Review & Giveaway: The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Publication date: May 7th 2013
My rating: 5 Stars

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. 

Wow! I was blown away by this story!!  I was completely riveted by every single word!  My heart raced, and I was on the edge of my seat pretty much the entire time.  

The world as we know it is over.  Aliens came, kicked ass, and all that’s left of humanity is three percent of the original population.  One of the “lucky” survivors is sixteen year-old Cassie.  She lived through all Four Waves that’s decimated the human race, and is trying to stay alive by staying alone, because that’s the only way to stay safe.  The aliens have cleverly disguised themselves to look like us, so to stay alive you must trust no one.  The only thing keeping Cassie going is a promise made to her little brother, five-year old Sammy, to come find him.  Then Evan Walker shows up, a savior, and her resolve to stay alone waivers, because surely, he can help rescue her brother, right?  I guess we’ll see. 

I don’t know why, but I love end-of-the-world scenarios.  Add in some aliens, and the possibility of mass destruction and you’ve got my attention.  Maybe it’s the exciting adrenaline rush I get from the life and death situations laid out before me.  Maybe its how life boils down to what really matters, and all the mindless, busy details of our everyday suddenly become unimportant.  I always end up asking myself, “what would I do?” and I wonder if I could survive.  Rick Yancey captures everything that excites me about these stories flawlessly. 

This 5^th Wave was an exhilarating ride filed with action and suspense, and don’t forget my personal favorite: romance.  All of it is well done with twists and turns that have you anxious about what happens next.  A future with this set of possibilities is frightening.  

Cassie was a tough but realistic heroine, one I easily liked and identified with from the beginning.  It was easy to put myself in her shoes, and agree with the decisions she made.  When Evan shows up, things get even more interesting.  I couldn’t help but swoon over him with “his soft chocolate eyes, thick wavy hair, and lopsided grin.”  Evan is strong and shy, with an intensity that’s hard to ignore. *sigh*

Besides Cassie and Evan there is a whole set of secondary characters that make an impression and a few that found a way into my heart.  Sam, Cassie’s little brother is at the top of that list, and I just wanted to wrap my arms around him in a tight hug!  Five years-old is still practically a baby!    

The 5^th Wave ends in a place that’s bearable, but that doesn’t mean I’m not lusting after the next book!  This story is far from over, and I’m curious about how things will play out.  Who is friend and who is foe?  I’m wondering over a few, but maybe that’s just the paranoia that set in while reading this!

I LOVED this story so I'm giving my ARC away to one lucky reader.  The giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.  Just fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win.  Good luck!

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