“Aliens are stupid.”

From Rick Yancey’s The 5th Wave.

Aliens and teenagers; those two groups are the very heart of this young adult science fiction, dystopian novel. Before Cassie Sullivan’s life fell apart in an alien takeover, she lived an average life with her parents and younger brother, Sam; after the aliens (or “The Others” as they are most often called in the book) turn the world upside down, Cassie spends her life hiding in the woods from everyone and everything that is trying to wipe out the human race. The Others keep unleashing different, more evil “waves” to wipe out more and more of the human population. When Sam is separated from Cassie, she sets off on a rescue mission where she meets a strange (and very attractive) boy named Evan; all these events push Cassie to face the question of what it means to be human during a global alien invasion.

Cassie and a boy named Zombie share narration of the book, with Cassie pulling more weight. Both narrators are open, honest, and relatable, but both Cassie and Zombie are surrounded in a sense of mystery. Yancey develops the story in a manner that hints to connections between characters, but you have to read the book to see how everyone fits together in the whole end-of-the-world-because-the-aliens-keep-coming-up-with-ways-to-kill-us thing. The book starts on a high note and is carried through the entire story with the help of witty dialog, despicable villains, a hint of romance, and sincerity of the characters.