The Dead-Tossed Waves

The Dead-Tossed Waves
Author: Carrie Ryan
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 407
The Forest of Hands and Teeth #2
My Rating: 4.5/5 stars
My Grade: B+

Summary: (From Goodreads)
  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.

My Review:
Woah....fantastic and beautiful. I actually found this one more gruesome than the Forest of Hands and teeth, but it was amazing. Powerful and compelling! My heart broke at the end....I fell for Elias and Catcher. I can't wait to read the next one!

The Dead-Tossed Waves is not so much the sequel to the Forest of Hands and Teeth, it's more of a companion novel. I would recommend reading the first one first, but you don't have to. If you did, you would know that the only similarities between the two books are that Gabry's mother is Mary, the main character from the first book, and you would also know who Henry and Cass are, as the main characters have a run in with them.

I've always thought the zombies were scary, but I never was particuliarly scared. Until this book. To be honest, I never realized how scary the zombie apocalypse would be. And how it is decripted in this novel, of the world ending and zombies ruling, finally made me realize how FREAKING scary that is. This novel was horrifying.

I love Carrie Ryan's writing. It is so gorgeous, as well as very emotional and real. She has such talent as a writer, as she is able to make everything seem so lyrical and beautiful in a way, but still horrifying, while pacing the plot and action.

I loved the characters. My only issue with this novel is that I found Gabry to be quite a whiny character. She still was a very 3-D character, but she did annoy me. I loved the boys (as always,) and it was interesting to see a different perspective of Mary, since the last book was told from her point of view.

Overall, another amazing book from Carrie Ryan. It's a horrifying and lyrical and fantastic one. Please read it. You'll love it.