Tag Archives: Book Review

2013, aliens, Book Review, dystopian, romance, science-fiction, series, YA

[Review] The 5th Wave – Rick Yancey

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Book Title:                    The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave Series #01)
Author:                            Rick Yancey
Number of pages:    457

Synopsis:

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

(re: Goodreads @ The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey)

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:
  • The world and plot is quite familiar – aliens, post-apocalypse, aliens, world domination, romance. Cool beans.
  • Story-telling through varying perspectives; a mix of characterisations (fresh and prototypical).
  • The writing is purposeful, connected, and tension-seeking even in downtime.
  • Formulaic YA romance; which ship to sail on?
Initial Thoughts:

I know what you’re thinking: a narrative similar to Meyer’s ‘The Host’. And you’re absolutely right. And wrong. At the same time. Page turn. But it takes the alien invasion we know so well—sort of well, and integrates it’s own spin on things.

Oh. The feeling of staccatos above is just how many sections read. You can love or hate it, but I wasn’t too bothered by it.

With trending YA post-apocalyptic dystopian literature, it is relevance that makes this genre of narratives all the more compelling and frightening. Relevance to world-building (especially if it’s of a contemporary nature); relevance to human dynamics; and relevance depicted through multifaceted storytelling. My superficial expectations.

So does the 5th Wave’s initial instalment hit most of the marks? Yes and no.

I’ll tell you why.

Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.

Continue reading [Review] The 5th Wave – Rick Yancey →

2013, Book Review, coming of age, contemporary, dystopian, lgbt, science-fiction, standalone, YA

[Review] More Than This – Patrick Ness

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Book Title:                     More Than This (Standalone)
Author:                            Patrick Ness
Number of pages:     480

Synopsis:

From two-time Carnegie Medal winner Patrick Ness comes an enthralling and provocative new novel chronicling the life — or perhaps afterlife — of a teen trapped in a crumbling, abandoned world.

A boy named Seth drowns, desperate and alone in his final moments, losing his life as the pounding sea claims him. But then he wakes. He is naked, thirsty, starving. But alive. How is that possible? He remembers dying, his bones breaking, his skull dashed upon the rocks. So how is he here? And where is this place? It looks like the suburban English town where he lived as a child, before an unthinkable tragedy happened and his family moved to America. But the neighborhood around his old house is overgrown, covered in dust, and completely abandoned. What’s going on? And why is it that whenever he closes his eyes, he falls prey to vivid, agonizing memories that seem more real than the world around him? Seth begins a search for answers, hoping that he might not be alone, that this might not be the hell he fears it to be, that there might be more than just this. . . .

(re: Goodreads @ More Than This by Patrick Ness)

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:
  • Myriad of interwoven genres.
  • Characters are interesting, fun, and you can empathize with them.
  • Undertones of philosophical and modern issues; life-lessons to be considered.
  • The world building is unassuming but peaks with suspense at the right moments.
  • The writing. Just that.
Initial Thoughts:

I was immediately drawn to this book as an answer to the question: what’s beyond the white light? It’s apparently a world of vintage memories and unnerving solitude. But is that it? Maybe. But probably not since anything we think we ought to know about everything is likely just a superficial layer of something much deeper. This novel, my first by Patrick Ness, is a resilient coming of age story even postmortem and it is as unpretentious as it gets.

I’ll tell you why.

Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.  

Continue reading [Review] More Than This – Patrick Ness →