4.5 stars... I think. 
 Initial Impressions: What a wild ride! I've heard everyone raving about this book so when I was looking for an amazing book to pick up, this was my choice. 
 I'm not an alien person at all, so I was hesitant, but it was totally well done and very interesting. I definitely couldn't put it down and it was action-packed. 
 I think I was waiting for a BIT more epic but the plot was definitely twisty and so many stories interwoven that I never knew which side was good and which side was evil... And that was kind of the point. 
 I loved Cassie. She was strong-willed, sassy, and sarcastic which definitely kept me entertained. 
 Very rarely it was a bit hard to follow -- Sometimes because the action was going by so quickly and sometimes just because of the way it was written. It wasn't complicated but it was sort of stream-of-consciousness at times so thoughts had the tendency to jump and I had to follow. 
 I'd definitely recommend it! 
 Review originally posted on The Book Addict's Guide: 
 I was terrified to start THE 5TH WAVE. I do not like alien stories -- basically ever -- but after so many rave reviews and friends telling me it's a totally different kind of alien story, I decided to trust them! The aliens in this book -- usually referred to as "the Others" (because they're something other than human) -- are not little green men with big eyes come to Earth in corporeal form. They co-inhabit human bodies and have been "awakened" at the right moment, basically after all the growing up and puberty and whatnot, so they really are ONE with the human - body and soul. They look like humans, talk like humans, act like humans... Until they turn around and shoot you. 
 I think one of the things that also helped with the alien topic was that they were believable. We don't know what aliens would look like if they did exist and I think this is a great way of NOT putting a body that we couldn't possibly imagine to that idea of life outside of our planet. Also, the Others are essentially destroying the humans in waves (hence, THE 5TH WAVE) so there's a sense of post-apocalyptic Earth that was a big part of the book as well. I usually enjoy those kinds of books. (I do love my post-apocalyptic & dystopian books!) 
 THE 5TH WAVE focuses mainly on Cassie who is essentially telling us her story as it happens to her with a few flashbacks here and there. I gotta say... I loved Cassie! She used to be the nice girl, and once the 1st wave hit, she really instantly toughened up. I loved her sarcasm and biting humor and she actually reminded me of one of my friends so it was almost like reading about someone I knew! I loved that we get to see how tough and brave Cassie is, but she's still totally scared out of her mind at the same time. She has a lot of tough decisions to make to stay alive and I really felt that sense of nervousness and constant fear from her. 
 I know a few reviewers had said that the change of narrators was a bit confusing, but it didn't really bother me. I was expecting each chapter to alternate or jump around, but there are specific sections and each section -- not chapter -- is narrated by one specific character. Sometimes it changes from first to third person and sometimes the voice is not always immediately clear, but I really wasn't bothered by it too much. I think it was more of the fact that regardless of POV or narrator, I needed to focus just a bit more. Some parts were alternating between present time and flashbacks, some parts were jumpy because of action, some because of a stream of consciousness-style flow, but I didn't find it confusing. It just required a bit more focus than reading a "fluffier" type novel. 
 The thing I loved the most was how all of the loose ends tie up in the end. Stories come together, mysteries solved, and we FINALLY find out who is good and who is bad. The whole point of the book is that Cassie can never trust anyone because the Others look just like any other human and there's nothing to give them away as untrustworthy. I kept suspecting people left and right, switching my opinions of good and bad in my head, and when everything finally came together, I felt much better! I think because the book received so much hype, I wasn't let down per se, but I wasn't TOTALLY amazed and shocked. I loved the suspense, action, characters, and plot, but it wasn't quite a five-star read for me.