The 5th Wave

By: Rick Yancey

Narrated by: Brandon Espinoza, Phoebe Strole

Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

The Passage meets Ender's Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the first wave, only darkness remains. After the second, only the lucky escape. And after the third, only the unlucky survive. After the fourth wave, only one rule applies: Trust no one.

Now, it's the dawn of the fifth 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.

©2013 Rick Yancey (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Gripping!" (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"Nothing short of amazing!" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

"Yancey's heartfelt, violent, paranoid epic, filled with big heroics and bigger surprises, is part War of the Worlds, part Starship Troopers, part Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and part The Stand ... a sure thing for reviewers and readers alike." (Booklist, starred review)

Not Your Typical YA Dystopian Fare

Anyone else over the trilogy happy dystopian and paranormal YA lit? This one stands out and is worth your credit and time.

Cassie feels like the last human on earth after aliens have quietly invaded our planet. There are no grand explosions, little green men, or friendly visitors wishing to interact and understand our race. Stealthy and cunning, the "others" unleash several waves to eradicate the human race while preserving the Earth's natural resources. The plot is layered with well thought out details; feels like peeling an onion instead of gliding the surface of most successful dystopian trilogies. Writing style is thoughtful, smart, and insightful.

Cared about the characters, enjoying alternating viewpoints and narration by Cassie and other character (no spoilers). Their journey was a little like "Revolution," "The Walking Dead," and "The Road" woven into a teenage tapestry of action, adventure, and the power of perseverance. Found myself walking alongside characters to find food and shelter and feeling just as disturbed trying to figure out how to distinguish the enemy from other humans. Interesting to explore in this read. Highly recommend.

Not recommended!

I don't often write reviews. But since I purchased this book based on the positive reviews and I really didn't like it, I feel compelled to state my own opinion in a review.

This book started out great. I loved Cassie - I loved the story from her point of view. But then it switched to three different male characters, which was hard to adjust to. And then it became about the harshness of military training - again, hard to adjust to. The story did flip back to Cassie eventually, but by then I wasn't sure I cared anymore.

I was also frustrated by the naivety of all the main characters (which is a nice way of saying how stupid they are) when they don't / can't / won't realize not all humans are humans. If the reader realizes this within the first third of the book, the main characters should at least pick it up by the first half of the book. But when the main characters don't comprehend this until nearly two-thirds of the book is over, then I question their intelligence. And I don't like brainless main characters.

I believe the book has a strong beginning and ending. But for the middle of the book - when I found myself finding chores to do instead of listening to the audiobook, then I knew this was not a five star read (or even a three or four star). I made myself finish the book (because of all the other positive reviews) but was again frustrated with the cliff hangers in the ending. I will not be purchasing the sequel to the 5th wave. I figure whatever ending I make up in my head will be better than what the author comes up with.

The best I have listened to in a while.

What made the experience of listening to The 5th Wave the most enjoyable?

Everything. The narrator, the story, the characters, the prose. There is not a single thing I did not like about this book. LOVED IT!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cassie. She is very likable, interesting, and so freaking hilarious!

Any additional comments?

I finished listening to this book and was very impressed with how much I loved the story and the characters. I had no idea I was going to love it so much. I cannot wait for the second!!!

this man needs an editor

What disappointed you about The 5th Wave?

This book could have easily been cut down by half. The characters are prone to speechifying. Cassie, especially, seems to be saying the same thing over and over again (and it's rarely interesting enough to merit saying once).

What could Rick Yancey have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Make it shorter. Also, make Cassie a little more likeable.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was fine. The male narrator was generally less obtrusive.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

It sparked several eye rolls in our car, as well as a few questions about why Cassie can't seem to focus on what's important in a given situation (e.g., danger rather than the body of whatever man happens to be in the room).

Outstanding plot, suspense, action, betrayal

This is the first in a YA trilogy. It is outstanding. I liked the movie so I decided to read the first book. The book is much better than the movie and that is saying something. Aliens invade the world, this story is about a 16 year old girl, Cassie, that has to deal. Her and her surviving brother get separated. She make a promise to get him and the rest you'll have to listen to.

Yancey slides in bumper stickers about morality and observations about civilization. You know them when you hear them. They don't detract nor add to the story. They are like like speed-bumps. The book is narrated by a man and a woman, there are three points of view: Cassie, Ben Parish and Evan. I let you figure out who is who and who is doing what to whom. But the short of it, the narration is very good.

This series will appeal to anyone who liked the Hunger Games, the Divergent Series, or the Steelheart series. If those series get you going, you are going to love this one as well. I give it a big thumbs up.

Amazing Performance by the Narrators

Everything about this audiobook was incredible. The storyline kept me glued from start to finish. The narrators of this story brought it to life and I could feel the emotions from each character as they went on their journey.

Very one dimensional story

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I had heard great things about this book, so I was excited to start it. But right away I was struck by the characters being very one dimensional, the plot pacing being rushed, and the coincidental conveniences stacking up. I really hate that.

If you like sci-fi or dystopia and don't care if you plot really makes sense, then maybe this is the book for you.

Would you ever listen to anything by Rick Yancey again?

No.

Too much of a monologue

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not really. For most of this book nothing actually happens. The first 90% of this book is predominately two separate monologues, not just because it is being read by one person but because it is written mostly as the thoughts of a single person without very much interaction with other characters. The book being written as a monologue is not the worst part its that during most of this monologue NOTHING happens....literally nothing significant at all.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was what actually won me over. I originally was only going to give this book one or two stars but the ending was so good that even though reading most of this book was pointless and waiting for something to happen the ending was really good. A lot happened and it "finished" the book to a point where you weren't left wondering too much what would happen to the characters.

Would you be willing to try another one of Brandon Espinoza and Phoebe Strole ’s performances?

Another one of Brandon's performances yes I would try but not another one of Phoebe's performances. No insult intended but she read the character in a very annoying way that originally was unbearable to listen to. I had to get used to it but even sometimes I would get distracted from the actual book by the fact that I found her reading of the character horrendously annoying.

Could you see The 5th Wave being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No I definitely could not. The book moves too slowly, the monologue style would not be entertaining to watch and the book is not well written enough or the plot well thought out enough to compensate for the other flaws.

This is a YA story!

Any additional comments?

Somehow I missed that this book was in the teen/YA category. Probably because I don't shop for my books by category, I just browse along by recommendations, interesting titles/covers, etc.
During the entire story, I kept chiding Cassie for being so childish and immature, it annoyed me. I didn't like her.
When I heard the little 'promo' for more YA books by the same author go to..blah, blah...at the end of the story, it became clear to me. I know... I'm slow.
With that being said, it took me a while to get through this book. I enjoyed the first 1/3 of the book about Cassie and her family and the events leading up to the 1st wave, but as soon as the alien military became a dominant theme, I lost interest. I finished it to find out what happened, but didn't really enjoy it that much anymore.
3 stars for an average book.

Good Book

This one had me from the beginning to the end! Can't wait for book 2! If you liked The Hunger Games I think you will like this one.