The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1) in Owls Be Reading

Sep 11, 2015 Lonna | FLYLēF rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015-challenge

Original Post: The 5th Wave at FLYLēF (www.flylef.com)

“THEY’VE TAKEN EVERYTHING worth living for. Now they’ve come to take the things worth dying for.”

I woke up to a start the first night I read The 5th Wave. At some point in the mist of reading about the 4th Wave—Pestilence—I fell asleep on the couch (it was a terribly long day), and my mind must have continued the story into my dreams. There I was in REM, living through an apocalypse. And, I’ll admit; my survival skills were pathetic.

This FLYLēF Book Reviews

Original Post: The 5th Wave at FLYLēF (www.flylef.com)

“THEY’VE TAKEN EVERYTHING worth living for. Now they’ve come to take the things worth dying for.”

I woke up to a start the first night I read The 5th Wave. At some point in the mist of reading about the 4th Wave—Pestilence—I fell asleep on the couch (it was a terribly long day), and my mind must have continued the story into my dreams. There I was in REM, living through an apocalypse. And, I’ll admit; my survival skills were pathetic.

This is my first book by Rick Yancey, and I highly regret letting this book sit on my nightstand for as long as I did. Quite simply, this is one of the best books I’ve read this year. Mr. Yancey’s prose is superb—each paragraph is lyrical and laden with emotions to weave an intricate and gripping epic tale of catastrophic loss in a world on the cusp of extinction. It is told through the thought-provoking narratives of four compelling individuals: Cassie—the defiant, Ben—the courageous, Evan—the enigma, and Sammy—the hope.

It’s the dawn of the 5th Wave, and Cassie has only two missions: stay alive and rescue Sammy from the Others—beings who only look human, who kill anyone they see. How can she fight an enemy she can’t detect? To stay alive is to trust no one, until she meets Evan Walker. Charming as he is mysterious, Evan may be Cassie’s only hope to stay alive and rescue her brother. But, can she trust him?

I enjoyed all the characters, but the most memorable one, the one that still lingers in my thoughts is Evan. He is extremely complex. The depths of his struggle, the torment he endures, and the shocking final revelation that he makes by the end of the book are profound, heartbreaking, and enlightening.

So much more than an alien invasion, this is a beautiful and captivating story about humanity’s rise above disparity, hopelessness, and hatred. Mr. Yancey writes an original and remarkable tale with characters whose hope, courage, and above all—love—forge the blade that will cut deeply into our souls and leave a lasting memory long after the last page is turned.

I have a deep admiration for Mr. Yancey’s writing. I can’t wait to continue this series with The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave 2).
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Jun 13, 2013 Tracey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-stars

I had a nice long, detailed review written out and accidentally deleted it before I could save it. I'm so cranky with myself. Anyway, the book was brilliant! I loved it! I can't wait to start The Infinite Sea and see what happens next. ...more

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May 13, 2013 Joy (joyous reads) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: cant-put-these-down, favourites

The invasion happened like a masterful thief in the night. Humans didn't know, wouldn't have known until they actually made their presence known by unleashing the most brilliantly executed form of invasion. It came in five waves: First - an E.M.P blast strong enough to take out all forms of communications, power and every technological apparatus known to man. Cell phones, electricity, planes, and automobiles instantly died. Second - the big one. An earthquake that took out most of the coastal ci The invasion happened like a masterful thief in the night. Humans didn't know, wouldn't have known until they actually made their presence known by unleashing the most brilliantly executed form of invasion. It came in five waves: First - an E.M.P blast strong enough to take out all forms of communications, power and every technological apparatus known to man. Cell phones, electricity, planes, and automobiles instantly died. Second - the big one. An earthquake that took out most of the coastal cities all over the world, therefore drowning almost half of the population. Third - pestilence. An airborne Ebola virus that pretty much guaranteed whoever survived the earthquake wouldn't survive the epidemic. Fourth - the Silencer. Aliens trained to take out every human they see by putting a bullet to their heads. So the "cleansing" was almost complete until the fifth wave, which was brilliant in such a way that it was a form of psychological warfare. But you'll have to read the book for you to find out.

It was a strategic plan that the aliens had used against humans because they knew how we think and they were always one step ahead. Rick Yancey made it even more credible via his characters. It was enough to make you think that everything you've read was entirely possible. And man,Yancey knew plot twists like he invented the concept. It took me a couple of tries before I wrapped my head around it but by the time I figured it out, I was entranced and completely in awe. It was like an M. Night Shyamaylan movie playing out right before your eyes. And love him or hate him, the guy would be the man for the job to bring this book to life. Sorry (not sorry).

The fact that the aliens aren't your garden variety cone heads with dark onyx eyes only added to the suspenseful element of the book. The author would have you on tenterhooks along with the characters who were anxiously waiting for the fifth wave of the attack.

Cassie was an incredible force of a character. Her stream of consciousness vacillated between fear, anger and determination beyond any of us could ever muster. If you can even believe it, there is a romance in here that will hit you like a speeding freight train. And it's so sweet and so impossible but lovely in all the ways I love my romances in a book.

After reading this book, I have concluded that sometimes, the hype machine actually knows what it's talking about.
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Apr 18, 2014 Alexandra rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Did you think that you knew sci-fi with E.T and ALIEN or even X-Files?

You are completely wrong! With "the 5th Wave" you will change your mind concerning sci-fi novels. While I was avoiding the book because of the summary, yes I didn't like the summary (shoot me please), when i read the prologue i got so hooked with the plot and I didn't put it down. There were points in which i screamed and some in which i even cried.

Cassie lived through the 4 Waves, 4 actions of the Others (aliens duh), which m ...more

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Jan 01, 2016 Meg rated it it was amazing

I need the next book!

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Oct 11, 2015 Kim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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 myster

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.

Wow! I loved every minute of this book! I got into it right from the start, and practically stayed glued to the book until the end. I read it in two days, and it’s four-hundred and fifty pages, ya’ll! For some of you, I know that’s not all that impressive, but I think maybe it’s a record for me.

The 5th Wave was really exciting. Not so much with a lot of action, but more like nail-biting suspense. I really liked Cassie, and I was always worried about her. She was tough, a survivor (literally), but she still had emotions and cared about the people she loved, even in the face of such a bleak future. She reminded me of Katness, and I love Katness (she’s my hero). Anyhow, Cassie was great, she never gave up. I liked Cassie’s family too, though her Dad seemed a little dense. Just too trusting, I guess. I worried about her little brother, Sammy, almost as much as I worried about Cassie. All the characters were well-developed, in fact, even though the perspective changes back-and-forth throughout the book, usually I was able to easily figure out who was “talking”. Although, I still would have appreciated having a name at the beginning of the chapter though, for those times it did take me a page or two to figure it out.

I felt like the story moved along at a good pace and never dragged. Like I said earlier, I pretty much raced through it. I think it’s one of those books that I would like to go back at some point in time and re-read, just because I probably missed some things by reading it so fast. I was just always like, “OMG, what’s going to happen now?” I totally got lost in The 5th Wave, which is exactly what I love to read books for in the first place, to get lost in another world, another place.

I have to hand it to Mr. Yancey, this is one of the best books I’ve read in quite a while, and if I could give it more than five stars I would, but five is as high as my ratings go, so that will have to do. Read this book if you haven’t already! And for the love of god, please don’t just go see the movie, or say “I’ll read the book after I see the movie”. I know most of you wouldn’t do that, because that’s like, sacrilege, but I just have to put it out there just in case. Read the book! 5 stars.
This review was originally posted on Bookworm Book Reviews ...more

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