You know the feeling, when you’re anxiously expecting a sequel? The impatience, the feeling of triumph when you finally can hold the book in your hands? And then…everything just kinds of falls apart. You’ve been cheated on, you’ve been misled, and you’ve been BETRAYED. If the 5th Wave wasn’t quite the big deal I expected it to be, the feeling of disappointment was still strong after reading this sequel. And now, I just have one feeling left: CONFUSION.
A COMPLEX STORYLINE
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“No hope without faith, no faith without hope, no love without trust, no trust without love. Remove one and the entire human house cards collapses.”
Stuck in a hotel in ruins with Ringer, Cassie, Ben and all of the others of the wounded and crazy enough to escape teenagers, The Infinite Sea once again throws us in a matter of pages into a whole different world. If the tension was stuck to our skins during the first installment, well, let me tell you, it will never leave you either in this book. However, unlike the first book, where everything felt fast-paced and confusing and crazy all over the place action and let’s break into this alien place and stuff, The Infinite Sea felt a little slow, dragging on for pages. Let there be no misunderstanding here: there are moments that will take your breath away, where you’ll feel like chocking because there’s something big happening, but you can’t quite understand how why. When WHY. The storyline gets more and more complex in this story, as we’re trying to figure out the roots of this crazy alien invasion. I can say with certainty that this is one hell of a conspiracy, but…I can say that I’m still very, very confused about all of this. If, in the first installment, all we are left with are questions – obviously to build up suspense, make us crazy-waiting for the next book to come, here…I feel like I’m left with even more questions, when I wanted to have some answers, too.
A DIFFERENT, REFRESHING PERSPECTIVE
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“I found you, but in finding you, I lost myself.”
My biggest problem in the first installment, was this: I had a hard time connecting with Cassie. Characters are SO important to me, and if I’m having trouble understanding them and what they’re made of, well…it’s even harder for me to hold on to a book like I could hold on for dear life. That happens, sometimes, I swear, but not in this book. In The Infinite Sea, we’re thrown between Ringer and Cassie’s point of view, and some others, too. At first, it made me happy. Ringer is no Cassie, let me tell you that. She’s sassy, she’s kind of crazy, and she doesn’t fear the enemy. Reading the story from Ringer’s perspective kind of turned the story around, made it even harsher than from Cassie’s perspective, if that even makes sense. I enjoyed that change of perspective, really, even if I didn’t felt too connected to Ringer, either. I guess our situation is very different, so…there’s that. I’m happy to say, that, once again, each narrator brought something different to the story…except when some passages just were copied and pasted onto the next narrator’s chapter. I mean, I already KNOW that, so, why read it once again?
OVERALL
Instead of an even more addicting plot, The Infinite Sea left me like I always am after a good meal, asking: “That’s it? Where is the dessert?” Because every good meal needs a dessert, and I didn’t get one. And I’m a bit disappointed. The change of perspective was refreshing, and reading this was entertaining, but I still have SO many questions that I will need to read the last book. But this infinite sea didn’t feel so big to me: it felt like only half of a novel to me.
Final rating: 3 drops!
Did you read The Infinite Sea? Were you, like me, kind of disappointed? Do you want to read this book? Share your thoughts with me in comments!
Rick Yancey, The Infinite Sea, Published by Putnam Juvenile, September 16th 2014.
How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans? Rid the humans of their humanity.
Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.
Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.
The flashlight photo is beautiful.
Fantastic review, Marie.
Aww thank you so much, I’m so happy you like it. Thank you! <3
I loved The 5th Wave, but honestly I’m kinda afraid to read this book. I think I’ll read it once the 3rd book comes out, then I’ll get to read it together. Great review btw!
Oh, I hope I didn’t scare you away, haha, that was not what I intended to do, at all! But well, to be honest, I would have loved to read this one, then the 3rd one right after, maybe I would have had MORE answers all at once, and I would have liked it more 🙂
Thank you so much! <3
Yes! The Infinite Sea was basically half a book. It really should have just been combined with the third book or something, because it really didn’t end at a real ending, if that makes any sense. And so many crazy things happened, I’m still not entirely sure if I understood it all… I think it’s supposed to be that way, but the third book really needs to do a good job at explaining everything!
It does make sense, I felt the same way! I felt like it was missing something, and that got me so confused. I want more explanations, and I hope the last book will answer all of my questions!! 🙂
Thank you so much!! <3
The last book has a TON of explaining to do… Maybe it’ll be really long with all the explaining to make up for the practically-a-novella second book.
Yes maybe, I kind of hope so…since I was disappointed with this one, I hope that the next one will be really, really good! 😀
I read The 5th Wave and thought it was pretty good. Then, when I bought the 2nd book as soon as it came out I found I couldn’t remember anything that happened in the 1st book and wound up being totally confused. 🙁
I’m so glad I’m not alone. Maybe I read it too long ago, and that’s why I got a bit confused, I don’t know…the whole story just felt kind of blurry to me, and I left with more questions than answers. Hopefully the last book will clear all that up! 🙂
Thank you for stopping by!! <3
I think maybe at some point I’ll check them all out at the library and try again. If I ever have the time that is!
Ahh, yes, the time. So many books to read … ! I hope you will! 🙂
It seems like The Infinite Sea is pretty disappointing for a lot of people. Totally agree though that it’s really hard to make connections with the characters in the series. They’re just in such a different situation to us. Great review 😀
You’re right, I guess it’s normal that we can’t connect completely with the characters in that crazy situation. But still, I don’t know, I like to feel close, find a way anyway to feel that, closeness, when I read a book. I hope that will maybe happen in the third book 🙂
Thank you so much!! <3
oh I hate that feeling too- it is the worst 🙁 great review!
It is 🙁 Thank you so much!! <3
I’ve been putting off reading this one because I’ve heard mainly mediocre or negative things. After really loving The 5th Wave, I’m not sure if I’ll be reading this one any time soon.
Oh, I understand the feeling! But, maybe all of the reviews, you’ll end up loving this book more than you think you will 🙂 I would hate it if you missed on Something because of that. Sometimes, reviews are saying one thing, and your mind is telling you the other while you read the book 🙂
Thank you so much for commenting! 🙂