5th Wave

Sixteen-year-old Cassie(Cassiopeia) Sullivan is one of the unlucky ones that survived all four waves. The first wave- lights out, half of a million people dead in one day. The third wave wiped out ninety-seven percent of humans with a pestilence. Now all four waves have passed and all her loved ones are gone, except for her little brother, Sammy, whom she can not find. Cassie is alone with only her M16 rifle and Sammy’s teddy bear as her companion. Aliens have invaded Earth, and the world as she knows it is over. These are not stereotypical E.T. versions of sweet, harmless green aliens, these extraterrestrial creatures are undercover as humans and are determined to exterminate the human race. Since the aliens have disguised themselves, Cassie will not trust anyone, so she stays alone. But when Cassie meets Evan Walker, a mysterious yet beguiling guy, she knows he is her only hope of finding her brother. Now Cassie must choose: to put her life on the line while in despair and find her brother or to be intransigent and continue fending for herself.
The Fifth Wave, written by Rick Yancey, is an astonishing and suspenseful novel that leaves you captivated throughout the whole book. From page one, The Fifth Wave captivated my attention because of the incredible dystopian Yancey created. He did not develop a dystopian like any other, this one is being taken over by aliens, also know as the “Others”. The first they heard of the Others is when there were satellite pictures of the Mothership passing Mars, which is known as the Arrival. When this happened there was mayhem, humanity did not know how to prepare or what they were preparing for, so they: had parades, rooftop parties, sit ins at the UN, the Security Council went on lockdown, the president addressed the nation, and the majority of people went to Disney World. On the tenth day, the first wave came, that was lights out, a massive electromagnetic pulse wrenched through the atmosphere resulting in any form of electricity being cut out.  But for the Others that was just the beginning. The second wave came and it was surfs up. Some type of metal slab came crashing from high orbit into a major geological fault line, followed by a massive tsunami that wiped out the world coastlines. Only the lucky ones survived that attack, because approximately three billion people died. The attack that I personally think was the worst of them all, was the third wave. It was a virus known as “the blood plague” that took down most of humanity. It started as a simple cold, but then resulted into blood coming from every orifice, eventually taking over your mind. Soon the fourth wave came and so did the silencers, whom are assassinators. Silencers are were previously infected humans whose job were to kill the remnants of the human population. Now it is the dawn of the fifth wave. Cassie believes to survive you have to stand alone, this holds true until she is wounded by an unknown Silencer and is rescued by Evan Walker. Cassie has embarked on a mission to find and save Sammy, her five year old brother, from a military complex he was sent to by the Others. And Evan Walker might be her only chance of finding him, but she knows this peculiar farm boy is hiding something from her. Will Cassie open up to Walker and risk her life to find her brother or will she continue to be defiant and stay alone?
Overall, The 5th Wave is an electrifying and original novel, that I recommended to anyone that enjoys a good read. The characters Yancey created were so unique in their own way, which I really enjoyed. I especially like how the character development continues along with nonstop action and climaxes. For example, when Cassie goes on an adventure to find Sammy, she becomes more vulnerable, yet continues to be strong. The 5th Wave is an amazing novel, although the book was not flawless. The 5th Wave is told from two points of views, Cassie’s and Zombie’s, whom is boy that she reunites with from the past. As the point of views continued to change it was a very confusing. Nevertheless,  The 5th Wave is an action packed novel filled with lovable characters, big heroics, exciting surprises, romantic scenes, and heartfelt tragedies. If you want a change from typical post-apocalyptic stories, than The 5th Wave is for you.

Genre: Dystopian

Author: Rick Yancey