Review Detail

What I Loved:

The strength of this book is the authentic way the main characters deal with the horror of seeing most of the world's population decimated and with the ongoing struggle, not just to survive, but to daily decide that surviving is still worth it. I especially enjoyed Cassie and found her gritty, honest narration very compelling.

The setting is perfectly rendered as well. I could see events unfolding in an almost cinematic landscape. Sensory details are included, so reading each scene was like being inside each scene, something readers who enjoy action movies or role playing video games should appreciate.

The stakes are high enough to keep the reader turning the pages. I found it impossible to figure out exactly how the characters would reach their goals, but I was fully invested in seeing it happen.

What Left Me Wanting More:

The worldbuilding is well done for the most part. I did see a few inconsistencies that may have been solved with a better explanation from a character or two, and the actual concept of the 5th wave, while an engrossing existential examination of the value of human life and what it means to remain human, felt somewhat anticlimactic, not to mention inefficient on the part of the superior alien life forms.

I also had issues with the romance between Cassie and her "rescuer." There is a scene, before anyone has declared romantic feelings (not that a declaration as such would change my view on this scene), when the boy kisses Cassie. She immediately pulls away and tells him not to kiss her. He ignores her and kisses her again. She again responds with "kiss me again and I will kick you in the balls." The boy once more ignores Cassie's wishes and kisses her, and this time, Cassie (a survivalist of the first order who has huge trust issues and not a small dose of PTSD) accepts it, and the reader is led to believe that this was romantic.

That is not romantic. That is ignoring the girl's clearly stated wishes, smashing through her boundaries and disregarding her autonomy as a person, and it is disrespectful and wrong. I am going to allow my sons to read this book, but first we are going to have a discussion about consent and boundaries, and about how in this book, those two issues are completely disregarded.

Finally, while the split narration (we actually end up following four characters' POVs) worked for me in most cases, there were times when Cassie would think something another character knew instead of her. And there were many times when the split POV felt like a device to deliberately keep the reader in the dark for as long as possible.

Final Verdict:

A gritty, compelling narrative and a high stakes plot will keep fans of post-apocalyptic themes quickly turning the pages.