I picked this book up at the 2014 Texas Teen Book Festival, and it's a signed copy at that! I am sure the only thing that kept me from reading it right away, since it sounded like an awesome read. I could hit myself for not picking it up sooner!
The Earth is invaded by aliens! But no one sees a single one. From the moment the mothership appears in orbit above the Earth, humans are left in waiting for what the visitors will do. With each new wave of the aliens' attack humans are shocked, unprepared for the way their enemy chooses to strike, and the numbers of the dead increase with astonishing speed.
Cassie, the first narrator of the story, is left in fear that she may be the last person on the planet, but still determined to keep the promise she made to her younger brother that she would find him.
Zombie, his nickname and you're not getting his real name or it would ruin the surprise, is another narrator telling the story of a teenager near death turned into a soldier.
Others are followed through third person story telling alternating with these two first person view points; others like Sammy, Cassie's brother, and a Silencer sent to kill her. But don't worry, Yancy does an incredible job of weaving the voices together in a way that just works.
This books is just awesome. Yancy is a great writer, able to tell a story from a teenage girl's point of view in a way I am a little envious of. Then he manages to make you laugh at the most random moments, and isn't that how the end of the world needs to be, laughing in the face of hopelessness? He, also manages to take a theme that may seem over-worked, Cassie has a ton of references to alien invasions to think about on her journey, and puts a spin on it that is still fairly new! The humans were not expecting what happened! And they are in no way prepared for the 5th wave!
I recommend everyone give this book a chance! I am recommending it to my mom, husband, and son as soon as I get done with this post! And the minute I can get my hands on the second book, The Infinite Sea, you can bet I will be quick with a new post! All the praise possible to Rick Yancy for this amazing story!
EDIT:
We took our son to see the movie, as an Us and J day. Both my husband and I had read it, but I think it is just a little too advanced for our nine year old son, but we thought the movie would really interest him. Well, he loved it. He is so ready for the next one to come out and was asking about the book, which now sits on his shelf for when he is ready to tackle it. What did we think?
It was amazing! There were very few differences between the book and movie, little things that you notice but mostly can live without. Although, I have to say that for the next half hour all my husband could talk about was how upset he was that they hadn't included the bomb they used. My one flaw had to do with Evan Walker, something I won't relate to you, but it made me a little sad that they changed it, even though I could completely understand why. And the casting! Oh the cast was just about perfect for each character, especially Vosch!
All in all it was a great movie made after a great book! Take the time to enjoy both!
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