The 5th Wave: The First Book of the 5th Wave Series Paperback – February 10, 2015

I read so many of these YA alien/post-apocalyptic books and so many are forgettable. Not this book. It is an absolutely knock-out, can't-put-it-down thriller that will grab you from the first page and won't let go. I cannot recommend it enough.It helps that the author can really write. He easily gives voice to unique characters. Our main protagonist is Cassie - she is funny, sarcastic and utterly desolate after the destruction of Earth by an alien race. She is 100% believable and likable. Ultimately, she becomes the reader's voice in the book. She is you. She is me. She is much like Katniss in Hunger Games - a universal voice anyone can relate to. This is so important, because so many YA books have a protagonist who is too immature or unbelievable to relate to. And you will love Cassie's humor - that is how she handles the desolation of her world.Yancey also gives voice to two other main characters - Ben and Evan - one of whom is an alien (sort- of; think "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"). Both of their transformations in this book were fascinating to read. Which side to take - alien or human? It left me on the edge of my seat. I read this book until late in the night.I don't believe the criticisms of this book are well-warranted. For instance, why destroy the human population in five waves? Well, the aliens want to take the Earth in as pristine state as they can, so have to find a way to destroy humans without doing too much harm to the planet. They do so in waves - first, they take out our electronics (EM pulse), then create huge tsunamis that wipe out the coasts, then a plague, then a few other surprises until there are really very few humans left. Reading about each wave - as they are slowly introduced by our main characters - was really engaging. I kept wondering - OK, what happened in the next wave?Also, the aliens don't shirk from easier ways to dispose of the human population. They shirk from the idea of ultimately becoming human rather than eliminating us and taking the planet for themselves. They have the ability to snatch our bodies, but decide not to live out their lives as humans even though they are only a limited number of them because to do would be "beneath them."I also didn't experience this book as a 3-way love story. Ben and Cassie's "relationship" didn't develop to the end of the book and is cursory at best. The real love story is between the alien and the human, which ultimately transforms and redeems the alien.Yes, it would have been nice to have a little more information from Evan about the decision-making processes of the aliens. It would have been nice to have more information as to Evan's transformation as well. And yes, maybe it is hard to believe that an intelligent advanced alien race would travel all the way across the galaxy to destroy us, another intelligent race, and take our planet. But isn't this the premise of many great alien movies and books? Bad aliens vs. Good Humans. Sometimes it is bad humans vs. good aliens (think ET and Avatar and other Spielberg movies). We want their resources or they want ours. Really, it is all just symbolic of how we interact here on Planet Earth - humans invade each others countries, wipe each other off the face of the earth for land or resources. We've been doing so for a mighty long time. Plenty of evil, sadistic dictators around who remind me of Vosch in the book. Not making a political statement, just saying it really isn't that hard to suspend disbelief as some have said about this book. Yeah, you got to suspend disbelief anyway if you are reading a book about aliens to begin with, OK. Haven't met too many of those.Don't miss this book. The bottom line: It's a great, fun ride!

There wasn't much that I disliked about this book. Some parts were a bit slow, but they still interested because they built the new post 4th wave world. The other thing--the thing I had the biggest issue with was the point of view changes. The first time it switched, I barely registered that it was a completely different person for awhile. Then later, it switched to the "silencer," but in third person (the majority of the book was in first person). And later, again, it switched to Sammy in third person. I believe those two parts were the only ones that strayed outside the Ben or Cassie first person POV, and it felt a bit . . . uneven. Inconsistent too.Despite that, I believe Rick Yancey is a good writer. He did a wonderful job setting up the series of waves that were decimating the human population. He didn't jump right in and explain "this was wave one, this was wave two, etc." but instead began with a creepy and chilling intro that gave hints to something revealed later on. Then it went straight to Cassie. Through a combination of her lonely survival and her memories leading up to that point, the world building and explanations were built into the story, making it more developed and less awkward.The 5th wave itself was a well developed process. It was a scary idea the aliens had for it and I liked how it was built by a hint here, a hint there, and a lot of manipulation, brainwashing, and distrust everywhere.It was interesting to watch the characters finally figure it all out because the Others did a fantastic job in disguising themselves as the guys on the good side--the human side. Cassie, though, wasn't convinced. She learned a lesson, and she knew trust couldn't just be handed out freely. Appearances and statements could be lies. She had a bitter attitude that had developed when facing tragedy and dwindling hope. She pushed on, though, for her little brother.I feel like Sammy was the middle point of the story--one where everything else revolved around. He was young, innocent, and oh-so-malleable--a perfect type for the 5th wave. Ben made a promise to him because he broke the one he gave to his sister. Cassie made a promise, and she carried his teddy bear the entire journey to him. Sammy was able to inspire hope inside them in a hopeless world. He was able to remind them that all humanity wasn't lost. That little kid, without even trying, pushed Ben and Cassie to fight and to stay determined in order to keep their promises. Because of Sammy, they never gave up. He was the best addition to the story.Overall, this was a great book. It had a nice assortment of characters that all coped (or tried to) with certain death in their own way. It had a brilliant concept and development of it. It had great action and great connections between characters. This book isn't for everyone, but I do recommend it.