The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey
Posted: 19 Jul 2015, 22:51
Survival and knowledge are the keys to power in the novel The Fifth Wave written by Rick Yancey. The two main characters, and narrators, of the book are threatened by a hostile alien invasion, alongside the rest of humanity. The narration flips between one girl and one boy, both the same age. They tell their side of the story through first person point of view. The dialect that they use creates humor as well as sympathy for the issues that these young adults go through as they struggle to survive the first four waves of destruction against the human race and prepare for the upcoming fifth wave.
The girl struggles to survive by herself out in the wilderness, holding on to a promise that she made to her little brother. On the other hand, the boy is fighting for his survival in an army boot camp. He is being trained to go up against the aliens to provide a future for the rest of humanity. His motive for survival is different than the girl's, however their motives link them together in unexpected ways.
The novel is split up into several parts which include several chapters. In each part, the narrator switches off. The organization of the book kept me on my toes, it was as if I was involved in two stories in the same book. It was intriguing and the book had several page turning plot twists. It was confusing at times, however. Often I had to reread pages and I still didn't understand what was going on until quite a few pages later. Though it was frustrating at times, it was another good tactic Yancey used to keep the reader guessing. I found myself making predictions as to what was going to happen and sometimes I would be right and sometimes I would be completely wrong. Yancey made the story quite unpredictable and addicting.
It is action packed and original. I enjoyed the book very much and recommend it to anyone who would like a good, young adult page turner. Though it is young adult book I believe it is a good read for anyone interested in aliens and some good plot twists. I rate the book a 4 out of 4. It was entertaining, enjoyable, and the themes are definitely relatable.
The girl struggles to survive by herself out in the wilderness, holding on to a promise that she made to her little brother. On the other hand, the boy is fighting for his survival in an army boot camp. He is being trained to go up against the aliens to provide a future for the rest of humanity. His motive for survival is different than the girl's, however their motives link them together in unexpected ways.
The novel is split up into several parts which include several chapters. In each part, the narrator switches off. The organization of the book kept me on my toes, it was as if I was involved in two stories in the same book. It was intriguing and the book had several page turning plot twists. It was confusing at times, however. Often I had to reread pages and I still didn't understand what was going on until quite a few pages later. Though it was frustrating at times, it was another good tactic Yancey used to keep the reader guessing. I found myself making predictions as to what was going to happen and sometimes I would be right and sometimes I would be completely wrong. Yancey made the story quite unpredictable and addicting.
It is action packed and original. I enjoyed the book very much and recommend it to anyone who would like a good, young adult page turner. Though it is young adult book I believe it is a good read for anyone interested in aliens and some good plot twists. I rate the book a 4 out of 4. It was entertaining, enjoyable, and the themes are definitely relatable.