Suicide Reviews: Under the Skin by Michel Faber

  

Synopsis: This novel introduces Isserley, a mysterious female who drives around the Scottish Highlands picking up well-muscled hitchhikers. Scarcely big enough to peer over her steering wheel, scarred and vulnerable yet strangely erotic and threatening, Isserley makes the hitchhikers open up to her and reveal clues about who might miss them if they should disappear. At once humane and horrifying, Under the Skin is a heart-thumping ride through the dangerous territory where moral instincts and the boundaries of compassion collide.

Date Published: 2000

Published By: Harcourt

Number of Pages: 296

Rating: 5/5

Under the Skin is one mind-fuck of a novel, in the best possible way. Most people might know the basic premise from the 2013 film adaptation but, let me tell you, there is so much more to the book. 

This book is just layered with all sorts of though-provoking themes. Rape, animal cruelty, what it means to be human - it's all very heavy stuff but this is one of those books that needs to be read - because it just might change your perspective on everything. 

It is beautifully written, crammed with lyrical sentences that you want to pluck out and hold to the light. And while the book is not graphic, there are definitely some unsettling moments that will make you squirm. 

I can't really go into too much detail because I don't want to spoil the book. I'll just say that this is one of the best sci-fi books I've ever read and if you think you know the story because you've seen the movie, YOU DON'T! 

Suicide Reviews: The Infinite Sea (The 5th Wave #2) by Rick Yancey

 

Synopsis: How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid them of their humanity.

Cassie Sullivan and her companions lived through the Others' four waves of destruction. Now, with the human race nearly exterminated and the 5th Wave rolling across the landscape, they face a choice: brace for winter and hope for Evan Walker's return, or set out in search of other survivors before the enemy closes in. Because the next attack is more than possible - it's inevitable.

No one can anticipate the depths to which the Others will sink, nor the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

Date Published: September 16, 2014

Published By: Putnam Juvenile

Number of Pages: 300

Rating: 5/5

In a lot of ways, The Infinite Sea serves as the traditional placeholder in a trilogy - the middle book where not much happens except a lot of setting up for the final novel. It is definitely less epic in scope than the first book. 

But Yancey continues to surprise the reader with unexpected twists and different perspectives. For the first time, we get inside the head of Ringer, the grim teenage girl who was recruited as a soldier in the last book and helped Cassie and her group escape. She quickly became my favorite character in this book - tough, resourceful, and intelligent, Ringer is a total badass. She is stoic but not unemotional, expressing her feelings in unexpected ways. Ringer does what she wants and doesn't allow herself to be pushed around by anyone - even genocidal aliens. 

In The Infinite Sea, we learn more about the alien's plot to take over the world but the answers we're given only lead to more unanswered questions. There is still a mystery to be solved here and I'm hoping the third book will be the final piece to the puzzle. This isn't your typical alien invasion - there's a lot of nuance to it. I love the complexity of the plot in all its twists and turns. 

Another thing I love about this series is the philosophical questions it raises: What does it mean to be human? What sacrifices do you have to make in order to retain your humanity? Is it even worth retaining or is survival the only thing that matters? The characters in this book face hard choices and must weigh every decision - any wrong move might cost them their lives. 

If I have any criticism for The Infinite Sea, it's that, at times, it feels a tad overwritten. Yancey clearly loves to play with language and creates passages of stunning imagery - but it sometimes gets in the way of the plot. 

The Infinite Sea is a masterful follow-up to The 5th Wave and I cannot wait to see how it all ends in The Last Star. 

Suicide Reviews: The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) by Rick Yancey

 

Synopsis: After the 1st Wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th Wave, just one rule applies: trust no one.

Now it's the dawn of the 5th Wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be Cassie's only hope for rescuing her brother - or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. 

From award-winning author Rick Yancey comes a gripping epic of catastrophic loss, unthinkable odds, and unflinching courage.

Date Published: May 7, 2013

Published By: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Number of Pages: 457

Rating: 5/5

I am so glad this book lived up to the hype. Even though I'm excited for the upcoming film adaptation, I know it will only pale in comparison to this epic sci-fi tale of survival and resilience. 

From the very first page I was sucked into the story. I plowed through the first hundred pages without looking up, and when I did, it was like waking from an incredibly vivid dream. I actually had to remind myself that aliens hadn't invaded the planet in reality (at least not yet.) That type of realism for such a fantastical story is awe-inspiring. It made me think that if aliens did invade our planet, it would happen exactly as it did in The 5th Wave.

I loved all of the characters and the complex, ever-shifting dynamics between them. The relationship between Cassie and Evan Walker is particularly intriguing. I won't spoil anything, but I did figure out what eventually happens between them long before it actually happened. Of course, this may have been because I saw the trailer for the movie, and guessed the twist from there. (Come on, movie trailers, could you be any more obvious?)  

The aliens in this book are some of my favorite that I've ever come across in science fiction. Of course, I'll always have a soft spot for sexy aliens, like Daemon Black from the Lux series, but, man, do I love me some evil, destructive aliens hell-bent on world domination. The structure Yancey uses to describe the invasion with the different Waves is masterful - both chilling and completely convincing. 

The 5th Wave is exactly the kind of post-apocalyptic alien-invasion story I've been looking for. I can't believe it's taken me this long to read it. This book isn't just for young adult sci-fi fans - adult readers will love it too. 

The 5th Wave Movie Trailer