Review: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1)
Rick Yancey
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Release Date: May 7, 2013

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.

The 5th Wave is a very unique story. I'll be the first to admit that I am not a fan of alien stories. But, the world that Rick Yancey created is unlike anything that I've read before. The premise is (to me, at least) extremely creepy which I love. But Yancey took an intriguing premise and turned it into an engaging read.

One of the thins that I appreciated most about this novel is the sense of humor that Yancey was able to weave into this novel. You wouldn't think such an intense post-apocolyptic novel could include humor, but there was comic relief at just the right times. 

The 5th Wave is told through multiple points of views, all of which were interesting. The main character, Cassie, was filled with fight and spunk. Remember the comic relief I mentioned? Yeah, most of that came from her. She was funny and sarcastic despite everything that was happening. She is very believable as a teenage girl who has lived through terrifying events and has endured many losses. 

Now, I'm not going to completely rave about this novel. There has been plenty of hype surrounding this novel, and I didn't love it as much as some others did. It's a very addicting, well-written story, but it's not making my favorites shelf. Regardless, it was good and I'm looking forward to the next chapter in this story.