Book Rating:
5 Stars
So
we have an alien invasion but we don't start out at the beginning but after
four waves of the invasion preparing for the unknown but sure to come 5th wave,
hence the title. At this point 7 billion
of the population are gone. That's
serious numbers. It's us verses the
Others. We have a couple different POV
but the first is Cassie, a pretty kick ass girl. She has been through some serious stuff and
we see patches of it as we go along. She
is alone, and she believes the only way to stay alive is to stay alone. Trust is no longer an option. Until she meets Evan, the mysterious farm boy
who saves her. She made a promise to her
brother that she would come for him and she has put it off unsure how to deal
or how to move forward but she has to choose.
Give up or fight, defiance or surrender, life or death.
I
was pulled in pretty quickly. I had seen
the movie trailer everywhere so I had images in my head for Cassie, Sammy,
Ethan and the parents. The others didn't
really click until I saw the trailer again after reading then I could assign
names to random characters. I had a
basic understanding of the story and plot but honestly I had no idea what to
expect. There is a scene right before
the first POV change where I was completely shocked and then mad at the change
because I wanted to go back to Cassie!
The first shift, before I knew it was a shift was a bit confusing for
the first page or two for me when I realized we were now a male character and
not Cassie, after that realization everything went rather smoothly. I even figured out who the POV was. We also see the POV from Sam and a Silencer
which gave great depth and diversity but I'd still say the main POV was Cassie. She was the focus, or at least it felt that
way to me.
The
whole story is like a mystery. You have
some things that are predictable and others that get you. Then you have all this doubt and misdirection
and you think one way but then start to question if you were wrong and paranoid
but then something else happens and you still don't know what to think. I am rather proud that I had it figured out,
though I did have some moments of doubt creeping up on me at times. I think that just shows the authors talent
right there to invest you so deeply that you question your own thought
process.
I
really enjoyed that Cassie wasn't so much worried or focused on saving the
planet, she doesn’t have any grand design to save what's left of civilization
she just wants to save her brother and stay alive. Her goal is challenging enough but it feels
more attainable for one untrained girl to accomplish. Cassie's POV was by far my favorite with the
random and sometimes fractured line of thought it seemed so genuine and very
much how I imagine myself should I somehow survive that long. Also, OMG I just about died with the
conversations with Bear! Best stuff oh
and let's not forget Howard! Oh and
Evan, he is a weird combination of awkward and sweet that works for me. Plus not going to lie he still has chocolate
in the end of the world so clearly he is living right!
Zombie
was pretty interesting as well. I liked
seeing the opposite kind of view where Cassie was alone he was not. He was in the center of the fight. Getting to know the others on the team from
Dumbo, Flint, Poundcake, Oompa, Teacup, Ringer, and Nugget was fun. The dynamic of the team and their goals was
interesting getting to know them. I love
the relationship that is formed between Zombie and Nugget that just made me all
warm and fuzzy inside. Everything was
harsh and cruel in this world and there is some serious things happening and
tons of death but when you have so many 'children' they are forced to grow up
quickly but to see that almost brotherly bond was great.
Now
some questions I don't feel I had an answer for and hope it will be revealed
later are how do the disks work on the bus?
Red or Green chosen then vs how they are played out later. Okay I guess it was just the one question. Any others are more to things I'm sure will
play out in the series as a whole. If
anyone happens to know this, maybe I overlooked it in my excitement to keep
reading I'd love to know. That's all for
the book discussion part.
Movie Rating:
4.5 Stars
As
a movie and as an adaptation I did enjoy myself. I did notice some changes, some things I went
in knowing would be different, like no shrapnel removal, for obvious shooting
reasons and others for time. Still I did
enjoy seeing things play out, from the opening shots where Cassie is at the
store stealing her items, the items she mentioned in the book, which was a nice
thing. The majority of the book is
there.
Casting
wise I really enjoyed everyone, Chloe Grace Moretz did a great job as
Cassie. Not only did I picture her while
reading but as the movie played out I could feel for her and relate to her. I also thought the casting was on point for
some of the others as well like Sammy, so adorable, and even Zombie and the
team. Ringer, played by Maika Monroe,
was on point for sure she looked bad ass cut you in your sleep if you mess with
her and the attitude came across the screen.
Evan was hot and totally could see having some moments with him and he
played the part well both serious and loveable in a conflicted way. Now one of the casting decisions was to
combine the role of Reznik with that of Dr. Pam from the book and had Maria
Bello play them which was a bit shocking.
Reznik wasn't nearly the hardass from the book so it seems pairing them
down.
The
plot of the story was still there and everything was pretty clear and
understandable. I think anyone can go in
and enjoy this movie and not be confused.
Some of the changes on how certain things are discovered are made
clearer and simpler in the movie which I almost like more than the book and
given how much they were able to trim and make everything flow I was impressed. I like that most of the conversation and
getting to know one another with Cassie and Evan is done on the move it was a
good way to keep things moving along and keep pacing up. Now some things that I think could have been
expanded on to give more depth was the training base. They changed that up some and paired it down
substantially but in doing so we didn't get to know any of the team and had I
not read the book I don't think I would have known any of their names accept
Zombie, Ringer, and Teacup. The nicknames
aren't mentioned but very seldom and quickly and never really assigned to a
character in the film. I also feel that
took away a bit of the bond that develops between Zombie and Nugget. Also it appears that the Others have some
type of powers that I didn't pick up on in the book, which I'm on the fence
about since it wasn't explained…yet. And I missed the Bear talks!
Overall
I really loved both the book and the movie.
I am so glad I finally finished the book and that I did so in time to
see the movie. Now I look forward to
reading the next book but with the final book coming out this year I think I'm
going to hold off until closer to that date so I have less wait time! Now I'd love to hear all of your thoughts
down in the comments. Did you read the
book or watch the movie, or both? Let's
discuss. Also stay tuned I'll be posting
my monthly challenge wrap up in just a little while!
Until
next time…
I loved the book! I really hope I'll get to watch the movie soon. Sounds like they did a good job with the adaptation :)
ReplyDeleteNever nearly as long or as detailed as we book lovers would like but I enjoyed it.
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