Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Published:  May 7, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Pages: 457
Series: The 5th Wave #1
Source: Bought
My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

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.

My Review: To be completely honest when I first heard about this book and all the hype I actually thought I think I'll skip this one. Not because I was afraid that it wouldn't live up to the hype but because I tend to stay away from alien books. I can count on my hand how many alien books I've read and I guess I just picked the wrong ones because I was missing out on a seriously awesome book.

What makes this book stand out are the characters, not the fact that it is about an alien invasion. I'm sure there are plenty of alien books out there. There are plenty of survival books other there too but I can't remember the last time I read one like this.

The book is told from several points of view but the main character is Cassie. There were times when I couldn't stand her but most of the time her point of view was very enjoyable. She's a strong girl that is just trying to survive in a world. There's nothing special about her, she's just a teenager girl that found a way to keep living even when the odds are against her. I loved how determined she was to keep her promise to her little brother and that she still had a sense of humor while everyone she knew was being killed by aliens.

The point of view switched around frequently but I didn't mind that. I wasn't a fan of Sammy's point of view but I didn't hate it. I loved the part when it was from the Silencer's point of view. And I liked Cassie and Ben's point of views equally. Both POVs had were action packed and some parts were slower than others but overall they were both great.

The romance in the book was the only thing that bugged me. It moved way too fast for my taste but I liked how Cassie pointed this out. I have no idea why Evan fell in love with Cassie and how Cassie fell in love with Evan. At first Evan was a bit of a creeper. He finds Cassie and helps her get better but while she's getting better he bathes her when she's unconscious. He also like to lurk. Instead of acting like a normal person, he'll stand outside Cassie's door and wait. Despite that, somehow Cassie ends up liking him. I warmed up to Evan eventually but it took awhile. It was very obvious what was going on with him right from the beginning but I wasn't too annoyed by the lack of surprise.

I ended up loving this book more than I thought I would, The 5th Wave is now one of my favorite books of 2013. Everyone should definitely read this book.