Title: The 5th Wave
Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The Fifth Wave, #1
Publication Date: 7th May 2013
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Source: Netgalley & Penguin Australia
Description
The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.
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.
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.
Review
Warning: This review is loaded with rant, and sarcasm, read at your own risk
First of all, let me say Oh My Goodness! The HYPE behind this book is phenomenal. Some trusted bloggers I follow are gushing about this book. I was so excited by their raving, but I was also concerned it wouldn't live up to the hype for me (wouldn't be the first time *cough* Crewel *cough*). I didn't let that stop me requesting it from Netgalley (and I later got a copy at the Penguin Teen Event about a month back).
I loved the start of this book. I didn't want to put it down. It wasn't the best thing I've read but it drew me into the story enough to keep me turning the pages.
Well, until I got to the end of part one, page 101 to be exact. That's where the story lost me. I started hating it, even screaming at it, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Multiple POV's. I'm not a fan of multiple POV's as it is. Not introducing them or giving some form of a "heads up" that the POV is changing and who to - REALLY frustrating. One minute your reading Cassie, for 101 pages and multiple chapters, then you finish part one and the first line of the next part is "Call me Zombie". Why would you call Cassie, Zombie? Keep reading, oh you are someone new, and somewhere new. Super. Part two finishes, and GUESS WHAT!
"It should have been easy. All he had to do was wait."
Again, nothing to do with "Zombies" story nor Cassie's. Oh, you're someone new too, and, you're where?
and so the parts of the book go. It's like "guess who" (you all know that game yeah?).
To top it off, no where and when I requested it at the time, no one, made mention of the multiple POV's. I was so constantly confused and it was frustrating.
There is also a POV of a 5 year old. Yep, that's right. A 5 year old. It was so pointless. I'm sure most of you have had a conversation with a 5 year old at one point or another. Can you imagine how much fun that POV is to read! JennyJen's review (see here) summed it up perfectly -
The sad part is that for an alien book (not mentioning the clichés) we learn basically nothing about the aliens themselves. Ok, there is a little bit in there but I wont spoil it for you, it would ruin what little there is to spoil. The whole alien invasion thing is just so disappointing (I also wont mention the fact that if they were to attack, we'd be squished before we know it, I'll pretend I buy into the 5 wave eliberate plan).
That brings me to the romance. Don't get excited - it's pathetic. Firstly Cassie meets him after he tried to kill her. She feels like she shouldn't trust him, but those eyes/lope sided grin/dimples (take your pick, they are all there) makes her forget her fighting attitude and her suspicions. Argh!
Then he's all madly in love with her, but he's meant to have lost the love of his life so what the?! Not to mention Cassie is "in love" with a high school crush but oh he's probably dead, lets no worry about him, I'll just keep looking into this strangers warm chocolate eyes and crooked smile, oh but he's creepy and something isn't right, but those eyes, oooo. BLAH.
Basically from pages 105 until around 358, I was wanting to throw it across the room. My poor husband kept giving me sad "oh you poor pathetic thing" looks (that's totally a look, I swear!) because I kept screaming at it.
By the time the characters started getting a clue and worked out what was happening, I had already worked it out about 200 pages beforehand.
If aliens invaded and the population behaved like this, I'd be worried for humanity for a completely different reason then the invasion. In fact, I think the population would deserve to be nullifed if they acted like this! It was completely frustrating reading how dumb they were. No one questioned anything, it was ridiculous. We are not sheep that follow their shepherd- real people would question things, not just follow blindly.
I know this sounds like I didn't like it, but I kind of did. It was mainly the simpleness of the characters in the middle and the silliness of them all that I didn't like. Cassie was great at the start of the book, right up until part 2. Ringer was kick ass and I actually kind of loved her ballsiness.
I found this to be good, but not great. The only reason I've given 3 stars and not 2 is that despite its size I read it fast and I wanted to know what would happen (and if they'd get an idea!), which means I found it interesting (mainly the beginning and end).
I believe there is another book coming out. I'd read it, but only to get better closure then the current ending we have. As my favourite character was actually the alien - yes there is a small POV on his side - I want to know where he ends up in all of this.
Do I think you should read it? Sure, why not. With this much hype, I'm pretty sure I'm in the small percentage of people that thought it was only ok.
First of all, let me say Oh My Goodness! The HYPE behind this book is phenomenal. Some trusted bloggers I follow are gushing about this book. I was so excited by their raving, but I was also concerned it wouldn't live up to the hype for me (wouldn't be the first time *cough* Crewel *cough*). I didn't let that stop me requesting it from Netgalley (and I later got a copy at the Penguin Teen Event about a month back).
I loved the start of this book. I didn't want to put it down. It wasn't the best thing I've read but it drew me into the story enough to keep me turning the pages.
Well, until I got to the end of part one, page 101 to be exact. That's where the story lost me. I started hating it, even screaming at it, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
Multiple POV's. I'm not a fan of multiple POV's as it is. Not introducing them or giving some form of a "heads up" that the POV is changing and who to - REALLY frustrating. One minute your reading Cassie, for 101 pages and multiple chapters, then you finish part one and the first line of the next part is "Call me Zombie". Why would you call Cassie, Zombie? Keep reading, oh you are someone new, and somewhere new. Super. Part two finishes, and GUESS WHAT!
"It should have been easy. All he had to do was wait."
Again, nothing to do with "Zombies" story nor Cassie's. Oh, you're someone new too, and, you're where?
and so the parts of the book go. It's like "guess who" (you all know that game yeah?).
To top it off, no where and when I requested it at the time, no one, made mention of the multiple POV's. I was so constantly confused and it was frustrating.
There is also a POV of a 5 year old. Yep, that's right. A 5 year old. It was so pointless. I'm sure most of you have had a conversation with a 5 year old at one point or another. Can you imagine how much fun that POV is to read! JennyJen's review (see here) summed it up perfectly -
"I see this. I see that. There's that thing and then I see another thing. Now I see a person." Insert another FML here for good measure.Here's an example, just so you know I'm not joking:
"Yep. And manned watchtowers and twenty-four seven video surveillance and twenty foot fencing topped with razor wire and big mean guard dogs that can smell a non human five miles away."Sammys nose crinkles. "That doesn't sound like heaven! That sounds like prison!" p.188
"My little brother was around your age," Megan says to Sammy. It sounds like an accusation: How come you're alive and he isn't?" p. 191Yeah, all 5 year olds think and speak like this. Especially when they are scared and have no family around them. I sure as heck know my son doesn't (he's 4 and a half btw).
The sad part is that for an alien book (not mentioning the clichés) we learn basically nothing about the aliens themselves. Ok, there is a little bit in there but I wont spoil it for you, it would ruin what little there is to spoil. The whole alien invasion thing is just so disappointing (I also wont mention the fact that if they were to attack, we'd be squished before we know it, I'll pretend I buy into the 5 wave eliberate plan).
That brings me to the romance. Don't get excited - it's pathetic. Firstly Cassie meets him after he tried to kill her. She feels like she shouldn't trust him, but those eyes/lope sided grin/dimples (take your pick, they are all there) makes her forget her fighting attitude and her suspicions. Argh!
Then he's all madly in love with her, but he's meant to have lost the love of his life so what the?! Not to mention Cassie is "in love" with a high school crush but oh he's probably dead, lets no worry about him, I'll just keep looking into this strangers warm chocolate eyes and crooked smile, oh but he's creepy and something isn't right, but those eyes, oooo. BLAH.
Basically from pages 105 until around 358, I was wanting to throw it across the room. My poor husband kept giving me sad "oh you poor pathetic thing" looks (that's totally a look, I swear!) because I kept screaming at it.
By the time the characters started getting a clue and worked out what was happening, I had already worked it out about 200 pages beforehand.
If aliens invaded and the population behaved like this, I'd be worried for humanity for a completely different reason then the invasion. In fact, I think the population would deserve to be nullifed if they acted like this! It was completely frustrating reading how dumb they were. No one questioned anything, it was ridiculous. We are not sheep that follow their shepherd- real people would question things, not just follow blindly.
I know this sounds like I didn't like it, but I kind of did. It was mainly the simpleness of the characters in the middle and the silliness of them all that I didn't like. Cassie was great at the start of the book, right up until part 2. Ringer was kick ass and I actually kind of loved her ballsiness.
I found this to be good, but not great. The only reason I've given 3 stars and not 2 is that despite its size I read it fast and I wanted to know what would happen (and if they'd get an idea!), which means I found it interesting (mainly the beginning and end).
I believe there is another book coming out. I'd read it, but only to get better closure then the current ending we have. As my favourite character was actually the alien - yes there is a small POV on his side - I want to know where he ends up in all of this.
Do I think you should read it? Sure, why not. With this much hype, I'm pretty sure I'm in the small percentage of people that thought it was only ok.
★★★
Liked It
Liked It
