Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Review: The 5th Wave

The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Pages: 457




Summary

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.
 
 
I stayed away from reviews and actually picked it up because my sister said a lot of people loved it. That's when I noticed all the praise for the book. So this was a book that had high expectations. Now, I don't think it lived up to the expectations, but it's still a solid book.

The plot isn't anything too unique. The world is great and the different waves of the invasion is creative. And the ending is good and a solid lead-in to the next book. But, otherwise nothing special. Some things are easy to see coming. The romance is sometimes cheesy and obvious. And the set up for a love triangle is there from the beginning. And at the beginning, it is somewhat hard to tell the POVs apart. That gets easier as you get to know the characters more.

A few characters work while a few don't. One that doesn't is sadly Cassie, the main character. She gets better near the end, but for the most part I didn't really like her. She feels whinny and immature. Her five-year-old brother, Sammy, is more mature most of the time. I know she is supposed to be scared, but that rarely comes across. Ben, on the other hand, is a character that works. He is flawed, but strong and likable. I feel like he is the most developed and well rounded character. Evan is a character I'm just on the fence about. He is creepy most of the time and defiantly not sweet like I think Yancey was trying to do. But I like what he is when he isn't with Cassie. And I like where I see his character going, or at least where I think he's going, more than most of the characters. And Ringer is just a badass and that's about all you need to know about her.

So what do I think about the book as a whole? I like it and I do recommend it. I don't think it necessarily deserves the hype it got. And it was nowhere near perfect. But I did really like it, can't say love, and I am looking forward to the sequel.


 

 

1 comment:

  1. I couldn't get enough of this one, while I don't really agree with you when you say that this world isn't something new. I do agree with your four star rating. I felt, that yes the world is ending in this book like it does in many now, but I felt that the way it was ending was completely different. Instead of zombies, it was "aliens". The waves were interesting, and made me questions as to why the "aliens" just didn't kill the entire population at once...but I guess we'll find that out in one of the next books! Thanks for your honest review!

    Lisa
    www.turningpages94.blogspot.com

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