Better Than the First in the Series: The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

The 5th Wave #2:  The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

Dystopian Thriller

I was so delightfully surprised by this book!  I read the first one a while back and didn't love it.  I liked it well enough to continue reading and I am so glad I did.

This series takes place on a future earth where an alien species has targeted humans for extinction in a series of "waves" which includes disease, natural disaster, etc.  The main character, Cassie Sullivan, is a survivor and has unwittingly fallen for one of the aliens, Evan Walker who saved her life in the last book and is determined to save her life in this one.

If this were a simple love story about two different, star-crossed species, I would be hesitant to give it such a good review.  And, honestly, that's what the first book felt like.  But this one fractures into the storylines of many minor characters in the last book.  There's Ringer, Zombie, and more.  Each story is told with heartbreak and focus as if the series is about them instead of Cassie.  Maybe it is...there's one more to go, I think.

The writing is taut with tension and the story is told with a sense of tragedy and sympathy and pain.  This book really captured me in a way the first one didn't and I decided to blow off my Sunday plans in order to sit and read the whole book the whole way through.  It's a rare book that has that affect.  I'm looking forward to the next one and hope that Yancey can sustain his magic for one more ride.