Theme and Summary of The 5th Wave

                                       Theme and summary

           In  the book, The Testing I believe the theme is, even though the challenges and going might be tough, it doesn't mean backing down and giving up is the answer. That is what I believe to be the theme because in the book they have many challenges thrown at them made to make them crack to separate the leaders from the followers to correctly lead future generations. They also have to see how they react in tough situations where it looks like the outcome won't be very good.

           The summary of The Testing is: Cia is young for her class, but she acels and does better than most people in her class. She is hoping to be chosen for the testing. An elite group who is chosen who must first pass four tests and prove their intelligence and leadership to lead the future generations. When she is chosen everyone is happy for her, her father included but he warns her that people there will do whatever it takes to win and to only eat what she takes herself.

         She immediately meets up with Thomas and they become partners through out the whole testing, but she realizes that he might be the person she thinks he is. She was told to trust no one but she believes she can trust Thomas. As they say, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."   
 

The four tests in The Testing

                 The candidates that are chosen all have to go through four tests and pass all of them, then have a review from the leaders before they can be chosen. The first test consisted of just an intelligence test on paper on the subjects math, history, English, and languages (yes English and languages were to separate tests.) All of her friends from her colony make it in this one. The next test they have to complete is a test to see what they currently know on the outside world like poisonous plants between edible, and how to fix a solar panel. They learn not to take guesses because before the test the professor said putting something aside and not answering is better than guessing. At first people didn't understand but when the sorted the poisonous and edible flowers, they were then told to eat the edible ones and if they didn't they were disqualified. That's when some kids started dying. Also Cia's friend from her colony gets a nail in the eye when guessing on how to fix the solar panel.

                  The third test is a group test. There are groups of five and five doors. They are each given an hour to look at examples of questions which are behind the doors and decide which candidate is better suited for the questions. But Cia's group only has two so someone has to do two which isn't the real problem. One person can do them all, but if someone tries to re-enter a door with a question already answered they die. And they can't see which questions their members of the group are answering. After the first boy, which seemed to take about an hour, the other girl goes in hoping to do well. But Cia looks at the boys work who went in first and realizes that he is exceedingly smart and that he was lying to them. So she has a theory that he answered all of the questions so when its her turn she doesn't answer her question and finds him outside smirking, but with a surprised look on his face when she comes out. This is when she knew that he was trying to kill them all. Except the last person in the group which question he didn't do. But the first and last boy get all the questions right and move on to the next round.

                  The fourth round is a survival round where they are placed 700 miles away from the ending point and have to make it thee without dying or being slaughtered by the other candidates. Cia and Thomas immediately meet up and to make long story short, through tough times make it while being poisoned, shot at, chased by mutant animal, and almost being blown to pieces. It end with Cia and Thomas graduating and leaving us on a cliff hanger of what's going to happen next. I can't wait for the next book and I recommend it to all people who enjoy a good read.             

The Testing

           I'm on my third book, called The Testing, and so far it has been a great book. It starts out in a setting where after the seven stages of war where most of the Earth is a charred wasteland except for the colonies. The future is in the hands of the future generation to lead the colonies and rebuild America. But only a select few whose intelligence levels are very high and have shown signs of potential leadership are chosen for The Testing. The testing consists  of four different tests to challenge the minds of the candidates.

         But the book starts in a small colony that hasn't had any candidates go to the testing in 10 years. But this year four people make it including Cia, Thomas, Valarie, and Malachi. Of course everyone is happy for her but her father was also a candidate who passed all the tests but he has nightmares of walking down streets with his friends and seeing them explode in front of his eyes. He warns Cia that also some people may do whatever it takes to win including kill. This is as far as I have gotten in this book.  
      

Why you should read The 5th Wave

          Many people don't like reading and some even say that having not even reading a book in a long time. But I  believe that people who say they don't enjoy reading will make an exception for this book. It is set in a post apocalyptic setting where aliens are trying to wipe out the human race so they can use planet Earth as a new home because theirs was used up with no resources left. They appear for seven days before they actually attack or do anything. They send out 4 deadly waves  meant to wipe the humans out and the strong survive. People on Earth are paranoid at every turn and can trust no one. This leaves the reader wondering what is going to happen and which person may actually not be who they say they are. Readers who like an action, thriller, apocalyptic setting, bad odds, survival of the fittest, or just a good read should definitely read this book.  

Wrapping up The 5th Wave (continued)

            But when the group of graduates who have discovered the secret are heading back to rescue the last member, Cassie is told by the silencer, who is in love with her, that they were training the children to become the 5th wave and she remembers that her brother Sammie is in the Air force base and is going to go after him. She pretends to act younger than she is and gets into the base and has to knock out some of the doctors who were going to run the Wonderland test on her. The Wonderland test allows them to see all of your memories and everything that has ever happened to you. She realizes that if they get into her head they will realize why she is there and will immediately kill her.

        While she is breaking in the group of graduates originally from the base are also going for Sammie, remembering him as the youngest in their group. After a chapter of explaining how they broke into the base and how they get to Sammie, they get caught. Caught by the commander of the base,  Colonel Vosch, who knows all about them. While captured they are going to torture Sammie to figure out how they got in and who is helping them because Cassie would've actually been caught but the silencer that is in love with her takes both of them down. Right when he is about to kill Sammie the power goes down and Vosch goes to see what happened. Next the silencer comes and saves them and they get away from the base safely but he loses his life manually setting off the explosive in the air force base. And that's where it ends.

Wrapping up The 5th wave

                In the last chapters of the book it has been wrapped up abrupbtly. In one of the chapters she is shot by a silencer and dieing on the side of the road with no one near her and she is about to bleed out. But like in most books, somebody comes around and saves her. Throughout the rest of the book the come closer together and realize that they love each other, until she realizes that the person she has come to love is actually the silencer who once tried to kill her. But she is finally convinced that he has changed because he loves her and proves it when he sacrifices his life to blow up the main alien head quarters at Wright Patterson Air force base.

               While mean while before he blows up the camp the aliens disguised as commanders and army troops are controlling Wright Patterson Air force base and training the children to kill everyone that is a zombie (someone who has a alien inside of them). But they are really giving them lenses to show the remaining humans as zombies. The children being trained are the 5th wave. And once a group of children graduate and go into action and find what exactly the lenses do they realize they have to mgot back to the camp to rescue a kid who was in their group but was too young because they all have feelings for him.     (To be continued)