Thoughts and Theories as THE LAST STAR Approaches

Penguin hosted a readalong for The Infinite Sea back in March, but I like for the previous books to be as fresh on my mind as possible before a series finale, so I decided to re-listen to The 5th Wave and The Infinite Sea the other day, even though I just did that back in November. What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment.

I've also had the preview Penguin sent out with some other goodies for a few weeks and have managed not to sneak a peek so far. But my willpower is quickly diminishing the closer we get to the release...and especially now that I've re-read both prior books in the series.

I mean, c'mon! Yancey gives us just enough at the end of each book so that we aren't completely wracked with despair but that we also know things are going to get a lot worse before they get better...assuming that they ever do. And I'm more than a little curious to pick up where things left off in The Infinite Sea.

If you're curious, too, you can check out the preview below or at this link:

Less than two weeks till we get the answers we seek, but I'm starting to wonder if I want to know. I mean, what is the deal with the freaking rats, right? Is it like was explained before...how we send rats packing -- i.e. annihilate their sorry butts -- when we want to make a home where they're currently living? If the aliens really don't want to share Earth with us, why didn't they just do that? Why toy with us, taking out more of us with each wave, only to leave the toughest to survive and endure? Are the aliens even aliens?!? There were ships...

Can we really believe anything that happened between Ringer and Vosch there at the end? Were they really never here? At this point, I find it hard to trust anyone, but I want to. Evan keeps finding his way back to Cassie. And Ringer, of all people, found love.

So many have died already, and for what? We still know next to nothing about these supposed alien beings who want our planet so badly they're willing to kill for it. I think Ringer is the closest to the truth: they aren't here. They never were. Why would they download their conscious into us and then try to annihilate us, when they could've peacefully coexisted with none of us the wiser?

Honestly, I have more questions than I have theories. Seriously, if aliens were to invade, I'd be one of the first ones dead, right out of the gate. No way would I be able to keep my wits about me like these kids have. But the fact that they've made it this far must mean something, right? The aliens killed the adults. Used the really young children as bombs. And now we know that they've essentially been turning the teenagers into Silencers. So, what's next?

Evan's holding on to his own humanity, though he doesn't know that's what he's doing. Will Ringer be able to do the same? I think she may do as Vosch wants and track Evan down, but after everything she's seen and done, I don't think she can turn on her friends. And I know she's the last person to think of Evan as a friend, but he's helped her companions more than anyone would have expected, for someone who's from the wrong side of this war.

And what will become of Razor? I'm afraid if he goes with her, he'll only aide her in what she's supposed to do. He knows it's not right, but he's also scared of the truth.

Is it weird that this feels like it's gone from being Cassie's story of survival to Ringer's search for answers? At first, I didn't really want to care about Ringer or her backstory or any of it beyond how it affected Cassie, but after several re-reads and so much time spent in her head, I can't help but be drawn to her character now.

I'm very aware that this is unlikely to end with a happily ever after, at least in the truest sense of the word. Things aren't suddenly going to go back to normal once it's all over, assuming we get the answers we need and the alien presence is eradicated. I know who I hope makes it to the end and who I hope doesn't.

I'm ready for this finale. I am. But I'm also scared of it.

Since I've already re-read the books in preparation for the final book's released, I think I'll watch the movie adaptation of the first book this weekend. Can't be too prepared, can you?

You can check out more about the final book below. And you can check out my reviews of The 5th Wave and The Infinite Star for more analysis of the story thus far. Also, if you need a refresher and don't have time to re-read, I highly recommend the audiobooks. The narrators are fantastic and they get my heart going every time. This series just does. Not. Quit.


Title: The Last Star
Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The 5th Wave, book #3
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 24, 2016
Preorder: Penguin

We’re here, then we’re gone, and that was true before they came. That’s always been true. The Others didn’t invent death; they just perfected it. Gave death a face to put back in our face, because they knew that was the only way to crush us. It won’t end on any continent or ocean, no mountain or plain, jungle or desert. It will end where it began, where it had been from the beginning, on the battlefield of the last beating human heart.

Master storyteller Rick Yancey invokes triumph, loss, and unrelenting action as the fate of the planet is decided in the conclusion to this epic series.

Have you already re-read the series in anticipation of The Last Star in a couple of weeks? Discovered anything new? Formed any new theories? I'd love to hear them!

Labels: aliens, favorites, finales, must-read, penguin, post-apocalyptic, promotions, rick yancey, sci-fi, the 5th wave