The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey | Review

The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 7, 2013
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopia, Aliens
Pages: 457
Source: Purchased
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Goodreads Description

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.

My Thoughts

This is one of those books that sat on my shelf for at least a year before I picked it up and I really think that's a shame. I heard pretty good things about it but I still didn't pick it up for a while. The book started to get more talk when the movie was about to be released and since I did want to see the movie I decided to finally read it. I'm glad I did!

The beginning was a little slow going for me. I think that was mostly because, the current state of life on earth was being explained and I wasn't fully connected to any of the characters yet. I think it also had a lot to do with our main narrator in the beginning switching between the past and what was currently going on. There were moments of action that helped speed up the plot but for the most part it moved at a steady pace. 

I loved that this book made me think. In almost every moment I felt like I was right there with the current character trying to decide who I could trust and the best to handle any situation. This was especially true when reading from Cassie's point of view. For this same reason I found it frustrating when characters dismissed obvious signs that could have saved their lives if they would have trusted their instincts. Honestly, I would like to list off every single moment where the situation could have happened differently if characters had trusted their instincts but I don't want add in spoilers if I can avoid it.

I also really liked the characters. They were all so unique and interesting. This applies to the characters I actually liked. However there were some that I couldn't even try to like, as you would expect. There was one part about a certain character that took me a while to connect and I was a little disappointed in myself about that.

Overall I really enjoyed The 5th Wave. It wasn't my favorite but it definitely had me excited about continuing on in the series.The ending was so exciting and a bit heartbreaking. I've already read The Infinite Sea so I know how the story continues. I should actually have a review up for that next Sunday. I looking forward to the conclusion of the trilogy. I almost wish I would have just waited until the last book came out so I could have marathoned them all together. 

I tried to avoid spoilers in this review but I would love to discuss this with anyone who has read it. If you have already read The 5th Wave, please leave a comment about anything you would like to discuss. If you haven't already read it, go read it and come back and discuss with me! :-)