The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1) in Book BFFs

Apr 19, 2013 Angel rated it it was amazing

THE FEELS!!!!!!!!!

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Feb 25, 2013 Rachel Patrick rated it really liked it

Maybe that's my initial reaction. I don't really know, because I can't think of one word to describe this book. I'm not quite sure what my thoughts are on The 5th Wave. From what I've seen in other reviews, this book is amazing and epic and OH MY GOSH SO GOOD. So I was kind of expecting all that; I wanted to feel the hype. Maybe it's because of all the hype that I didn't feel it. But don't get me wrong--this book is really good. I just didn't see all the epicness so many people have been gushing Maybe that's my initial reaction. I don't really know, because I can't think of one word to describe this book. I'm not quite sure what my thoughts are on The 5th Wave. From what I've seen in other reviews, this book is amazing and epic and OH MY GOSH SO GOOD. So I was kind of expecting all that; I wanted to feel the hype. Maybe it's because of all the hype that I didn't feel it. But don't get me wrong--this book is really good. I just didn't see all the epicness so many people have been gushing about.

Let's get what I didn't like out of the way. While it didn't take long for me to get into the book, it wasn't quick, either. But that's because I was confused and trying to figure out what was going on. In case you didn't know, this book is about aliens invading Earth and basically destroying all of humanity--and it didn't play out how I thought it would. The book is divided into sections--mostly told between Cassie and Zombie, with a couple other characters having a small section. In the beginning, it's all Cassie. It flipped between the past and present, which sometimes got me a little lost--seeing when the aliens invaded and seeing after they had killed almost everyone. It wasn't until about 150 pages into the book (final copy is 480) that I really started getting into it, and that just grew with each chapter, each section. Sometimes I got confused with the mixes of past and present tense, as well as first and third person point of view, that would appear in the same chapter to show perspectives. My other confusion stemmed from the story itself--trying to understand it. I don't know a lot of military terms, so that threw me off a bit. And then there was everything about the aliens--trying to figure out what they were doing and how they were doing it. I understood most of it, but sometimes I just nodded my head and pretended I knew what was going on. And some things were kind of hard to believe. Like, there are aliens killing people--why would you be doing that?

I really liked the characters. Cassie, although sometimes a little too mean and bitchy (can you blame her when most everyone she knows is dead?), was the POV I liked reading from the most. Her adventure and path was the most interesting (especially because I'm a sucker for romance); she's trying to find her little brother, Sammy. Along the way she crosses paths with Evan Walker, who I really liked, for reasons. There's also Zombie, a soldier on the human side. (Sorry this is all vague, but telling you would be spoilery.) I liked how I, as the reader, couldn't really trust anyone--and not trusting anyone is one of the rules of survival in the book. I never really knew for sure who was the good guy and who was the enemy, who was a human and who was an alien. And that helped pull the story along, making me wanting all the answers.

The story itself was interesting, even if some things didn't work for me. At certain points I was on my toes, just wanting to know what on earth (hey, that's a pun!) was going to happen. I had several predictions, some of which came true. There were moments that made me smile and some moments that made me want to cry. There was romance (thank gosh!) and scenes that, thinking back on them, give me butterflies. There was action and thrills and death and just everything. It freaks you out a bit, trying to imagine a world like this--a world where over seven billion people are dead and you don't know when you'll die and you think you might be the last human on Earth. It's an interesting take on aliens taking over the world, and I enjoyed it.

The morning after I read The 5th Wave, when I was half awake, half asleep, my mind kept playing out this book. I can't quite remember, but I think a lot of it was me trying to figure out what on earth happened, trying to predict what will happen in book two. (And so this book has been flying in and out of my mind throughout the day. I think this might be one of those books that I like more over time.) I know I'm forgetting to mention something about this book, but I don't know what. I guess it kind of left me speechless. I barely have an idea what happened in that ending, and I have to wait a freaking year to find out. (I really, really need book two, because I need to know what happened with something before I go crazy.) This review may make it seem like I only kind of liked this book, but that's not the case--I really liked it. It was a lot different than what I had expected, but in a good way. However, I just don't see the epicness that everyone else seems to be talking about. I look forward to seeing just what the 5th Wave is and what it will bring to the rest of humanity. I have a feeling it's going to be crazy and one helluva ride, and I can't wait to ride it.

This review was originally posted--with proper formatting--on my blog Beauty and the Bookshelf. ...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Julie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub-reads, 2014-audiobook-challenge, 2014-ya-audiobook-challenge

The 5th Wave was one of those books that tries of offer a unique perspective on the human condition. I give it a very high 3.5 stars. I really liked Cassie and thought her reactions and behavior were relatable and real. She really gave a good understanding of what this type of alien invasion would feel like and look like. Her sarcastic attitude helped make the book enjoyable.

I also liked how smart this book was. There are some cool quotes you can pull and some good life lessons to be learned. Th ...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Vy rated it it was amazing

ALL THE STARS.

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Jul 07, 2013 Andi (Andi's ABCs) rated it liked it

Shelves: series

The review was originally posted on Andi's ABCs

Flat out, I was disappointed when I finished this one. I don’t know what I expected, but after all the love and the hype I just wanted something more and I just didn’t find it. Was it different than what I normally read? Absolutely. Did it keep me interested enough? Yup. But something wasn’t there for me and that left me feeling meh. There was a lot going on and a lot of characters and the whole thing was written in 3rd person even with the switch o The review was originally posted on Andi's ABCs

Flat out, I was disappointed when I finished this one. I don’t know what I expected, but after all the love and the hype I just wanted something more and I just didn’t find it. Was it different than what I normally read? Absolutely. Did it keep me interested enough? Yup. But something wasn’t there for me and that left me feeling meh. There was a lot going on and a lot of characters and the whole thing was written in 3rd person even with the switch of characters and that made it kind of hard to know who’s voice you were in. I think I really just expected more.

The book is about, well more like, starts with, Cassie. She is 17 year old girl that has had her family ripped apart by the alien invasion that occurred. Now alone she is trying to get to her brother that was taken to safety before the possible 5th wave happens. But on her journey she meets Evan. Now the question remains whether she should trust him or do as she has been doing for months and relying only on herself.

Okay so that isn’t the best description of the book, but it was really the best I could do. Like I said earlier there was A LOT going on in this book and Cassie seems to be the link to all of it in some way. Which actually was the only thing that I was able to grasp for the most part. Although I liked the writing, I had a problem with the style. Because there were so many characters and the whole book was written in 3rd person, I had trouble keep everything in order. When the audience was switched from Cassie to Zombie, it was heard to know whose scene/head I was supposed to be in because the voice didn’t change. That was my biggest grip next to the fact that there seemed to be 4 main characters and about 4 different stories happening. But on the plus I liked the characters a lot.

Cassie was strong but still vulnerable. She lost her whole family and didn’t know who to trust or what to do. Her character made sense and wasn’t the annoying, whiny girl she could have been. Evan was mysterious and sweet and left you guessing what his real story was. I wanted to trust him, but like Cassie I wasn’t sure I was supposed to. And then there was Zombie, a different man than when the book started. I figured out what his deal was in the beginning but I enjoyed how it was revealed and why he took on the identity that he did. I enjoyed parts of his story the most after all the Evan and Cassie stuff that I loved. And finally there was Cassie’s brother. He was kind of at the center of everything. Cassie may have brought all the stories together but Sam is how all the characters got together. That worked for me. I just think the lead up to get to that point was what muddled the story up. Or to be honest the hype that surrounded it.

In conclusion, I liked The 5th Wave. I really did. There were definitely parts I wasn’t crazy about and stuff that I was left scratching my head over as I tried to figure out what was actually going on, but I did like it. Did I love it like I was hoping, like a million others did? Not really. I’m not sure why, but it wasn’t what I thought I was going to get and that’s okay. I will still continue the series and I will still tell people to check out The 5th Wave if they want something with aliens that isn’t all that farfetched. But definitely not my favorite read of the year.

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May 29, 2013 Christopher rated it really liked it

Lived up to all the hype in my opinion...stellar story set up and character development..my only question is if it is a stand alone ( as it should be) or a series ( which it could be)

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