Book Reviews: The Dead-Tossed Waves and The Dark and Hollow Places, by Carrie Ryan
The Dead-Tossed Waves(The Forest of Hands and Teeth 2)
Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.
I enjoyed this a bit more than The Forest of Hands and Teeth. There was a wider view of the world where the community was not as sheltered and led to believe they were the last ones left alive. It gave the story more to work with.
As for Gabry, the inner monologues of her doubts became redunant and I couldn't get into the love triangle between her Catcher and Elias. Though I did like the boys individually.
I did really like the scenes between Gabry and her mother, Mary. That being Mary from The Forest of Hands and Teeth. The relationships and aftermath from the first book tie in nicely. Any questions I was left when I finished The Forest of Hands and Teeth were answered.
3.5 out of 5 Waves.
The Dark and Hollow Places (The Forest of Hands and Teeth 3)
There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.
Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.
But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?
When I read the book jacket I was worried the whole book would be filled with Annah being emo about her guilt and her scars all the time. It didn't harp on her guilt as much as I feared and while she is self conscious about her scars, it wasn't for 374 pages.
Unlike her sister who often doubted her strength and bravery, Annah was actually really resilient and stood up for herself. She knew how to take care of herself after years of being on her own.
Again, the obligatory-almost-love triangle was unnecessary. The story would be fine without it. I was glad it was over with quickly, but didn't need to brought up at all.
I enjoyed seeing the new horrors the Dark City brought and the collapse of it's society. As disgusting and infuriating as it was, it's the dark reality of what would happen after so many centuries of fighting the zombie apocalypse.
One of my favorite things was knowing where they were and where they were going because the setting used to be New York City. (The tram that takes you to Roosevelt Island. The rollercoaster at Coney Island.)
One thing I did notice in both books was that the final confrontations dragged on a bit more than my patience was able to take, but the end resolutions were satisfactory.
4 out 5 hot air balloons.