The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Cassie, her dad, and her brother Sam have survived the 1^st Wave when “the visitors” arrived and knocked out all the power.  They survived the 2^nd Wave when major earthquakes triggered tsunamis and destroyed coastal populations.  They survived the 3^rd Wave where a plague was spread by the birds.  In the 4^th Wave “Silencers” are picking off the survivors.  But what is the 5^th Wave?  Can Cassie survive?  Can she save her brother?  

Ben was a high school football star with a great smile.  He too survived the first 4 waves.  Now he is being trained to detect and destroy the aliens.  Or is he?

Cassie, Ben, and the other survivors must decide who to trust and how to survive this alien invasion where the enemy looks like us, knows how we thinks, and maybe IS us.

 
This was a great book.  I enjoyed it very much.  I appreciated the differing points of view and the way the book messed with my head.  Although, I felt like I knew what was going on relatively early in the book it did not lesson my enjoyment of the book.  Yancey even had a few more surprises to throw in.  I felt the book ended in a satisfying manner but wasn’t too surprised to see that it is the first in a trilogy.  I look forward to reading the other two books.

Ribbett...

The Circle by Cindy Cipriano

 

I struggled to get through this book.  Calum's cousin Finley has been missing for almost 7 years and Calum is determined to find him.  Calum is a Sidhe which is a "fairy".  There are different clans with differing powers.  Calum's family has been living with regular people for many years because of what happened to Finley.  When Laurel moves to town everyone is curious about her because she wears a necklace with a token from a "dark" clan.  We soon discover that Laurel's brother is missing as well.  Laurel knows the truth about Calum and the Sidhe and together they set out to rescue Finley and Laurel's brother.

I felt that there was a lot missing in the book.  First, I felt that the "world" was not developed very well.  It was quite confusing.  Second, I felt there were a lot of gaps.  Time passed quickly and it felt like it was rushed.  Third, it ended abruptly.  Obviously it is a first book in a series but even so I felt there was little closure.  I came away from the book unsatisfied.

Croak...

In Search of Goliathus Hercules by Jennifer Angus

  

Henri Bell is sent to live with his aunt while his mother sets out to find his father who has disappeared in British Malaya.  Henri discovers that he has the ability to talk to insects and also discovers that Mrs. Black, his aunt's neighbor seems to be very interested in that fact.  Henri runs off to join the circus and, using his ability, starts to train fleas.  Mrs. Black pursues him at every turn.  As time goes on Henri becomes interested in finding the legendary Goliathus Hercules beetle and with the help of his friends he sets off to British Malaya to do so.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Black follows and it becomes a race to discover the beetle first.  In addition, something strange is happening to Henri.  Will Henri find the beetle or his father?

This book was not at all what I expected.  The cover makes it look like it will be a more serious book but instead it is very much a fantasy and an odd one at that.  I didn't really like it and it took me quite awhile to finish it.

Croak...

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara and Mark Fearing

 

In this version of “The Three Little Pigs” the three little aliens set off from their home on Mercury to make their way in the “worlds”.  Their mother warns them to watch out for the Big, Bad Robot.  They pass by Venus and Earth and then Bork settles on Mars in a rover.  Gork and Nklxwcyz pass by Jupiter and then Gork settles on outside of Saturn on a satellite.  Nklxwcyz finally settles on Neptune.  Of course, the Big, Bad Robot comes after the three little aliens one by one but Nklxwcyz is prepared and they defeat the robot.

This was a very fun version of the “Three Little Pigs”.  I like how the author and illustrator incorporated planets in our solar system. 

  

Ribbett...