The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1) in YA and Beyond

Aug 15, 2013 Ayesha rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, badass-heroines, ooo-nice-cover

Well well, what do we have here Mr Yancey? A post-apocalyptic sci-fi with aliens and badass characters? Heh, don't mind if I do ;)

I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with The 5th Wave after seeing many mixed, and some very unexpected, reviews from fellow Goodread-ers. But I can definitely say one thing: I was not left unsatisfied.

The 5th Wave is written (mainly) from Cassie Sulliven and Ben Parish's point of view. However, we also get a glimpse of things through Sammy Sullivan and Evan Walker ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 01, 2016 A.B. Shepherd rated it really liked it

Really enjoyed this book. It would have gotten 5 stars if not for a really huge plot hole.

****************
SPOILER ALERT

It made absolutely no sense that Cassie was not allowed to go on the bus with the kids because she was too old at 16, yet Zombie and Ringer who were the same age as Cassie were indoctrinated.

END SPOILER
****************

As far as apocalyptic YA fiction goes, though. This is a pretty good one. Aliens, a bit of (mostly) innocent romance, and a purpose to keep going, all add up to a ...more

Like · see review

Jul 31, 2014 Amrita Poptani rated it it was ok

Shelves: blah-romance, badass-heroin, now-thats-action, overrated, apocalyptic, meh-world-building

Okay. I think i'm insulted but i'm not sure. Rick Yancey wrote from 2 or 3 povs (i'm not sure cause they all sounded like the same person- it was confusing at 1st) and one of these povs is from a girl named Cassie Sullivan. I'll cut to the feeling insulted part- it's the end of the world, she's lost everyone and she keeps thinking about how hot Ben Parish or Evan Walker is and those love scenes with kissing or cuddling? OMG I'VE NEVER FELT THIS SELF AWARE WHILE READING A BOOK BEFORE. Is this how Okay. I think i'm insulted but i'm not sure. Rick Yancey wrote from 2 or 3 povs (i'm not sure cause they all sounded like the same person- it was confusing at 1st) and one of these povs is from a girl named Cassie Sullivan. I'll cut to the feeling insulted part- it's the end of the world, she's lost everyone and she keeps thinking about how hot Ben Parish or Evan Walker is and those love scenes with kissing or cuddling? OMG I'VE NEVER FELT THIS SELF AWARE WHILE READING A BOOK BEFORE. Is this how men think we women think? Maybe some of us and maybe sometimes but sweet baby Jesus no- just. No. It was so weird. It's not that a guy is the author and is writing these scenes- it's that I REMEMBER that a guy wrote this, thinking *hmm yes a girl will act this way* WHILE READING and other books with male authors have never made me feel... Errrggghhh *twitches* ...

There's this saying that i'm going to paraphrase here: a writer doesn't state the fact that it is raining, a writer makes you feel that it is raining. Rick Yancey did not make me feel all lovey dovey over Cassie's and Evan's whole romance the way I felt about Peta and Katniss or Katy and Damon (the Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout). I mean if you're gonna add romance in the story even as a side story... I don't even know. It was just really weird.

That annoyed me the most since it took up quite a bit of the book. The other bits of the book were taken up by Cassie going on and on and on about how we're cockroaches and doomed and we, humans, are pretty much dead now that aliens are here.

Finally, the world building. Meh. That's right. MEH. Honestly, it wasn't that great. It wasn't even good. Alot of what the world is like or how it came to be that way was given to us in a very repetitive fashion. At 1st I was really interested in the whole 5 waves thing but after finding out... It didn't blow me away or anything. Here I would suggest Partials by Dan Wells. Now that series had AMAZING world building. Even the Razorland series. Neither have aliens but the post apocalypticness of those books were way more impressive.

There are only TWO reasons why I will read the sequel; 1 I want to know about Evan and 2 I want to know about Ben. It's odd really, because when I started I was totally loving Cassie and was really disgusted by both Evan and Ben. This is why it gets 2.5 stars- cause the growth and change I saw in Ben was something I didn't expect and well, Evan's fate in the next book could save this story. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 03, 2015 Christina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series-books, own, 2016-reading-challenge

I really haven't read a lot of books like the 5th wave so I don't have a ton to compare it to but I flew threw it and I really liked it as a whole but it did have its pros and cons.

PROS: the writing style I absolutely loved! Rick Yancy has such a quirkiness to his writing and I felt like it brought the characters to life in this story. It was funny and sarcastic and mellow dramatic. Almost everything you wouldn't expect in a post apocalyptic novel but it worked and it kept me engaged in the sto ...more

Like · see review