Waiting on Wednesday: The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases.

The Infinite Sea
The 5th Wave #2

by Rick Yancey

Coming September 16, 2014

Putnam Juvenile

Summary:

For Cassie Sullivan and the rest of Earth’s remaining human survivors, the situation was already desperate when the 5th Wave hit. It’s about to get worse.

No one yet knows the depths to which Earth’s conquerors—the Others—will sink in order to rid the Earth of the human infestation, nor have they guessed the heights to which the human spirit can reach. Characters introduced in Book One will come to the fore—and others will face the ultimate test.

Readers will watch in awe as the Others give their answer to Cassie’s defiance.

Why I want it:

The 5th Wave was one of the most intense books I read last year. It's not always action-packed, but it is continually edgy and tense. The quiet moments are when I worry most, and that makes it really exciting to read. With such a dramatic ending to 5th Wave and a VERY vague summary for Infinite Sea, I'm wondering what the heck Cassie et co are going to do. 

Why I think you should want it:

The 5th Wave is an alien book without aliens. Their presence is continuous, but not always entirely obvious. Even through devastating waves of mass extinction carried out through disease and similar catastrophes, the threat to the characters is at times much more subtle than you might anticipate for a book about the end of the world. It's like those really good horror movies where it's not just some crazed psychopath running around with a chainsaw or pickax. As such, I think one of the best aspects of The 5th Wave is the characterization and the development of each character individually. Cassie is a true survivor. She is badass and just doesn't stop. Evan is a guy with a lot of secrets but a lot of heart. He's probably the most conflicted about what's going on, and he does his best to do the right thing, even when it's not what he should do. Ben...Ben is a little harder to define. I think he shows the most personal growth because he started out at the top, was booted to the bottom, and then had to fight and claw his way as close to where he started as he could get. I am personally fascinated with him, and I think if you read this series, you will be too. You can be sure that Infinite Sea will be even more dramatic and fraught with danger. This is a good scary series without actually being a horror story.

Have you read The 5th Wave and will you be picking up The Infinite Sea? Let me know your thoughts and your picks for today's WoW in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday #34: DO NOT WANT

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week the girls at B&B think up a fun theme, and participating bloggers post their favorite 10 books in that category. This week's theme is

Top Ten Worlds I Would NOT Inhabit/Characters I Would Not Trade Places With If They Payed Me in Solid Gold

I know the actual title of this post seems mean, but I would never, ever want to permanently inhabit these places or be these characters.

1. Katniss/Panem, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. No. I'm sorry. No amount of boys passing me life-sustaining carbs would ever be able to force me to choose to live in Panem. Love the series, but that country is so messed up.

2. Cassie, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. Terrifying. The United States that Cassie knows is utterly terrifying. Like, wet-your-pants-might-as-well-curl-up-and-die-because-you're-going-to-anyway brand of terrifying.

3. Amelia, Hereafter trilogy by Tara Hudson. Oh, Amelia. This series is lovely, but so incredibly heartbreaking. I wouldn't want to switch places with Amelia because she's strong enough to make the decisions she did. I don't know if I would have been.

4. David/Newcago, Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson. I love superhero stories, but this is a superhero horror story. The guys who should be good? Yeah, they're despicable, murderous monsters. Nothankyou.

5. Allie, Blood of Eden trilogy by Julie Kagawa. Vampires plagued with a superiority complex, a super bug, horrifically genetically engineered canibalistic monsters, and a psychopathic genius. Um...I'll pass. This series is so ridiculously good and wrings all the feels out of me, but I could never live in it. I would die. Literally. Immediately. Just...*poof* *iz ded* *rabids go nom nom nom*

6. Liesel/WWII Germany, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. The most heartbreaking of this list, I think, because it was a real place and a real time. I can't even begin to imagine the sorrows of the people during that time.

7. The peculiar children in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. Creepy, creepy world those kids live in. They have powers, yes, but they are hunted for them, and the only semi-safe option they have is to hide themselves away from the world a la Peter Pan and the Lost Boys and relive the same day over and over and over and over and over.... Never growing up and getting to experience all life has to offer is a horrible thing, and I pity them. They're in their 70s and 80s, and yet, they're still only children.

8. Meghan & Ethan Chase/The Nevernever, Iron Fey & Iron Fey: Forgotten series by Julie Kagawa. Julie sure knows how to write 'em. The Nevernever, aka Faery is the worst. I'd actually take the world in Blood of Eden over the Nevernever because at least Allie knows where she stands. The Nevernever and its inhabitants are always scheming to do you grevious damage, the least of which is death. Give me a dang sword or a branch or whatever, and I'll at least make a stand against the rabids, but in the Iron Fey series, your own words can destroy you faster than a weapon ever could.

9. Ember, Article 5 trilogy by Kristen Simmons. More than some other highly excellent and creeptastic future dystopians (Divergent, Delirium, Legend, Wither, etc), the Article 5 series really does scare me because I can honestly see how we could go from our society today to the shambling country Ember and Chase reside in. This one hits me especially close to home because quite literally, half of the series takes place in my hometown. The square my mom and I watch Shakespeare plays in each summer? Scene to brutal mobs and murder. Wonderful series, but it scares the crap out of me.

10. Tina Fey, Bossypants by Tina Fey. Wait, no, that's a lie. I do want to be Tina Fey. I can do her Sarah Palin impersonation and everything!

Actual #10. Alina/Ravka, Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. Unless Mal/The Darkling/Sturmhond/Nikolai are all shirtless at all times and hanging out with me exclusively, Ravka is not a place I would want to live. It's terrifying. Thanks a lot, Leigh. You create the men of my dreams and place them in the world of my nightmares. You did that on purpose.

So that's my list. Some real (or at least more realistic) worlds, some fantastical, some silly. All are stunningly horrific, and that's one reason I really love all those books.  What's on  your list this week? Share your links!