The White Mountain Librarian: The 5th Wave Book Review

The 5^th Wave (#1 in The 5^th Wave Triology)

By Rick Yancey

Publishing Year: 2013

Publisher: G.P. Putnam & Sons Books for Young Readers

Genre: Dystopian

Reading Level: YA

Setting: U.S.

Time: Near Future

It all started after the invasion of the Others…

The first wave was livable but by the 4^th wave billions were dead from the disease. Families & individuals were flocking to the camps for help. Food, water, & supplies were dwindling. It was kill or be killed, you can trust no one.

Then they came & took the kids away. That was the beginning of the 5^th wave.

Told from multiple perspectives; this post-apocalyptic story follows three different stories that merge into one epic series beginning.

We first meet Cassie & her family. Just months ago Cassie was a normal teenage girl, texting her friends, going on bad dates, & playing with her brother in the yard. But it’s not long before we find out that her mother has died from the disease, & her, her father, & brother, Sammy, are at a refugee camp called Camp Ashpit awaiting rescue.

Someone does come to “rescue” them, but only the kids. Sammy is taken away to a “safe place” called Camp Haven, on a yellow school bus, leaving his beloved Bear behind with Cassie. But despite everyone thinking it’s a rescue mission, Commander Vosch & the Eye quickly dispel those thoughts.

Then theirs Ben Parish, or “Zombie” as his squad calls him. He is Cassie’s high school crush but he doesn’t know she exists. He is taken to Camp Haven when his family dies. Desperately clinging to his little sister’s locket for support, he is drafted into the kid’s army the government is developing. They will train like soldiers, & then be sent into the field to fight against the Others. The most important thing to remember is green is unclean.

This is where the stories collide. Sammy is put into Ben’s unit & Ben promises to protect him no matter what. But it isn’t long before Ben is sent into the field, & Sammy is left behind to train further.

Meanwhile Cassie is wandering the woods alone trying to survive & keep her promise to find Sammy. However she is injured by a Silencer, one of the Others. Then she is rescued by a boy her age named Evan Walker. They decide together to go to Camp Haven, & rescue Sammy. But what Cassie doesn’t know about Evan may just kill her.

Together these four unlikely friends come together to save the world, & each other in this epic first book of the new series.

Rating: