This book was a cross between The Host and Independence Day. It’s your typical alien invasion story really, except it’s told in the point of view of a few different protagonists.
We get one chapter with the protagonist being an “Other”. Later we find out who he really is – which I predicted btw. He’s the one who shoots Cassie in the leg.
First it’s of Cassie and she explains all the waves that have currently happened:
First Wave: Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP)
Second Wave: Metal rods twice the size of the Empire State Building dropped from the upper atmosphere onto all the coastal areas.
Third Wave: Disease from bird poop. (Killed 97% of those who were left after the 2nd wave)
Fourth Wave: Humans who had a sleeper alien in them are awoken and are tasked with killing the remaining humans off.
We then go through her journey of getting through the Fourth Wave. We don’t find out what the Fifth Wave is until we get to Ben Parish’s chapters (though he’s called Zombie at first). The Fifth Wave is the Others (coined by Cassie) training the remaining children to fight so they can “save” the human race. They have no idea it’s actually the aliens training them to kill off the rest of humankind. It isn’t until the last few chapters that a group of the kids (including Ben) find out and run away.
We get a chapter as Sammy – Cassie’s Brother and his perspective is harder to read because he’s 5.
Overall this was a pretty good book, I enjoyed reading it. I do want to get the rest in the series eventually but I’m not in a huge rush to read them.
Juvenile Fiction
Puffin
February 10, 2015
512
A New York Times bestseller A USA Today bestseller Winner of the 2014 Red House Children’s Book Award 2014 Children’s Choice Book Awards Finalist for Teen Book of the Year A YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults A YALSA 2014 Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers A Booklist 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults A VOYA 2013 Perfect Ten An Amazon Best Book of the Year “Remarkable, not-to-be-missed-under-any-circumstances.”?Entertainment Weekly The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic New York Times bestselling series debut 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. “Wildly entertaining . . . I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.”?Justin Cronin, The New York Times Book Review “A modern sci-fi masterpiece . . . should do for aliens what Twilight did for vampires.”?USAToday.com Books in the series: The 5th Wave (The First Book of The 5th Wave) The Infinite Sea (The Second Book of The 5th Wave) Title still to come! (The Third Book of the The 5th Wave)
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