A review by wheresweaver
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

5.0

A great book. I liked how it was written and the way that the characters talked about their ability to stay human. Cassie was a tough character that still had a soft spot. Even when she did something terrible and out of her human nature like killing someone Cassie still got emotional showing how even with the Others being there she still had her humanity. Ben was a character that had everything and everything and was the popular kid till the Others came and I like how the story showed how he could be more than that. Ben toughed up even when everyone else said he was a weakling. Sammy (Cassie's brother) even changed throughout the story as he was taken by the Others. He was scared at first and continued to be scared but he persevered and stayed strong believing in the promises others made to him. Sammy kept his innocents which was hard for many people in this novel after disaster hit. Evan was a great character and I loved his struggle with being an Other and a human. Explaining what he really is, is an abstract thing. He is part of Evan Walker but he isn't. He doesn't have his own body yet he does. He was a really great character to learn about, however I would like to know more about why Evan fell in love with Cassie like that? Did he see how much she wanted to live? Did he see her humanity and want to be like that? Did he see that she only wanted to die if she died for her brother someone she loved? This is the only part of the story that really confused me. Someone people might have an idea but I needed it spelled out for me but oh well that's just me. Evan and Cassie just connected immediately and I wish the author would have talked more about why Evan wanted to make that connection. The story was different and well written with different viewpoints from certain characters. I liked how all the characters got to tell their viewpoints and were connected somehow either by blood, the past or by a different connection. Certain parts of the book were predictable like who Evan really was or when Cassie would meet up with Ben or even if Ben would show up. Even with somethings being predictable the story was still really, really good. Yes there have been alien books before and yes this had hints of The Giver or The Hunger Games because the Others want a perfect world just for them and no one else yes this book is similar to other dystopias but the writing was so good and so were the characters they were realllllllly goooood!!! The feelings that the characters felt were so real and it wasn't just from the viewpoint of one character making it one sided. Even secondary characters like Cassie's dad and mom were important because they showed how families look out for one another. Even when all hope is lost it's better to live and die for someone you love rather than just live and die.