GENRE: Young Adult, Horror/Zombies, Fantasy, Apocalyptic,
Romance
PUBLISHED: March 9, 2010 - Delacort
PUBLISHED: March 9, 2010 - Delacort
MY RATING: 3
SYNOPSIS:
(Courtesy of Goodreads-No Spoilers!)
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.
REVIEW:
After reading DEAD-TOSSED WAVES,
the companion novel to THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH it seems
more like a sequel than just a “companion.” I love seeing storylines fill in
from one book to another. She satisfied my curiosity with another good story.
She weaved another tale around a post-apocalyptic world infected with a
sickness killing people. They raise from the dead as zombies and walk around
hungry for human flesh. They aren’t hunting, they’re mindlessly hungry to bite
and infect. This story is told from the point of view of Gabry. I won’t spill
any spoilers but I’ll suffice it to say, she has an intricate story to tell
about where she’s going and where she’s from.
This story is layered with opposition.
There is so much conflict that it feels as though she left no idea unimagined
about “what is the worst that could happen?” The Mudo (zombies), the
government, the Recruiters (army-like), the Soulers (cult), more and more. This
book isn’t without suspense and worry.
RATING:
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Like I said with Book 1, this is listed
as a Young Adult novel. I think it would be rated “R” in movie ratings because
of descriptions of the gore (zombies) and mild sexual content but there was no
bad language. It is so frightening, that I would probably warn my teen NOT to
read it.
More Books by Carrie Ryan:
Book 1: THE
FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH
Book 2: THE
DEAD TOSSED WAVES
Bella finally becomes a vampire. But she is a super-vampire who can unnaturally control her thirst for human blood. We are told this over and over and it seriously didn’t make me stand in awe of her because there was no proof of what “real” baby vampires were actually like. So if you’re reading the Twilight Saga for the first time and have finished ECLIPSE, read this one next before you read BREAKING DAWN. I’d like to see the affect this has on the opinions of those who’ve read it in that order. Hmm?
, Book 1 from the point of view of Edward.)
