I finally got around to reading this, what with recommendations to do so flying around and the movie coming out soon (or has it come out yet?). In any case, I can definitely see what the hype is about. This was a fantastic opening salvo for a new YA trilogy. And superb pacing. Really cool, real science-fiction-y look at aliens, something that doesn't always happen in YA (or in adult sci fi). The alien's goals, the way they "infested," their plans for the purge and how successfully it's carried out - so frighteningly realistic in it's portrayal of how screwed we would be if this really happened (and how many deaths there would be). And at the same time, I like the spin on humans' ability to survive, considering that the strongest, the ones left, really are being molded into a "masterpiece" for the 5th Wave. Seems slightly risky as far as how easily the operation could come down with a couple rouge aliens/humans spreading the word. Regardless, a great set up. I like the POV changes and the character/story development we get and am forward looking to more of that (particularly with Ringer). I also am really enjoying the head games details - the "who to trust" pieces of the story are tangible and intense. The one thing I was iffy on is some of the private/inner thoughts of Cassie (side note: love her name) - it's almost too "adolescent girl" sometimes, which bothered me. I think there are ways to show her need for normalcy and to think about the things that mattered back before the invasion without making her seem so...shallow...or that shallow things are all she thought about before, since that's likely untrue. Example: I loved the points about chocolate and burgers, but less the implication that everything she used to do was all about boys and getting boys attention, etc. However, all in all, I really enjoyed this book. I would definitely recommend and look forward to watching the screen adaptation. Now, here's to hoping it holds up the story-telling and development that fell off in the second two books of the Divergent series.