I wish I could sum up this review by writing a big I DON'T KNOW across the middle. But I can't because a) that would make for a crappy review, and b) that doesn't make any sense.
But it's true, though. I don't know. I don't know how to feel about this book, how to review it, and more importantly, how to rate it. You see, The 5th Wave was my 2013 book. It was thebook. I was so predisposed to love this book, that I let my hopes get way too high. I read the first 54 preview pages before the book came out, and I was hooked.
Sadly, things didn't go as expected.
My biggest problem with the book can be summed up in two words: Evan Walker. You see, the moment Mr. Evan was introduced, things starting to go down hill for me. He is a walking cliche. Good looks? Check. Weird attitude? Check. Lurking around Cassie? Check. Being a complete and total pushover? You guessed it.. check. For a guy that was supposed to be 18-19, he sometimes acted like he was 12. I can discuss freely what it is that got me mad at the existence of Evan Walker, but that would involve spoilers.
So spoilers it is...
Don't click on the spoiler unless you already read the book, or have no intention whatsoever of reading it.
First of all, it was frustrating how independent on Cassie he was. How many times did he hold on to her like a sick puppy? Quite some time. Here's an example:
You know that part where Cassie is waiting for the bus to take her to the death camp (Page 361 HC) and she confronts Evan for the thousandth time about what he is? He admits he is a shark who dreamed he was a man? (more on that later) The truth finally came out, and Cassie makes a run for it.
She comes back some time later to retrieve her backpack and weapons and finds that Evan has left his own supplies for her. I had a moment of wondering there, is it true Evan? Are you finally manning up enough to let go of the poor girl and move the hell on?
Yeah right. Four pages later this happens:
"His arm drops around my chest, he rips the rifle from my hands, then relieves me of the Luger. After another half second, he's locked me in a bear hug, crushing me into his chest and lifting my feet a couple inches off the ground as I kick furiously with my heels, twisting my head back and forth, snapping at his forearm with my teeth.
And the whole time tickling the delicate skin of my ear.
"Cassie. Don't. Cassie.."
"Let..me..go.
"That's the whole problem. I can't.""
Fuck yeah, that's a problem. So let's get our facts straight. A girl doesn't trust you, points a goddamn gun to your head, takes off like an olympian runner from you, kicks and bites you to get away, and you still come back for more?
If that's not romance, I don't know what it is :/
Oh wait I do, it starts with unhealthy and ends with behaviour.
In all fairness, Evan wasn't the only reason I was dissapointed with this book.
The 5th wave was. Not the book, but the actual 5th wave. I understand this might have to do with my brain being dense more than anything, but it just did not make any sense. So you've managed to kill the majority of the human population brilliantly with the first four waves. Cutting out the power, making a giant ass tsunami, have birds spreading disease all over the place. Creative and brilliant, and possibly the best thing about this book.
And then comes the 5th wave.
How do you kill the few hundred thousand human beings left? Especially when you know the precise location of each and every one of them?
Apparently you get a kid army, train them for a couple of months, and let them go off into the woods to kill their fellow human beings, even though there's a big chance your whole scheme will be foiled on the very first mission (see: Zombie's first mission.)
Again, I'm pretty sure there's something I'm missing here. I read the last part very quickly, because I had already started to loose interest, and might have missed important sentences here and there.
I just wish Yancey had come up with a more creative way to kill of the rest of the population instead of the poor excuse of a plot tool the 5th wave was.
One last thing, Silencers. While I'm still not sold on the whole Silencer thing, I must be skeptical about how much of use they are to the alien fellas anyway. If someone like Evan Walker, a highly trained fighter, can so easily turn on his own people (aliens I mean) how do you know others won't too? Which leads me to ask, how can you make aliens have such a crucial flaw in their master plan?
On a more positive note, I really like Yancey's writing. It's simplistic, but it sounds exactly like how a sixteen year old girl would. Also, the way his sentences form themselves really builds up the suspense. There are about a hundred other positive and rather gushing reviews of this book, like this or this, so I would advise you check them out first before forming an opinion. I really hate to be the black sheep out of all the positive reviews, but alas, it happened. I should add that apart from it's flaws, this is a pretty addicting book. The kind you might finish in one sitting. There's a lot of action and suspense that makes for an entertaining read.
