The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan (CBR book #10)

I loved the first book and liked the second...so what is in store for this, the third installment of the Forest of Hands and Teeth series? Be warned, if you haven't read any of the books (1, 2, or 3) this review contains mild spoilers. I won't reveal anything major, but a lot of information about the character's relationships is discussed.

Let's start with the plusses (which, yes, means there are some minuses). First of all, I like book 3's narrator, Annah, whose voice is the strongest of Carrie Ryan's three protagonists. Annah is tough, fierce, determined, but also vulnerable. Her life - complex. She is the daughter of Mary (book 1's narrator), sister to Gabry (book 2's narrator), and friend to Elias, (who fell in love with Gabry in book 2). Unlike Mary and Gabry, Annah has learned to take care of herself and lives an isolated life. After she is reunited with Elias and Gabry, Annah struggles to deal with her feelings for them. Annah also meets Catcher, who, like Elias, seems impossible to get close to. And with Annah's mixed feelings for Gabry, Annah struggles to find her place in this strange group, living in a city that now seems to be the last hope for human-kind.

If this sounds too much like a soap opera, well, it kinda is. Which brings me to a minus. There is an element of teenage angst (a criticism I had for the second book), but it IS a young adult book so I guess that's understandable. Another criticism I have (and again I had with book 2) is that there is a lot of running away from the zombies. In books one and two it was through the path in the forest. In book three, it's through city tunnels.

Another big minus for this book, and the series as a whole, is that Ryan completely drops Mary from book three. There is maybe one sentence about how she went to another city and that's it. What about all the build up from book 2 about the pages that Gabry risked herself to save? What about the mystery surrounding the origin of The Return and Mary's little village? I was REALLY disappointed by this HUGE omission.

But, in the form of any good compliment sandwich, I will end on a good note. Ryan's concept of The Sanctuary is perplexing and disturbing. The zombies have breached The Dark City and Annah, Elias, Gabry, and Catcher have made passage to what now seems to be the last hope for humanity. But Annah quickly learns that life without zombies isn't necessarily a life worth living. And the brand of hope The Sanctuary provides isn't necessarily her idea of humanity at its best.

It's these contradictions that make this book good, but you have to dig through some fluff to get there.

The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

This sequel to Ryan's first book, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, started off strongly but overall fell short of the first book. But let me begin with the reasons why I liked the book.

First of all, you quickly learn that Ryan sets her book years into the future from when the last book left off. And the perspective has changed from Mary to her daughter, Gabry, which brings me to the main reason I liked the book. Because the book is written in Gabry's voice, it's not necessary to read the first book to understand what is going on. There are many things from the first book Gabry doesn't know because she doesn't know a lot about her mother's past. She isn't aware of the Sisterhood, which was so central to the first book, for instance. But Gabry's story continues despite this. And that is the perspective the reader takes on if he/she hasn't read the first book. Gabry will say things like, "my mother has a habit of writing on the door thresholds and I never understood why." Well, if someone hasn't read the first book, then they would simply not understand this as well, just like Gabry. If someone HAS read the first book, like me, you'd understand,. This is because you're going into the second book with the mother's perspective.

In a strange way, this made me feel aged. The traditions and customs I was "used" to based on the first book, now seemed years in the past and obsolete. It made me wonder how much of this feeling happens with my parents, or my grandparents, or even with me when I compare myself to people younger than me. I felt like this gave me perspective into how one generation sees another. For that reason alone, I am happy to have read the book.

Now for the reasons why it didn't measure up to the first...There were times when I read the book that I was reminded it's a young adult book. For me, that's a good way to separate good YA books from great ones. For example, there were a lot of teenage angsty moments that didn't seem to quite fit. For example, Gabry can't decide which boy she likes better even though there are greater things happening as far as people dying and being hunted. I guess these moments were in the first book too but Ryan seemed to blend them a bit better. Also, I liked Mary's character better than Gabry's. Mary was a lot stronger and didn't seem as whiney (as my husband put it) as Gabry. Finally, I was disappointed that the second half of the book was basically a replay of the first one - the characters are left wandering between fences in the forest. I was hoping for something new and different, which was offered in the first half of the book only.

Despite these disappointments, I will definitely read the next book in the hopes that Ryan will wow me with something new.

The Hubs' Take: "whiney...really whiney...not as exciting as the Hunger Games. Very lifetime story-ish."

Reviewed by Cathy

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

I wasn't more than two pages into this book before I knew I was going to love it. And it wasn't because of the plot line, not yet at least. There is just something about the way Carrie Ryan writes that suites me. Her book is introspective, but not too intellectual; smoothly written, but not rushed.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first in a trilogy of zombie novels. At some point in time was the Event, in which people were infected with a virus that killed them, and then turned them into zombies. But Mary's village was created with a fence that separated the healthy from the sick. The zombies live on one side, in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, while the people live on the other side. The village is run by the Sisterhood, women who know secrets about the Event, the Zombies, and the creation of the village. But they run the village tight lipped about these things, and espouse a strange brand of religion that involves traditional beliefs in God but also new customs created by the Sisterhood.

Despite these extraordinary circumstances, Mary struggles with normal things like who she is going to marry, and what she is going to do with her life. And like the rest of her town, she also lives with the threat of a breach of the fence hanging over her head. One day, when the town alarm is raised, Mary realizes this is no drill. The zombies have entered the town and she and her friends must now run away, into the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Having learned her whole life that there is nothing beyond the fence, Mary travels with her companions to discover what lies beyond her village and beyond the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

For me, this book was a cross between Suzanne Collin's "The Hunger Games" and M. Night Shymalan's "The Village" with the romanticism of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" mixed in there. It can be a quick read; with a library deadline on the horizon, I read it in two days (and had vivid dreams both of those nights!). I wouldn't describe the book as scary, but Ryan's imagery can be dark and chilling. And she explores subjects like religion, evil, indoctination, and death in a fascinating way. She really makes you think about reality and how much of it is created by life events and what you've been taught. She makes you wonder, how much of my life is like Mary's? And even without the zombies in that equation, the answer to that can be what's truly scary about this book.

Reviewed by Cathy