Book review: The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

Pictured edition: The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey, Penguin Audio 2013. ISBN 9780141350561. Cover design by Allied Integrative Marketing. Image used on this blog under the “Fair dealing for criticism or review” provision of the Commonwealth Copyright Act, 1968. Surrounding design made by me using Canva.

The alien invasion came in four waves, knocking out human technology, then earthquakes that devastated major cities. Then a deadly pandemic spread by birds. And now, the few survivors can’t tell who is human and who is alien. Sixteen year old Cassie is alone, with a gun, trying to survive and to find her five year old brother. Ben has been recruited to what remains of the U.S. army to fight against the invaders. Evan guards his family farm. But it’s hard to know who to trust – even if they can trust themselves. Who – or what – is the fifth wave?

This YA page-turner rips along and keeps you glued to the narrative, unsure about which characters to trust. I would absolutely recommend it for any student with an interest in the sci-fi or post-apocalyptic genres. There’s also a romantic subplot. I listened to the audiobook which was quite good, with a female and a male narrator, mostly for Cassie’s and Ben’s first person perspectives. There is also a film of this novel, released in 2016 which, according to Wikipedia, did not receive many positive reviews.

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Title: The Fifth Wave

Author: Rick Yancey

Cover: Allied Integrative Marketing

First published: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2013

Audio: narrated by Phoebe Strole & Brandon Espinoza, Penguin Audio 2013

Length: 496 pages (book), 12 hours & 41 minutes (audio)

ISBN: 9780141350561

Genre: YA post-apocalyptic science fiction

Representation: female main character

Suitability: 13+

Fyi: violence, murder, assassination, death of loved ones, pandemic, invasion, mistrust, mild sexual allusions

Themes: trust, survival, trauma

Literary features/tropes: alternating first person narration, isolated child heroes

NSW syllabus: Stage 5 genre study (sci-fi or post-apocalyptic), wide reading

If you like this, try: More YA action, e.g. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. A classic tale of alien invasion, e.g. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells