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December 30, 2015

The 5th Wave

The 5th WaveThe 5th Wave

By: Rick Yancey

I did not expect to like The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. In fact, I moved it to the bottom of my pile of books and put off reading it for many days. I was tired of dystopian novels! I didn’t think I could read one more…but I begrudgingly started it…and was instantly hooked. I couldn’t put it down! My heart raced as I burned through this book as quickly as I could turn the pages.

Aliens have invaded Earth. “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.” Cassie is one of the unlucky survivors. Her parents are both dead and her brother has been taken by the military. Cassie struggles to survive in this terrifying landscape, yet she must remain alone in order to remain safe. The Others have implanted themselves in human bodies and now it is impossible to tell if the person in front of you is a fellow human being, or an Other waiting to kill you. This is what Cassie faces as she endeavors to save her little brother Sammy from the soldiers who took him from the refugee camp. As she slowly makes her way across the countryside, she is shot by a Silencer (an Other sent to kill remaining humans).  She is rescued by a handsome boy named Evan, but she struggles to trust him, even when he insists upon helping her rescue her brother. Is Evan an Other? Will Cassie find her brother alive? Will humanity survive? You definitely want to pick up this book and find out what happens before you go see the upcoming movie.

“It’s been a long time since human were prey animals. A hundred thousand years or so. But buried deep in our genes, the memory remains: the awareness of the gazelle the instinct of the antelope. The wind whispers through the grass. A shadow flits between the trees. And up speaks the little voice that goes, Shhhh, it’s close now. Close. “

Review By: Melissa Dragoo