(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – “The Fifth Wave,” a fiction novel written by Rick Yancy, tells the story of a young girl named Cassie who goes through an alien invasion of Earth.  The aliens in the book are called the Others, with the invasion coming in five different waves to weaken the human population, before they wipe them out completely.

After her parents die, Cassie is living in a forest fending for herself and trying to avoid being hunted by the Others.  The Others are very intelligent and try to outsmart everyone.

The first wave cuts all the power.  Nothing electrical, battery-powered or technological works – including cars.

Cassie is at school when the first wave hits.  All the lights go out in the classroom, and an airplane falls out of the sky and crashes into the schoolyard.

The second wave destroys all the crops and livestock.  The third wave is a deadly, incurable sickness that kills almost everyone.  Some people, like Cassie, are somehow immune to the sickness and survive. The fourth physically brings the Others to earth, in a humanoid form, to kill off the pestilence survivors.

There’s a quote I like from Cassie where she says, “The Others aren’t little bug-eyed green men with laser guns who say, ‘take us to your leader.’  The truth is, when the Others came, we stood no chance against them.”

Before the fifth wave, almost all of humanity has been wiped out by the Others. Cassie wonders if there is anyone alive left besides her.

In the very first page of the book, Cassie says, “Sometimes in my tent, late at night, I think I can hear the stars scraping against the sky.”

Yancy uses this metaphor to describe how quiet it is around Cassie.

One night Cassie is badly injured.  A marine, named Evan, finds her and takes her to an underground bunker, where other soldiers and survivors are living.  He helps Cassie get better and tells her he and the soldiers are trying to figure out how to defeat the Others, creating a sense of hope.

I really enjoyed “The Fifth Wave” because of Yancy’s writing style.  He is very descriptive with how Cassie feels, and what she sees in great detail.

Cassie is looking at Evan and is describing how handsome he looks, how he smells, and what he’s wearing.

She describes in the story that after the Others came in the fourth wave, no one can trust any human they come into contact with. Cassie trusts and wants to stay with Evan, even though she doesn’t have any idea who he is – or what he could be.

Find out what Cassie decides and what “The Fifth Wave” entails by checking out the book from the James C. Kirkpatrick library.