Review of The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancy

Putnam Juvenile

The Fifth Wave
by Rick Yancy
5 Stars!

Ever wonder what it would really be like if Earth were invaded by aliens from another planet? I have, and my imaginings always ram somewhere between the aliens from Tom Cruise’s version of War of the Worlds and Will Smith’s Independence Day. Thankfully, Rick Yancy has a much more realistic and riveting imagination.

Cassie is a little freaked out when the mother ship appears over her neighborhood. But, after a week or so nothing happens so, whatever. Then the lights go out and a few people die in accidents and whatnot because there’s no power. After some more time passes and people are used to seeing the ship in the sky the tsunamis come and devastate the planet, but Cassie is in Ohio, so her family is spared. When the plague comes and infects many around her, she starts to feel real terror, but where are the aliens? Where are the aliens indeed?

The novel is a brilliant and perhaps very realistic imagining of what might happen if a superior race chose to invade and claim our planet, besides being an intuitive study of human behavior. The brilliance of the work is the slow terror that develops through the action; instead of a series of explosions, the story focuses on the psychological toll of a slow, stealthy invasion that confuses and divides. How do you fight a war when you can’t see the enemy or you see them but cannot identify them? How do we band together when every “wave” drives us further and further apart? The story is told primarily through the eyes of Cassie, but also alternates between two other main characters, Evan and Ben, both victims in their own right of the alien invasion but in markedly different ways. It is impossible not to become invested in what happens to all three characters, impossible not to plow through the chapters in order to see how the fates of these three might become later entwined. I was riveted to the story, glued to the idea of children being used as a “vanguard and weapon,” Lord of the Flies style, and amused by the homage (we won’t call it a blatant rip off) to the film Full Metal Jacket via the character of Reznick. Even in such a horrifying tale it seems there is room for—indeed there has to be—humor. Perhaps most enthralling for me were the themes that kept me wondering. How do you face death on a daily basis when there is no hope?  How long can humanity survive in isolation from one another? We are social creatures after all. And lastly, how might an alien force rid the earth of humans? Maybe Cassie, and our own Earth’s history, has the answer, “rid the humans of their humanity.” This is one novel I would be anxious to read a second installment of, but I’m not sure one is needed. This novel stands as a testament to the genius of Yancy, and I for one, recommend it to anyone who is up for a sophisticated, engaging read unlike any that have come before it.

Review of The Reluctant Assasin by Eoin Colfer (W.A.R.P.)

Disney-Hyperion;

The Reluctant Assassin (W.A.R.P.)
by Eoin Colfer
4 Scribbles

I’ve always enjoyed the action that Colfer’s books offer; my two favorites of his are The Supernaturalist and The Wishlist, and this newest series promises to match Colfer’s previous novels explosion for explosion!

Albert Garrick is an assassin who has scored a time key from his latest victim. He uses the key to travel from Victorian-era London to modern-day London where he plans, with the modern knowledge he has gleaned from his latest victim, a present-day scientist, to rule the world. However, his vendetta to capture the street urchin and his former apprentice, Riley, may just foil all of his plans, especially if 19-year-old FBI agent Chevron Savano has anything to do with it. Together, Riley and Chevron go on a race through time to defeat the villain Garrick and save the world.

What a marvelous idea to hide witnesses in another time rather than another place! Thus, the Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (W.A.R.P.).  The benefit of this time-travel element is that it gives the reader a modern-day adventure while learning about the past in an exciting way. Clearly, the street kids of Victorian England are tough, just like Riley, a clever scrapper with a great sense of humor. It’s hard to imagine what it must have been like living in poverty in those times, but Colfer drives it home with vivid descriptive details about the smells, the extreme temperatures, and the diseases these people faced. I shuddered every time I was introduced to a new yellow-toothed street-kid. And the villains! Make no mistake, this is Colfer at his bloody best. There are some pretty gruesome scenes with the time machine, which has the habit of merging the inhabitants as they travel within its confines, the various murders committed by Garrick, and the general nastiness of the Thames. Anyone who has romantic notions about the Victorian era need only read this novel to be grateful they live in modern times. Perhaps most pleasing is the character of Chevron, a Native American whose only dream is to be an FBI agent. Despite a botched undercover job and begin swept under the carpet to a boring gig in London, Chevron never loses hope for her dream and keeps her body and mind honed for the next challenge. The chemistry between Riley and Chevron is awesome, but not in any way romantic. Chevron becomes big-sister to Riley, even if Riley may have just as many, if not more street smarts than Chevron. This is a fun and easy read after the fashion of works like Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series and the Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman.

Review of Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

Atria Books

Beautiful Disaster
by Jamie McGuire
4 Scribbles

First let me say that I read this novel months ago and have been sitting on my review because I am very torn about the story.

Abby Abernathy is a good girl, or let’s say a reformed bad girl, however you want to look at it—but she planned on making her life at Eastern the fresh slate she always dreamed of, away from her tarnished beginnings in Las Vegas. At Eastern she will date the right people and make only the best choices. Travis Maddox is the quintessential bad boy; he’s muscled, tatted up, drinks heavily, street brawls for cash, and goes through women like a chubby girl through a box of zebra cakes (based on personal experience.) When the lives of these two intersect, which is inevitable since Abby’s BFF is dating Travis’s cousin, sparks ignite; initially these sparks begin with the constant bickering between the two, who become fast “friends” and then later…well, you know. 

Reading this book was like watching a train wreck or the news about a natural disaster. So in that regard, McGuire’s title is spot-on. I couldn’t put the novel down, but not because I loved the characters and was invested in their future, it was because I was so disgusted with them. Perhaps the disgust I felt had a lot to do with the fact that many aspects of the novel are spot-on in regards to the college experience for many who live on campus. In my recollection, there was a lot of drinking, a ton of profanity, a lot of partying, a lot of sex (or talk of sex) and a general feeling that these events were an important part of the college experience. Most times, there was very little respect for the individual. I have a very dated VHS which documents my own experience and that of my friends, and I confess, there is a great deal of toasting and slurring going on in this video. That being said, it seems like Abby and Travis always seem to be where the action is and the studying thing between them is thrown in to show that yes, indeed they can party all the time and do very well in school!  A debatable point at best. I could have possibly gotten past the egregious use of alcohol and casual sex, but I was so very disappointed, outrageously disappointed, when Abby and Travis eventually hook up and realize they can’t live without one another. For one thing, Travis’s treatment of women, and of Abby is abhorrent—I don’t even want to get started on what an absolute dog he is. And Abby, is she really so weak-minded as to fall for his BS? At one point Abby’s roommate points out that the relationship between Abby and Travis is co-dependent and unhealthy. I remember praising this insightful character (although a complete moron could have seen this) and thinking that surely, surely the author was going to direct the ending to this conclusion and allow these two individuals to see the light….wow, was I surprised. Here’s the thing though despite my disgust, my chagrin, my disappointment, and my general anger at the novel, I cannot criticize it for being unrealistic or overly dramatic…sadly it smacks of truth. How many of us hooked up with the wrong guy when we were young, the bad boy we wanted to fix? Don’t answer that. At any rate, I have to, against every urge not to, give this novel 4 scribbles. I do this under protest. I would love to hear what others have to say, because I’m all torn up over this one. Am I going to read the sequel, Walking Disaster? Of course, eventually…but I need a breather before I witness what I expect from the title promises to be an even greater train wreck.