Sound and Fury?

This is the second book in yet another three-book post-apocalyptic series aimed at young adults. This novel picks up shortly after The Fifth Wave ends (so much so that I had to go back and re-read my review for the first book to remind me of the plot) and follows the journey of Cassie Sullivan and a band of young “soldiers”—Zombie, Teacup, Poundcake, Nugget, and Ringer. However, this book is as much Ringer’s story as Cassie’s as the book spends even more time telling the story from her POV.

For those of you who haven’t read the first book, don’t (I repeat) don’t start with this one or you will be incredibly confused. The plot is basically this—aliens have invaded Earth and they are weeding out the human population in a series of destructive waves—natural disasters, disease, and then hunting humans down one by one. But of course, the 5^th wave is the worst of all. Cassie has managed to survive and rescue her young brother from a “camp” where he was being trained to be a solider and kill aliens (though as you might expect, if you’ve ever watched any dramatic TV show ever, the truth is not quite what it seems).

The story of this novel opens shortly after that rescue as Cassie and her companions try to decide what their next move should be in order to survive. I won’t give away any more of the plot since there are again some surprises in store as well as a story told from multiple viewpoints. The writing is fine and the story should be compelling, but I find myself feeling distanced from the plot (while simultaneously being disturbed). Though not as epically bleak as The Road, there is that same feeling here and it makes the relationship between Cassie and Evan seem both more dramatic and more frustrating. It’s not Twilight bad or anything, but I feel used by the intensity of emotions, rather than pulled in. I’m sure I will read the third book because I’m curious to see how Yancey will wrap this up, but I’m not sure I’ll feel good about myself afterwards.