Saturday 1 June 2013

Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

 

From goodreads: 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.




This book was purchased following all the hype surrounding its release. Everybody was excited for The 5th Wave. Everybody was talking about it. So I simply had to see if it lived up to its hype…

And did it?

In short, yes. I loved this book! Don’t get me wrong – it wasn't without its flaws, but on the whole I really enjoyed it.

The book is written from multiple perspectives, and you see the story unfold through the eyes of Cassie (a teenager who has lived through the waved attacks that have brought earth to its knees), through the eyes of Ben Parish (Cassie’s high school crush – she’s loved Ben Parish for an eternity, but has he ever known she existed?) and through the eyes of Sammy (Cassie’s younger brother). You get to live the attack of aliens though three different perspectives. You get to see how the three of them struggle to survive. You get to see how their lives parallel and interweave, often without them knowing it… it’s very clever, and great to read.

Cassie is trying to trace her little brother who has gone missing along the way. Her first rule is ‘trust no-one’… so when she stumbles across love interest Evan Walker, she is torn. Trust him or don’t trust him? Does she even have a choice? And what about Ben Parish – the boy she has loved forever? Will Evan ever live up to his standards? Does it matter? Because surely Ben Parish is dead, right?

Anyone who has ever read any of my reviews will know that I love a good love story! I love to see characters fall in love, and when external influences throw problems in their path – I lap it up! So to see Cassie falling for Evan in the middle of an alien invasion, with the thoughts of her first love in the back of her mind was a totally perfect story for me. In fact, this almost overshadowed the alien invasion aspect of the book! ;-)

The parts of the book that were written from both Sammy and Ben Parish’s perspective drove home the impact of the alien invasion, which proved to be the perfect counterbalance to Cassie’s love turmoil.

So, what were the flaws in this book? Well, for me, whilst I loved the switching point of views – they also drove me crazy! The chapters weren’t marked – so I never knew whose perspective I was reading. I had to skip a few pages in to every chapter to try and figure out whose perspective it was. Very annoying – but a small price to pay.

I’m so glad that this book will have a sequel – I want to know more and I want to know it NOW! Unfortunately I, like the rest of the world, will have to wait until August 2014. Roll on August 2014….

3 comments:

  1. I'm planning to read this sometime this month so am really glad I've read your review. Glad you liked this one! :)

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  2. I've heard great things about this book, glad to hear you liked it :)

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  3. Great review, I thought exactly the same of you! Hype worthy, but with it's flaws. The multiple POV's were great, but who they were drove me crazy. And now the long wait begins...
    New reader!
    Sophie
    http://a-day-dreamers-world.blogspot.co.uk/

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