The 5th Wave

by Rick Yancey
Hennepin County Library audiobook 10 discs
read by Brandon Espinoza and Phoebe Strole
genre: YA dystopian SciFi

This book was so depressing! In addition to the usual darkness of dystopia, there were kids turning into killers. Lots of death and destruction. The "Others" don't show up as ET-type aliens; they have inserted their intelligence into humans. Who is "infested" and who is not? How do you tell, or do you shoot first and try to figure it out later?

Cassie (short for Casseopia) and her brother Sammy, Ben, the mysterious Evan Walker, . . . and lots of other young people take center stage in this gripping story.

Some of my notes:
- part two is Ben!
- Vosch is evil! Or is he?
 - Evan IS the silencer, right?
- part five is Sammy! Nugget / Sammy
- Who will get there first? Ben/Zombie or Cassie & Evan?

When the book ended, I was frustrated. What happened to Evan? Where will these kids go next? How long until Vosch is after them? I need to read the Infinite Sea!

I found another scrap of paper with notes:
- dystopian = depressing
- theology . . . don't go there! "God hasn't kept His promises" / ugh! I hate when YA authors use their fiction as a platform for theology. It's one thing for a character to explore these issues, but another when proclamations are made.
- hope - yes! So true! If this is lost, then all is over.
- Some beautiful descriptive passages!
- for more mature readers / lots of swearing / challenging, even bleak outlook