The Fifth Wave is about an alien invasion of earth. The first "wave" of attack was an electromagnetic pulse that rendered anything electronic useless. The second was a massive tsunami that took out everyone who lived on any coast. The third was a deadly virus, and the fourth was assassins, aliens programmed to kill that had been inserted into humans before they were born and remained "asleep" until the right time. The fifth...you'll have to read the book. ;-) In the book we follow two particular human survivors and they're attempts to figure out what's going on and how to survive.
Good Things/Bad Things/In-between Things
- I have to say that I did not really get pulled into the book until "Nugget" appears about halfway in. There are a few reasons for that, and, having finished, I think they may have been necessary for the story, so I think I can let them go. First, initially, I thought Cassie was a guy. She just had a very masculine manner of speaking that threw me off and kind of annoyed me. I do believe now, however, that the tone was needed to reflect the incredible things she'd been through. Her character survived the first four waves, lost both her parents and her brother, and had to learn to survive on her own. She's a bit bitter, so she speaks harshly and sarcastically, but we see her change throughout the story, and by the end she is finally able to trust someone again. I appreciate the character development. Second, through the first half of the book we're (mostly) seeing Cassie's flashbacks as she travels alone. I got a little bored of her solitude; I'm not quite sure why. I think perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the primary flashbacks we see are moments after the first alien attack, so things are already a bit depressing, and Cassie's already started to learn to toughen up. I just didn't get much emotion from the flashbacks; I only saw a girl who had been hardened by her circumstances.
- The book has been compared to Ender's Game, but I didn't get the surprise factor from The Fifth Wave that I got from Ender's Game.
- I love the relationship between Zombie and Nugget. Nugget's presence in Zombie's squad is a kind of catalyst that brings Zombie back to life. Taking care of Nugget gave Zombie something to focus on besides just surviving, and his "rescue" of Nugget helps him make up for the promise he didn't keep to his sister.
- Evan is an interesting character. I would've liked to hear more of his thoughts. We see him struggle with his purpose because of the human life he had already lived. I think there were some complex thoughts going through his mind, and I wonder exactly what they were.
Overall, I like the book. It's definitely worth a re-read, and perhaps like with Mockingjay, I'll like it more the second time around.
Your comments are extremely welcome! I want to know what you think! :-)
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