The Dark and Hollow Places By Carrie Ryan

***spoilers for Dead Tossed Waves***

The Dark and Hollow Places By Carrie Ryan
Release Date – March 22, 2011
Publisher – Delacorte
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 374
My Rating- 8/10
Obtained - from the library

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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?

We leave Gabry just after she’s discovered that she has a twin sister. Her and Catcher have started off to try to find her. Carrie Ryan jumps right in and we are introduced to Gabry’s twin Annah and Dark City where she lives.

As always, I enjoyed Carrie Ryan’s writing style. I do find her book start off slower, and the end leaves you gasping and rushing to finish. This was no exception. I think this was the best novel out of the series. The story was well paced, well written and the plot just flowed in a way that made it impossible to put down.

I was pleasantly surprised by Annah. She did not have the issues I felt were in Mary and Gabry. Annah is strong after having to care for herself. She is more capable of making decisions and trying to come up with plans. She is more focused on getting to safety than other distractions.

Catcher remains the guy in the series that I adore. Conflicted, intense, and so wanting to be loved. He really goes through a lot and the character development when it comes to him is so well written.

Gabry ended up growing on me during this novel. She was different from the Gabry we meet in Dead Tossed Waves. The relationship between her and Annah is one of my favourite things in the books. I realy enjoyed seeing them interact and grow with each other as the story progressed.

This book introduced us to the darker side of what people can revert to in situations like this. You are left with little supplies, hardly any people and everyone is scared. These circumstances are perfect for people to take advantage of others, and for cruelty to come out in those that have it in them. I was quite disgusted by some of the characters in this book, and they were the humans instead of the zombies.

There is still wiggle room for other books in this series, I felt that the way we leave the characters was the best ending for them. It leaves you understanding the realities of the world these characters live in while providing you with enough hope to wish for the survivor’s happiness and well being.

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
Release Date – March 9, 2010
Publisher – Delacorte Books
Publisher Social Media - Twitter
Pages - 407
My Rating- 8/10
Obtained - from the library

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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.

This companion novel to Forest of Hands and Teeth could be looked at as a sequel. We are introduced to Mary’s daughter Gabry. They still live in the city by the ocean that Mary reaches at the end of Forest of Hands and Teeth.

I really do like Carrie Ryan’s writing style. Her words are so descriptive that you can easily picture what this world would be like. It’s part of what makes it so terrifying. She is also skilled at making you feel the emotions of the characters, and having them be very realistic. I must admit that I find the beginning of these books a little slower than the last half. As I get closer to the end I can’t get through the pages fast enough, but at the beginning it merely holds my interest.

Gabry is quite different than Mary. She has no desire to leave her village (named Vista). She is a rule follower and terrified of anything outside of what she knows. One thing she has in common with Mary, however, is the ability to drive me crazy. I am not sure what it is with the women in these novels. Gabry can not make a decision if her life dependant on it (and it often does). I get that she is young, and that Mary basically tried to protect her from everything but each decision seemed to be excruciating for her. Gabry, like her mother, has two wonderful men interested in her, and she spends most of the novel jumping back and forth in her decision on who to be with. I am not sure about you guys, but if zombies are chasing me the last thing I am concerned with is which cute boy I should be kissing. I did like Gabry more than Mary, if only because I could see how innocent and protected she really was. She did do some brave things and I hope she continues to grow in the next novel. I just would have liked her a little less self centered.

Carrie Ryan’s boys are amazing though. I adore both Catcher and Elias. Catcher won me over and I TOTALLY adore him. Elias is swoon worthy as well, but something about Catcher just floored me. I really hope he find a version of “happily ever after” when all is said and done.

There are so many questions I was hoping to have answered in this book, and I did get some of them. I still would love to know what exactly happened to Mary’s brother. It was nice to see some of the characters from The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

I really do love the world that Carrie Ryan created. I think that is what keeps me coming back. It’s complex, and very descriptive. It’s a world that is horrific in that you can see where it could be possible. If you like your zombies with some romance, and hope tossed in these are the novels for you.

My First Ever In My Mailbox....

This is a weekly meme hosted by the awesome Kristi at The Story Siren. It gives us a chance to showcase the books we got during the week.

So I am new to In My Mailbox, and this is my very first one.. I do enjoy checking out all the posts, but have never done one myself. I, sadly, don't often have much to share.

Here is what I got this week -



An e-galley of The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa. (Goodreads)

So beyond excited to dive into this one.

Thanks NetGalley/HarlequinTeen


From my local library -



Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal (Goodreads)



The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan (Goodreads)



The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (Goodreads)

What books did you get this week? Leave me a comment and I will check it out.

Happy reading everyone!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Release Date – March 10, 2009
Publisher – Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages - 308
My Rating- 8/10

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

In Mary's world there are simple truths.

The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent.
And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But, slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future-between the one she loves and the one who loves her.

And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

This was my first real Zombie book (as I count Die For Me as something else). I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I am so glad I read it.

The story is heart pounding, and sad. The world Carrie Ryan has created is harsh, and full of danger. I was rooting for the characters to survive and make it through. This is the type of book that has you edge because you can feel the danger, and it seems so real.

Part of me liked Mary and part of me wanted to smack her. She couldn’t make up her mind at all. She bounced all over the place with what she wanted, and never seemed satisfied with anything. She ended up only realizing what she truly wanted when it was too late. I found her to be very realistic though. I think a lot of people don’t truly know what they want (or what they have) until it’s gone.

I loved Travis and Harry. I really enjoyed them both and had a hard time picking between the two in terms of who I liked better (Travis won out in the end). I also enjoyed Cass, Jacob, and Jed as well.

I love that Carrie didn’t sugar coat what would happen in a world like this. People would get bitten, die, and this is the case in this novel. People I didn’t expect to die ended up not making it through this novel. It was different from anything I had read as I wasn’t expecting it.

This book had moments of amazing awesomeness and other moments I felt moved a little slower. They balanced each other out, but I felt itchy to get to the good stuff sometimes.

The ending left a lot of questions unanswered. I want to know the fate of a few of the characters as some are unknown at the end of the book. I know there is a second and third in the series, so hopefully they will answer some of the questions I have. I liked the ending though. Not everything gets tied up in a nice “happily-ever-after” bow.