The 5th Wave Book & Movie!

                 Happy Monday!  I hope you all have had a good weekend.  Mind was rather fun I finally read The 5th Wave and then saw the movie.  See I planned that timing perfectly!  Okay so really I meant to read it earlier in the month but well…life happened.  But still managed to finish it in time.  So today I have some thoughts to share with you both a book review which I typed up prior to seeing the movie and then my thoughts on the movie.  So here we go starting with the book by Rick Yancey:

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…