Book excerpt: Free exclusive preview of The 5th Wave. The Passage meets The Hunger Games in this gripping new series from Carnegie-shortlisted Rick Yancey. After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one. Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave. On a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth's last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, until Cassie meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan may be her only hope for rescuing her brother and even saving herself. Now Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. Cassie Sullivan gets up. Begin Cassie's journey with free sample chapters from The Fifth Wave www.The5thWaveIsComing.com About the author: Rick Yancey (www.rickyancey.com) is the author of several adult novels and the memoir Confessions of a Tax Collector. His first young-adult novel, The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, was a finalist for the Carnegie Medal. In 2010, his novel, The Monstrumologist, received Michael L. Printz Honor, and the sequel, The Curse of the Wendigo, was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Praise for The 5th Wave: 'This is DAMN and WOW territory. Quite simply, one of the best books I've read in years.' Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author. 'Breathtakingly fast-paced and original, The 5th Wave is a reading tsunami that grabs hold and won't let go.' Melissa De La Cruz, New York Times bestselling author of the Blue Bloods series. 'An epic sci-fi adventure about a terrifying alien invasion. You'll read it in one sitting' Bookseller 'Yancey's heartfelt, violent, paranoid epic, filled with big heroics and bigger surprises, is part War of the Worlds, part Starship Troopers, part Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and part The Stand . . . a sure thing for reviewers and readers alike.' Booklist (starred review) 'A gripping SF trilogy about an Earth decimated by an alien invasion... the question of what it means to be human is at the forefront' Publishers Weekly