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.
Date Published: May 7, 2013
Pages: 474
Genres: Young adult, science fiction, romance
I have seen promotions of this book everywhere and I knew it was going to
be a good one. I hate being wrong.
Ten days after the Other’s arrival, the first wave was unleashed, an
immense electromagnetic pulse. Not only was electricity not functioning, but
anything battery operated; from cell phones to cars. The second wave came when
the Others dropped a rod, three times larger than the Empire state building,
along fault lines surrounding the continents, causing a massive tsunami wiping
any coastline population. The third wave was more unforeseen, with birds
carrying a disease and decimating the remaining population. The fourth wave was
humans infested with Others picking off any survivors they could find. The
fifth wave? Well you’ll have to read it to find out.
The starting wasn't the worst; it was good enough to keep my attention. The
main character Cassie was introduced. There’s a lot on how she has a crush on a
boy named Ben Parish and I mean a lot. This was a boy she talked to once. Then
again she’s a teenager and apparently she has the time to fantasize about him
while trying to survive the apocalypse. A girl’s got to have something happy to
focus on and keep her sane. There were interesting details on each wave and we
found out how Cassie and her family survived those tenuous times.
This post-apocalyptic novel had way too many narrators: Cassie, Zombie,
the Silencer, Sam and probably someone else I forgot. I felt like this made the
story’s flow more turbulent. It threw me off. I was 45% in, when I finally
became exasperated with the change in POVs. It was completely off putting.
Personally, I didn't think the characters were all that interesting. I did want
to find out what happened and see if I predicted correctly or not, but at the
same time it was quite dull. Cassie’s
character was strong in the beginning but because of the shift in narrations,
it became muddled. I lost pace with her story. I think out of the entire cast I
was most curious about Sam, Cassie's baby brother, and what was happening to him. It would have been
better if the entire book was him narrating.
I had such a hard time completing the book and I literally had to force
myself, hoping the next chapter would be better. I only got up to 60% and I
couldn't finish it. I mean there was only less than half left, I thought I
could do it and I did read 10% more. However, at 70% I gave up. This book was
simply boring and very predictable.
I believe I was 40% in when the pace slowed down and when it finally
picked up again, I just couldn't bring myself to care. The sad thing was that there
weren't many aliens as I anticipated. 5th
Wave was a long book that seemed even longer, with the forced romance
(chocolate breath…seriously?) and predictable mystery and suspense. I went
through 70% of the book and I was surprised at the lack of romance. I mean, I could see the beginnings of one. Some
reviews I read had stated how the latter half was all teenage romance. I didn't
find that to be true at all, maybe the last 30% I didn't read had it?
Even though the storyline was promising, the end product didn't do it for
me. Don’t believe the hype! I can go on and on about why I personally didn't
like it, but I think if I do that I will give out spoilers unintentionally. So,
I shall sign off here. Live long and prosper.
