The Dead-Tossed Waves

Bibliography:
Ryan, Carrie. 2010. The Dead-Tossed Waves. Delacourt Press: New York
ISBN 978-0385736848
Summary:
In this sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Dead-Tossed Waves tells the story of Gabry, who we soon discover is Mary's daughter. Mary and Gabry live in the lighthouse overlooking the seaside city that Gabry has grown up in. To Gabry, the Mudo (the local name for the shambling undead that have overtaken the world) are just stories and legends of the terrifying places outside of the city walls. One night, Gabry, along with several friends, decide to explore the abandoned amusement park just over the city's protective wall. This starts a horrifying chain of events that leave some of her friends dead and some held captive by city officials. These same events also force Gabry on the run for her own freedom and the lives of those closest to her. Along the way, she must find strength within herself to fight for what is right and to protect those she loves. And she must also figure out who she really is and where she belongs...

Critical Analysis:
I think I liked this book a little bit more than The Forest of Hands and Teeth. This city and story has a much more modern feel than the village of The Forest of Hands and Teeth as they have found a way to essentially wall off the Mudo from the city and people have resumed a somewhat normal existence. They also are connected to the Protectorate, the governing power of the apocalyptic world, and are aware of other cities, etc. It is an interesting contrast to the isolated, primitive, almost "Little House on the Prarie-ishness" of Mary's village. Gabry is also a much different character than Mary. I think that she is easier to sympathize with. Where Mary was a very emotionally strong girl (what else could you be under those living conditions) who was wanting to find a new world, Gabry is happy to be safe and loves the security of the things she knows. She is actually forced to flee the city and play the reluctant hero out of self-preservation, her loyalty to her friends, and her longing to be like her mother. I also enjoyed the deeper understanding you have of Mary's character through Gabry's perception. There was the same adventure and tension of the chase as there was in The Forest but I thought the romance was a little more satisfying. Gabry has reason to be drawn to both of the very different suitors in this story as opposed to Mary's delimma of not really knowing what she wanted until it was too late. In fact, Mary's love life finally seems to have some promising conclusion in this book, as well. My only complaint is that there were loose ends from the first book that are not answered in this one (Whatever happened to the Sisters and their secrets?) But maybe everything will be wrapped up in the next book, because, Oh yes, there will be a third book. And unlike The Forest of Hands and Teeth that was originally written as a stand alone book (albeit one with a very inconclusive ending), this book was written to have a successor and ends as such with a proper cliffhanger. Series books really drive me nuts, especially when I don't know when the next one will be coming out. But I will be first in line buying it just so I can know what happens next...so I guess they know what they are doing.

Review from Booklist-"The Forest of Hands of and Teeth (2009) spliced classic zombie mythos into a world that was one part postapocalypse and one part colonial America and drove the plot with a healthy surge of teen hormones. This companion piece, which features some returning characters in minor roles, involves another discontented young woman, Gabry. Life within her walled town is shattered when a group of her friends step past the border and are attacked by the Mudo (that’s zombies to you and me). A series of calamities results in a third act much like the one in Forest: Gabry flees through an unknown wilderness with companions including potential new paramour Elias and former crush Catcher, who may be immune to the Mudo’s bite. Though her reliance on sentence fragments is a bit irksome, Ryan knows how to put together an action scene; the final pages are especially thrilling. Savvy readers may scoff at the constant lusting going on amid the carnage, but fans of Forest will be happy to find a familiar flesh-eating formula. Grades 9-12. --Daniel Kraus"

Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Bibliography:

Ryan, Carrie. 2009. Forest of Hands and Teeth. Delacourt Press: New York. ISBN 978-0385736824

Critical Analysis:

In Ryan's novel, Mary is a young girl living in a post-apocalyptic society. The last survivors of a virus that turned most of the world's population into the walking dead. Fortunately for the survivors, the infected zombies, called the Unconsecrated by Mary's deeply religious village, are mindless and, for the most part, easy to outrun. But what they don't have in intelligence, they make up for with sheer numbers and the single-minded, relentless need to bite and infect. Although both of her parents are lost to the forest, Mary and her older brother live in relative safety inside the fences of her village. Until Mary starts suspecting the Sisters, who are the leaders and protectors of the village, of keeping dark secrets about the nature of the Unconsecrated. Ultimately, these secrets result in a catastrophic breach in the fences which forces Mary to flee her destroyed village, along with Harry, the boy she is betrothed to, Travis, his brother whom she is in love with, and Cass, Mary's best friend and Travis' betrothed. Having always believed that they were the only survivors on earth, now Mary must find the courage to turn away from her village's firm beliefs and find where she belongs in this new world.

This is my first attempt at a book trailer! I really enjoyed Carrie Ryan's Forest of Hands and Teeth! This is the book for all of us who said we would never, ever read a zombie book. Ryan somehow manages to describe the zombies in a way that makes them frighteningly believable without being campy or cheesy. Even though there is a high-level tension throughout the book (they are in constant danger), it is balanced well with romance and themes of finding your identity and path in life. The end leaves you with questions so it is good that the sequel, "Dead-Tossed Waves" is already out. But beware: it leaves you hanging as well and the third book has not been released. Overall, Ryan writes a supernatural book that ventures away from the beaten path (at least nobody is in love with a zombie, ok?) and mixes horror, romance, and coming of age issues in a well-written story. Happy Reading!

Click here for a review by Scott Westerfeld, author of The Uglies series, The Midnighters Series, and Peeps, and also a short interview with Carrie Ryan.

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