Title: The 5th Wave
Author: Rick Yancey
Pages: 457
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publishing Date: May 7th, 2013
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publishing Date: May 7th, 2013
Audience: Young Adult
Source: Library (Randi & Becky)
Rating: 2 I'd give this book and awkward hug before running the other way (Randi) 3 I'd friend this book on Facebook, but I'd unfollow it in my feed (Becky)
Goodreads 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.
Our Thoughts
Randi in Black
Becky in Red
Well, I'll begin by saying that 1. I'm not a fan of aliens in my fiction (or non-fiction, I guess!), with the exception of one Daemon Black(I like aliens but not invasions). 2. However, I do love post-apocalyptic novels (Heck yes, The Road is A to the Mazing) ((Yes it is!!)). This means that this book should have started off on a neutral status with me . I'd heard nothing but awesomeness about this book, though, so perhaps I had some expectations (for me it started with extremely high hopes. The Monstrumologist was so outrageously good, it did not occur to me this book might stink up the apartment). Needless to say if you peeked at my two star rating above, any expectations I had were not met. I was a little disappointed that there were multiple viewpoints in this book, though I usually like them. (I wasn't bothered by the multiple POV, although usually I am, lol) After finishing the book, it makes sense based on what the novel was striving for, but I was not impressed.
Cassie was kind of a kick-butt narrator (for the chapters she had), but I really wasn't convinced by much else. (She was sometimes, but sometimes she was a catty, shallow, boy-obsessed teen. Blah.) A big reason I love post-apoc. fiction is because I adore that discussion of what makes us human, what happens to the people who are left after some cataclysmic event? While those themes were evident earlier in the book, they fell to the wayside in favor of a cheesy and somewhat predictable romance (Somewhat?). ((I was trying to be nice!!)) As the reader, I was apparently supposed to like both Ben and Evan. Oops, I didn't find either of them particularly desirable or interesting (They were both kind of bros). ((Hahaha!)) Ben's backstory with his little sister was not utilized enough to make me feel anything for him and, to me at least, he was a flat character whose motivations were not convincing.
Randi in Black
Becky in Red
Well, I'll begin by saying that 1. I'm not a fan of aliens in my fiction (or non-fiction, I guess!), with the exception of one Daemon Black(I like aliens but not invasions). 2. However, I do love post-apocalyptic novels (Heck yes, The Road is A to the Mazing) ((Yes it is!!)). This means that this book should have started off on a neutral status with me . I'd heard nothing but awesomeness about this book, though, so perhaps I had some expectations (for me it started with extremely high hopes. The Monstrumologist was so outrageously good, it did not occur to me this book might stink up the apartment). Needless to say if you peeked at my two star rating above, any expectations I had were not met. I was a little disappointed that there were multiple viewpoints in this book, though I usually like them. (I wasn't bothered by the multiple POV, although usually I am, lol) After finishing the book, it makes sense based on what the novel was striving for, but I was not impressed.
Cassie was kind of a kick-butt narrator (for the chapters she had), but I really wasn't convinced by much else. (She was sometimes, but sometimes she was a catty, shallow, boy-obsessed teen. Blah.) A big reason I love post-apoc. fiction is because I adore that discussion of what makes us human, what happens to the people who are left after some cataclysmic event? While those themes were evident earlier in the book, they fell to the wayside in favor of a cheesy and somewhat predictable romance (Somewhat?). ((I was trying to be nice!!)) As the reader, I was apparently supposed to like both Ben and Evan. Oops, I didn't find either of them particularly desirable or interesting (They were both kind of bros). ((Hahaha!)) Ben's backstory with his little sister was not utilized enough to make me feel anything for him and, to me at least, he was a flat character whose motivations were not convincing.
Anyway, that pretty much sums up my disappointment with this book. Though I am apparently in the extreme minority since the average Goodreads rating is 4.08 stars. Cheers!
You can do better Rick Yancey, you have done better. Leave the sappy love triangles to Ally Condie, please, for the love of Pete. Let's focus on your real strengths, Bromance and Gore. This could have been an epic story, but I will forget it in a few months (unless you make a movie, I'll come back for that).
You can do better Rick Yancey, you have done better. Leave the sappy love triangles to Ally Condie, please, for the love of Pete. Let's focus on your real strengths, Bromance and Gore. This could have been an epic story, but I will forget it in a few months (unless you make a movie, I'll come back for that).
