Book of the Month – September

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Synopsis

“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.”

Jen’s Review

Two thumbs up! And if I had more, I’d raise those too. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey was recommended to me by a fellow blog follower (THANK YOU, gettyhesse1!). To be honest, I was reluctant to read it at first because I’ve never been a fan of the whole aliens-take-over-the-world synopsis. However, within one page, my fears evaporated. This was one of those books I didn’t want to put down, but did just so I could savor it longer.

When you hear the word “aliens” you instantly think UFO’s and green laser guns and bald men with shiny black eyes. Yancey’s take on aliens is different. Without giving anything away (I despise spoilers), his version of an alien invasion is far more devastating than any scene from Independence Day or War of the Worlds. And not because there are horrific things like giant fireballs melting major cities and laser beams turning people to ash. No, no, no. His method is far more meticulous and logical, and frighteningly believable. What makes it even better/worse is that Yancey sucks you in emotionally from the start. He uses simple, everyday things–like a girl’s crush on a boy at school–to stab you in the heart. You constantly think, “If this really happened, what would I do?” (Give up or get up?).

Another reason I enjoyed the The 5th Wave was because it helped improve my own writing. I LOVE it when a book does that for me. Sometimes it’s an author’s style, or their imagination, or their characters that shake me up and inspire me to do better. And Yancey definitely did that. He knocked down my writer’s block and motivated me to “get up”.

I literally read the last three chapters of The 5th Wave as slowly as possible, just so it wouldn’t end. But it did, and now I must wait until May 2014 for its sequel to be released. AH!

I’m envious of those who haven’t read it yet. You’re in for a treat!

Jen’s Rating

Read more about The 5th Wave on Goodreads!

Related articles

• The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey: A Review (jessicacrawford28.wordpress.com)
• The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (stephanienissen.wordpress.com)
• Jen’s Top 10 YA Series (jenspenden.wordpress.com)