be your neighbor, your family, or just about anyone. You can trust no one. They attack Earth in 5 Waves.

 “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.” 

The two male characters are Evan and Ben. I found myself loving both of these characters. Evan is so thoughtful, caring, and strong. Ben is everything. Truly I mean EVERYTHING. He pulls at my heart strings as he “connects” with Nugget. 

There are so many twists and turns in this book. Be prepared to be shocked, happy, unsettled, and overall amazed at this book. When I reached the last page…I just kept turning hoping there was more. Cassie, Evan, Ben, and Sammy’s story is so magnetic. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series and see where the fight takes them.