The 5th Wave
by Rick Yancey
Series: The 5th Wave (Book 1)
Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: Speak; Reissue edition (February 10, 2015)
Rating: 5/5

Book 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.

My Review:

I simply loved this book. From the very beginning it’s a gripping read. Once you get about a third of the way through the book it is non-stop, filled with action, love, and suspense. I can’t even put into words how incredible this book is. It was a wonderfully designed plot, and intricate characters. If you like apocalyptic, science fiction stories filled with aliens and the end of the world scenarios, and an incredible love story than this book is definitely for you!

Cassie.
Not Cassie for Cassandra.
Not simply Cassie.
But Cassie for Cassiopeia.

Evan Walker.
Not just a farm boy.
Not just a boy who has lost his entire family.
But Evan. Complicated. Conflicted.

Ben Parish.
Not just your average jock.
Not just a boy Cassie used to have a crush on.
But a soldier. Honest. True. Honorable.

These three have survived the first four waves from the aliens that came from the skies. The waves had wiped out most of humanity, but still, these three survived somehow. Cassie is alone, trying her best to survive, not really sure where to go or what to do to get her brother back. And as she travels she has flashbacks from their arrival. Flashbacks of what happened to her mother, her father, people that survived the first four waves and made a camp together. Along her journey of trying to figure out what to do Cassie is shot by a silencer and left for dead. But Evan, farm boy, shy, sweet Evan finds her and helps her. Evan and Cassie are instantly drawn to each other, their attraction for each other undeniable. Evan encourages Cassie to stay with him, that he’ll take care of her, that going after her brother is suicidal, but Cassie won’t be swayed. She has to rescue her brother even if it means her death. Just one problem, Evan refuses to let her go without him. Together they set out to rescue Sammy, but secrets and betrayal surround them. Despite it all, Cassie has to do whatever it takes to save her baby brother. Still the question lingers, can they infiltrate Camp Haven and save her brother from the inevitable 5th wave?

Meanwhile, in Camp Haven, Ben has miraculously survived the virus and is trained to be a soldier. The soldiers at Camp Haven have uncovered a horrible truth. Ben suits up, stricken with grief over the death of his family, but pushes his sorrow way down inside of himself. He trains, hard. Desperate to get back at the aliens that took so much from him. He befriends the members in his squad, and they become a formidable team. Once they’ve completed their training, they are sent out on a mission to take care of alien hostiles. But what they find is an undeniable truth. A truth so dark, it turns your insides out.

Inside the camp and outside the camp the world is crumbling and people are turning on people, all because of the horrible things the aliens have done to them. But despite it all, can these three overcome all of this and save the one thing they have in common? A little boy that has come to mean so much to them. To Cassie, her brother. To Ben, his friend and a promise he refuses to break. And to Evan, what it means to be human.

I simply couldn’t put this book down. I read this book because I saw the movie trailer and just couldn’t believe how exciting it seemed. The book is amazing, gripping, with a wonderful fast paced plot, completely action packed, a great love story that is gripping and intense, truly marvelous memorable characters and so much more. Be sure to check it out before the movie comes out in January. And just in case you haven’t seen the trailer be sure to check it out too!

Movie Trailer:

About the Author:

Rick is the author of fifteen novels and a memoir. His books have been published in over thirty languages and have earned numerous accolades and awards from around the world. His young adult novel, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, was named a “Best Book of the Year” by Publishers Weekly and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. In 2010, Rick received a Michael L. Printz Honor for The Monstrumologist. The sequel, The Curse of the Wendigo, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His latest novel, The 5th Wave, the first in an epic sci-fi trilogy, made its worldwide debut in 2013, and will soon be a major motion picture for GK Films and Sony Pictures.