The 5th Wave

The 5th Wave (2013) by Rick Yancey. The 5th Wave is  a young-adult sci-fi novel about a group of youngsters (mostly teenagers) who are surviving in the wake of the greatest kill-off of human beings ever known. The kill-off is brought about by the Others, an unknown alien race who have arrived in a mother ship that hangs in orbit above the Earth while raining death down on the inhabitants. The 1st Wave is an EMP that knocks out all power on the planet. The 2nd Wave is an induced series of tsunamis that wipes out most of the population that lives near the oceans. The 3rd Wave is a plague, released by the aliens, that kills nearly everyone on Earth. The 4th Wave is called "Silencer," and it consists of humans who have been infested with alien intelligence and who exist only to kill other humans. What the 5th Wave is, I couldn't quite figure out, but the novel ends on a note of optimism as a small band of kids escapes the alien death camp and sets up its own settlement in the forest. Overall, this was a pretty readable book, but it is definitely aimed at younger readers. Grade: B-