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The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1)

Rick Yancey

Start date: January 1, 2016

Finish date: January 31, 2016

Discussion: THE 5TH WAVE

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THE 5TH WAVE

THE 5TH WAVE (NO SPOILERS)
By April (Aprili… · 9 posts · 106 views

last updated Aug 20, 2016 05:03PM

THE 5TH WAVE (SPOILERS)
By April (Aprili… · 22 posts · 107 views

last updated Jan 31, 2016 09:29PM

What Members Thought

Aug 03, 2013 Mom2triplets04 rated it liked it

Shelves: books-i-own-read

I started out reading this for my book club. Wanted to read it before the movie comes out. I switched to audio in the middle of the book. This book is told in multiple points of view. I loved Cassie's story and Sam's story. As for the other characters not so much. I just watched the trailer and I think the movie will probably be better than the book. ...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Manda (The Glittery Nerd) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, 2013

Oh my!!!! So good, so many feels. Can't review right now... Still living it!! ...more

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May 06, 2013 Amber Smoke rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, favourite-books, series, too-many-feels, dat-cover, pretty-damn-good

Wow.

This book has snatched a place in my top 5 of 2013 so far because it really is one of the best books I've read. The fan-girling hasn't set in yet but I assure you, this one is a goodun.

Cassie for Cassiopeia Sullivan is one of the best female protagonists I have ever read. She's is independent, hard core yet vulnerable, properly intelligent in a resourceful, instinctive and logical manner and is a sarky, interesting heroine who really carries the story. This story really is intense and very ...more

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May 31, 2013 Annette rated it it was amazing

Shelves: loved-this

There comes a time when a book piles up so many positive reviews from people whose opinions you trust, that, well, you just have to read it for yourself. In my case this was one of those books.

And my verdict? It's a five star read!

Rick Yancey may be a man, but he's a man who knows how to write compelling and complex characters. Characters who make you feel something, everything. When we first meet Cassie (the only female p.o.v. character) she's getting trigger happy in a convenience store and wh There comes a time when a book piles up so many positive reviews from people whose opinions you trust, that, well, you just have to read it for yourself. In my case this was one of those books.

And my verdict? It's a five star read!

Rick Yancey may be a man, but he's a man who knows how to write compelling and complex characters. Characters who make you feel something, everything. When we first meet Cassie (the only female p.o.v. character) she's getting trigger happy in a convenience store and while that might not be the most relatable situation, it certainly gets your attention, and then you hear her reasons. You start to see how she survives in this brave new world, how she's lasted so long. And you think "I could be Cassie." And that's pretty darn scary.

Beyond the great characters this book also offers bucket loads of suspense - alien mother ships, snippers, stalkers, creepy military operations, you name it. This is the sort of apocalypse where it's a matter of when you die, not if, and any time gained in the world of the living is a lucky surprise - I now understand the Hunger Games references (I was sort of mystified by them going in). In the words of one of the characters (slightly edited because I lost the page reference): "the only way to go forward [remain brave] isn't to find something to live for, it's to find something worth dying for..."

Now I'm a sucker for a romance plot line and at the start of this novel, after meeting Cassie and then finding out Ben, her high school crush, lived despite her assumptions he's dead, I thought I knew what was coming next. I had no clue. Another reason why this book rocks so much. Now I don't want to give any more spoilers but I will say that her love interest in this book had me in undecided territory right up until the final pages when he totally won me over and I want to see a whole load of p.o.v from him in book two!

Now for the ending: cliff hangers suck, but since I'm fairly sure that the character everyone's worried about is too major to be written out, I'm just going to chill, basking in the knowledge that come 2014 I'll probably see him again. And let me tell you, that's one title I'm putting on pre-order.

What I liked best: the ensemble cast, the alien/mystery/suspense elements, the romance, the p.o.v. characters' pithy/humorous observations, that damn teddy bear.

http://bookblather.wordpress.com/2013... ...more

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Nov 07, 2013 Ana rated it really liked it

Earth is being invaded by aliens. When they approached Earth, humans thought that the aliens were looking for some sort of communication. But then the First Wave began: lights out. Followed by the Second Wave: Surf's Up. Most of the human population died in the Third Wave: Pestilence. Cassie, her father, and little brother survived the first three waves and are trying to survive the Fourth Wave. When Cassie's little brother is taken by what her father and herself thought to be human soldiers, la Earth is being invaded by aliens. When they approached Earth, humans thought that the aliens were looking for some sort of communication. But then the First Wave began: lights out. Followed by the Second Wave: Surf's Up. Most of the human population died in the Third Wave: Pestilence. Cassie, her father, and little brother survived the first three waves and are trying to survive the Fourth Wave. When Cassie's little brother is taken by what her father and herself thought to be human soldiers, later to find out that they were Silencers, she knows she needs to save her brother before it is too late.

When I was reading this book, in many ways, it reminded me of The Road by Cormac McCarthy. The writing style seemed pretty similar, somewhat scary and macabre. Especially in the way that the book starts off, the first thought that came to mind was how similar it seemed to McCarthy's novel.

For it being a young adult post-apocalyptic novel, it was very different to many others that I have read. It did not tone down the events that occurred. It still was pretty limited in the descriptions it provided but compared to other novels in this genre, it was not afraid to create this world in which one could easily imagine yourself and visualize how this could have happened in the world we currently live in.

One of the things that I enjoyed about this book was the change of perspective. The beginning of the novel starts off with Cassie's perspective, which I think it is very necessary in order to be introduced into this world and get some background on what happened before she goes in search of her little brother. The other perspectives, such as Ben Parish's, who also happens to be Cassie's high school crush, are needed in order to give information that Cassie is not aware of. With the other perspectives, it shows you how much society has deteriorated and how the aliens have been able to control the few remaining humans that continue to stay alive.

Another thing that I enjoyed is how it questions the idea of being alive and what it means to be human. Especially under the circumstances the characters are in, it makes sense why they start asking these questions to themselves. I would elaborate more on this point but I am afraid that would also involved giving out spoilers and I shall refrain from doing so.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book quite a lot. I know a lot of people have already read this book, so I am kind of late to the party. But now I totally understand the hype surrounding this book. I am also aware it has a movie adaptation starring Chloe Grace Moretz, which I will now look forward to. ...more

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