The Infinite Sea

The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey, 3oo pages

Cassie and the Others are back!  The alien race known as the Others watched earth for thousands of years before their invasion which left only small groups of teenagers and children left as population: planet earth.  The second novel, The Infinite Sea, picks up right where The 5th Wave left off.   The action opens up with Cassie in an abandoned motel with a group of refugees from the Others' internment camp.  The rest of the novel reads basically as a war novel complete with recon missions, secret plots, traitors, psychological mind games, torture and true love with an alien (okay, maybe that last only happens in Yancey's dystopian future).    

A lot of reviewers of this book complained that it was too slow and contemplative and confusing.  As it is told through a series of flashbacks and through the perspective of multiple characters, I can understand the confusing part if you are not used to that style, but I really liked Yanceys's choice to let everyone share in the story.  I really liked how the focus expanded to include more of Ringer's story.  Don't get me wrong, Cassie is great and she is a survivor and all, but Ringer is badass!   For those who missed the focus on the Cassie/Evan love story, I would just say, war is dirty and confusing filled with long stretches of boredom interrupted by brief bursts of violence.  More importantly, wait for the third book!  In any trilogy, book two is a classic set up book for the showdown that is sure to come in book three (full disclosure: The Two Towers is my favorite LoTRs novel and Christmas Eve is my favorite holiday, so maybe I am an anticipation junky).
The 5th Wave was one of my favorite books of 2013, so I eagerly awaited its sequal.   At the beginning of the novel, I really struggled to remember all the characters from The 5th Wave (as in, I probably should have done a re-read because I totally forgot who everyone was) which made the beginning super challenging for me.  Once I got into Ringer's chapter, I couldn't put it down.  Also, the chess scene.  "Checkmate, bitches" is my new go-to line for everything.