The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey (review)

Eking out survival in the wake of the fourth wave of an alien invasion that has wiped out most of the earth's population, sixteen-year-old Cassie is simply glad to have her father and brother with her in the refugee camp. She's forced to run for her life, though, when the military arrives on a seeming rescue mission and kills her father and abducts her brother. Critically wounded by a Silencer, an alien hunter disguised as a human, she is saved from the brink of death by a mysterious fellow survivor, Evan Walker. Cassie falls in love with Evan, until she discovers a terrible secret that could doom them both. At the same time, Cassie's longtime crush Ben Parish has also survived the fourth wave and has been taken in by the local military base, where he is trained to fight in the coming alien war. When Ben uncovers the truth behind the base's mission, however, he has to free himself and decide how many of his fellow humans he can save. An intriguing reimagining of the alien invasion story that is reminiscent of Stephenie Meyer's The Host, this novel will draw readers in with its intense, emotionally wrought narrative and leave them thinking about its deeper implications long after they are finished. The overall impact lessens somewhat when the focus moves away from Cassie's perspective, but Cassie still carries the novel: a captivating heroine, she's part hardcore, M16-wielding fighter willing to do anything to rescue her brother, part teenage girl indulging in flashbacks to a simpler time and wishing that she didn't have to be responsible for anything. Ultimately a page-turner that is at times heart-wrenching, tough, and tender, this multi-threaded first volume in a series is a solid summertime thrill.