[REVIEW] The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

[muldoon]

I was one out of twenty-five goodreaders who, luckily, won a copy of The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (thank you Penguin, by the way). And of course being a giveaway, you're bound to write a review on it just to say a little thanks. So, before I begin, I'd like say a huge THANK YOU! to Rick Yancey for writing this awesome book and Penguin for sending me a copy of the novel. And honestly, I would have written a review anyway. This book is fantastic.

OVERALL RATING: ★★★★☆

When I first held the novel in my hands and read the blurb, I expected it to be a post-apocalyptic romance novel. But in actual fact, it turned out to a heart-racing, page-turning and greatly (and sarcastically in some parts) written novel about a girl (heavily) equipped with an M-16 and a teddy bear, fearing the possibility that she could be the last human alive, and her desperate attempt to find her little brother - if he's even still alive.

Whilst I'm a sceptic of scary aliens invading our planet and killing us all, I certainly wasn't when I read this novel. Terrified, disturbed. Shivering at any mention of the Eye. It's certainly not a light novel, but its got just enough good to balance out the dark parts.

Not only is the novel wonderfully written, it's also probably a work of art. If there's one book you must have in the paper format and not the e-book format, it's definitely this one. The cover is, at least in my opinion, wonderful and worthy of an eyegasm and the first page of each new section of the novel are just plain wonderful. Is it possible to have a crush on a book? You'll see for yourself when you buy your own copy.

The only slight problem I had with the novel itself was the POV. At the beginning it was Cassie, Cassie, Cassie and then without any indication whatsoever (apart from the pretty first page of each new section that kind of made you think 'hey, maybe this is her or his POV again), characters began taking over the story and I got pretty darn confused. For the first part of Zombie's POV, I still thought it was Cassie's POV and it left me utterly confused, until it clicked that Cassie probably would never be called Zombie and isn't a guy (and, by the way, I'm almost certain there's more than two POV's. Almost certain as in I have a bad memory and could be wrong.)

Whilst post-apocalyptic novels are my current favourites this year, I'm not just being biased when I say that this is one of the best novels I've had the pleasure of reading this year, and certainly my favourite PA! If young adult romance novels aren't your thing and you're a tad sceptical of the blurb's ending like me (I mean, the beginning of the blurb was entrancing and then the 'Evan Walker' aspect kind of put me of, but hey ho), there's really nothing to worry about. There's only a small amount of that romance business, and the majority of the novel is a fast-paced, violent novel and focuses on the desperate attempt of a girl trying to make it out alive with the little amount of hope and humanity she has left.

A fantastic novel by the award-winning Yancey, and let's just say I can't wait to read the next in the series.