Yuffie's Book Reviews

The 5th Wave - by Rick Yancey (first 167 pages only)

This book started out phenomenally. It was your run-of-the-mill alien invasion story and the MC, Cassie, is the sole survivor--or so she thinks. However, the way it was written was REALLY, REALLY GOOD. I'm not generally a fan of alien stories, but the writing was so so distinct and strong that the narration and storytelling was riveting. The attack came in waves, and Cassie spends the first 50 or 60 pages recounting and explaining what each wave was. It was actually fun piecing together what happened during each wave. 4 waves had passed prior to the start of the story, and since this book is titled The 5th Wave, I assume this story followed Cassie's struggle through the 5th wave. I was extremely curious to see what that would be. So I thought that aspect of the plot and title were extremely well crafted.

Another thing to note was that I actually teared up during her recollection of her dad dying. It was fantastic characterization, and Yancey's words definitely had this simplistic, resonating power and emotion. Parents always seem to die in YA stories, but I've never given two sh*ts about them. This was the first time the death of a character, let alone the father, gave me such a huge emotional impact.

and then....

Cassie met the cliche boy who changes everything. Then it felt like a switch was flipped that turned her into one of the most superficial and unlikeable characters ever. All she did was fawn over this guy, Evan, whom she described as "a teenage version of the Brawney paper towel guy". She kept describing his bulging biceps and broad muscular shoulders and the way his eyes looked like chocolate (this was probably stated at least 3 or 4 times within 20 pages) and the way his breath smelled like chocolate and she kept staring at his butt. repeatedly. This wasn't just a one-time description either. She wouldn't. stop. fawning.

I tried to ignore it, I really did. Because the first 100 pages were so damn good. Some of the best I've read in a long time and actually had some fascinating insights about humanity and such. But then she talks about how when Evan saved her, she woke up in a bed in different clothes and all clean and bathed, so obviously Evan did that. And guess what? She didn't care. She said a line or two about how that was kind of freaky, but she never reacted in a way a girl should when she finds out some random 18-year-old guy stripped her and bathed her while she was unconscious.

a bit earlier in the book, she had some interaction with this guy (nicknamed Crisco for his greasy hair). He basically tried to rape her because he was desperate for some love before he was inevitably killed by the aliens, but she knows karate and broke his nose. He broke down crying, saying everyone he ever loved and knew is dead and he just wanted to feel something. and she pities him. It made me raise my eyebrow a little, but I was like "okay, maybe this is just a different perspective... i'm keeping an open mind. maybe this isn't be as bad as it sounds..."

So Crisco has this habit of rummaging around in the ashes of the burned bodies and taking their valuables. he found this piece of jewelry and tried to give it to Cassie, and she of course didn't accept the gift. Crisco became really hurt and told her if he looked like Ben Parish (the hot guy Cassie had a huge crush on before the whole invasion), she would've accepted the gift. And then Cassie starts thinking, wait, maybe he's right...

At this point I'm just like gah this is awful. But hopefully this is just a character flaw and Cassie will improve and see the world beyond the superficial appearances as the story continues.

But then she meets Evan, and she echos the same thought. Seriously, she's remembering that exact same thought around Evan in support of why she's not freaked about him bathing her and seeing her naked.

I still had a tiny bit of hope that the book might improve, so I read a few pages on... and then Evan's talking about his dead girlfriend, and Cassie starts spinning this tale of how she "casually dated" Ben Parish on and off for a while. There was also this really uncomfortable scene where he's washing her hair and she's enjoying it. Like, she's even getting slightly turned on.

So Cassie, this really strong, intriguing character who I actually really admired the first 100 pages of the book, turned into a lying, superficial, horny bitch the moment a hot guy comes into the picture. WHY DO SUCH STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS TURN SO AWFUL THE MOMENT A GUY IS BROUGHT INTO THE SCENE? She was just completely rude and snarky toward Evan too. That wasn't because he stripped and bathed her while she was unconscious; it was because there can't be a strong female character without uncalled for sarcasm and snark toward the male lead. Because apparently sarcasm makes for a strong and unique female lead.

This is where I put the book down.

First 100 pages were a solid 5/5.
Once Evan came into the picture, my rating dropped to a 1/5. It was so jarring--even the writing showed a noticeable drop in quality during the Evan chapters.

I hate judging a book without reading the whole thing first, but I seriously couldn't stomach any more of this. If you did happen to read the whole thing, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Did it get better by the end? Worth reading all the way through? Or did it get worse?