The Last Star

May 23, 2016
Six weeks have passed since readers left Cassie, Ben, and their skeletal crew clinging to life at the end of The Infinite Sea, limping toward a final confrontation with the Others, inscrutable aliens who have engineered the near-extinction of the human race. Seven billion are dead. Those still alive cannot let down their guard. Silencers roam the countryside picking off survivors. This final installment of Yancey's 5th Wave trilogy again unspools from multiple perspectives, keeping readers as off-balance as the characters, who must adjust to a world where they can trust no one. Current events make it harder to read this dystopian epic as escapist literature when some plot elementsâlike the Others' use of suicide bombers not old enough to know what they're doingâare far from implausible. After hundreds of pages of violent, nonstop action, the ending provides both satisfaction and heartbreak. Ben perhaps gets to the heart of Yancey's theme when he says the only way to win against an irrational foe is to hold onto his humanity. "You're never perfectly safe," he says. "To live is to risk your life, your heart, everything." Ages 14âup. Agent: Brian DeFiore, DeFiore and Co.

June 1, 2016
Cassie, Ringer, Ben (aka Zombie), and company fight the final frontier to save the last vestiges of human life on Earth. On the heels of their mind-boggling discovery of the origin of the "others"--humans who they were tricked into thinking were aliens--Yancey's cast of child soldiers and assassins plots to stop the planet's takeover, led by the evil Vosch, who's responsible for the mass murder of billions of innocent humans. The story takes place over the final four days before 5th Wave soldiers are unleashed to destroy every city in the world. Similar to the first two titles in the trilogy (The 5th Wave, 2013, and The Infinite Sea, 2014), this action-packed conclusion starts with a ghastly, ominous tableau then unfolds through the voices of its various heroines, heroes, and villains. Yancey piles on plenty of gross throughout, including a pit of freshly killed and rotting dead bodies that gets visited and revisited on multiple occasions as well as a very, very scary crazy cat lady that will have readers recoiling in horror and disgust--only Yancey could have imagined it. Religion also plays a fairly strong role this time around, as characters find themselves questioning their own personal beliefs as well as their trust and faith in each other, which is totally understandable give their state of affairs. Although the going gets murky from time to time, readers should be happy to know that by the end all is revealed, even if it's not necessarily the truth they want. A haunting, unforgettable finale. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

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June 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-The Others arrived with one goal in mind-complete annihilation of the human race. The first wave cut the power, the second brought natural disasters, the third heralded the plague, the fourth saw the Others walk among us, but the fifth will be the worst. Without trust, it is every human for themselves. Forced by Vosch to undergo the 12th system, Ringer is enhanced with alien technology that makes her a deadly killer. Vosch has given her one mission-bring him Evan Walker. With Evan captured, Ringer offers Cassie what she wants most-a chance to infiltrate Vosch's headquarters to save Evan as long as Vosch is Ringer's to kill. Added to this pressure is the fact that they have just four days before the mothership will begin dropping bombs on all of the world's major cities. This is the most mature of the volumes of Yancey's "Fifth Wave" trilogy, as strong language frequently appears and violence reaches its peak. Astute fans will appreciate the author's attempt to make everything come full circle back to Cassie's initial fear that she is the last human. While satisfying, the ending will leave readers either loving or hating it, so prepare to hear passionate debates from teens. VERDICT While some questions remain unanswered, there are too many fans of the series even to consider passing over the final installment for purchase.-Lindsey Tomsu, La Vista Public Library, NE

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Yancey takes no prisoners in this tense conclusion to a trilogy begun with The 5th Wave (2013). Well, maybe the one prisoner: Ringer, aka Marika, is still under the control of the wily Commander Vosch, who has implanted her with the 12th system, a piece of alien technology that enhances her body. Meanwhile, Cassie and Ben, unsure of whom they can trust, reach an uneasy understanding with renegade Evan Walker and batten down the hatches with their ever-dwindling group of survivors and prepare to make a final stand. If the second volume of this series took the scope and range of the first and made it small, this third goes microscopic. The whole of the narrative occurs over just four brutal days, but boy, are they jam-packed. Loss and sacrifice intertwine with the underlying questions of morality, family, and human strength, and the resolutions of two apocalyptically doomed romances are appropriately understated, but no less electrifying. Yancey's prose remains achingly precise, and this grows heavier, tighter, and more impossible to put down as the clock runs out. As the focus narrows on our ragtag heroes struggling with the vestiges of their humanity at the very end of the world, this blistering finale proves the truth of the first two volumes: it was never about the aliens. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: With a feature film out, awareness for this already-huge trilogy is at an all-time high. Come see how it all ends.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)