The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1)by Rick Yancey
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Does humanity fade when the will to survive kicks in?
This was an underlying tone to literally every scene that happens in this story. The human race is dwindling and only the strong survive. Who is human? Who is a human in disguise? And finally, who has turned against their own kind or gone rogue? There are so many rules one must abide by if they wish to live, and so many rules that must be broken. How can someone truly survive alone, both mentally and physically, without going crazy?
Cassie is on the run and on her own. She knows she must trust no one and not think twice about what must be done to survive and save her brother. In the beginning we see mostly flashbacks of her former life where her family was still alive.
This wasn’t my favorite part of the book-I’m not one to like past tense situations in a book if they aren’t essential, so, for me, this book was slow during those parts. I did like seeing why she “loved Ben Parish”-the flashbacks were funny and totally relatable. Everyone has a high school crush, and I think these tidbits made the story somewhat lighthearted.
When it does finally become wholly present, we start seeing a constant switch of POVs with each new part. At first I found it a little confusing, but when the story started growing more intense I started to look forward to seeing from even the soldier’s POV as well as Cassie’s. You could see how these two people were living at the same time and how different their situations were-how quickly they were figuring things out, how close they were getting to coming to the same conclusion, and ultimately, if they would ever cross paths. It started becoming essential that I get to the next page, the next chapter-I couldn’t get through the pages fast enough! I don’t know what part because there were just so many, but after we got through the introductions to each person in each part, the story started to go by so fast with so much happening that the thought of putting the book down became unbearable.
The only thing, aside from a few lagging areas, I didn’t like was Sammy’s POV. I didn’t really care to delve into his story too far, and I think that many chapters for him was too much. He talked like everyone else but he was only 5? This was really the biggest problem for me.
So overall, this was a very intriguing read and different from anything else I have read lately. It was creepy, intense, and heartbreaking. He did manage to throw some hope and desperation in there, but more often than not, we felt like nothing could ever get better, and what were they going to do when(if) they got what they wanted anyway? I liked all the main characters and never really knew who to root for. I have so many thoughts and so many overwhelming emotions that I couldn’t possibly get them all into this review. I hate that I want the second book right now, because lord only knows when THAT is coming out. So to sum up-an intense but good story, characters that you want to hear more about, and a plot that thickens with each coming chapter. While not for everyone, anyone who wants a new story with a twist, this is the book for them.
Oh, and Cassie? Grow your hair out…for EVERYONE’s sake lol.
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