The Dead-Tossed Waves (Forest of Hands and Teeth Series #2)

Zombie Ocean

Four or five? FOUR OR FIVE? FOUR OR FIVE? Let's see how I'm feeling by the end of the review.

Okay, this book kinda takes place where the last one left off. Give or take twenty to thirty years. Instead of the lovely Mary, the narrator this time is Mary's daughter, Gabry. Now, I understand most of you are like "OMG, who's the father?" I know I was. But I can't say for threat of being flagged as a spoiler.

Anyway, Gabry has a very different upbringing from her mother. She lives in a ligthouse on the outskirts of a little town called Vista. She has a best friend and a crush on her best friend's brother. But most of all, she grows up safe and secure, without all that moaning in the background. But then, of course, it all goes wrong......dun dun DUN. Gabry and her friends take a little midnight hike over the Barrier and zombie hell breaks loose. The night ends with death, betrayals, and with half of her generation gone or imprisoned, life will never be the same for poor, sweet Gabry.

I have to say, this was a hell of a sequel. I thought it was actually much better than The Forest of Hands and Teeth aaaaaand all my questions were answered (well, about 88%). There were even some guest appearances and moments when I felt smarter than the narrator because I knew what something was and she didn't. What more can I gall ask for?

The writing was very much the same. It was beautiful in places, mostly sad, but hope shined through. I managed to read this in a period of 24 hours, which is no small feat when you have school and homework and yada yada yada. My point is that it's compelling and unputdownable (which is officially a word).

The world that Ryan sets up is just incredible, honestly. I find it completely convincing. It's mysterious and dark and scary. Just normal life with fewer good parts....and it has zombies.

I found Gabry more likable than her predcessor, but I don't feel fair comparing the two because they have totally different personalities.

Once again, the weakest part for me was the love triangle. I'm sick of those things. I always choose the wrong guy, then have a grudge against the author for having different taste in men. But this time I think I routing for the right guy.....I think. I have to wait and see if he dies first. Even though Gabry bounced back and forth between the two contestants, she never seemed ho-ish. Just confused.

But once again I could never tell if the couple was kissing. Does that make me weird, or does anyone else have that problem with these books? I don't know, there would be pages of getting close and comfy with one of her man-friends then they would get pissed or something, storm off, and Gabry would try to relive their "almost-kiss". And I would be like "Man, I though for SURE they were lipsmacking that time!"

Overall, I really liked this book. And if you want this book to be a stand-alone, go ahead. This book could do well without it's predecessor, although it's cliffhanger ending may be too much for someone with poor will power (aka me). I recommend this book to everyone, except those who like fairy-tale endings, "perfect" narrators, or can't handle flesh-eating corpses.

I've decided to go with five stars.

12 out of 14 people found this review helpful.

Great

I lived thid and all of her books! Its suspenceful and romantic and full of horror all in one...dont miss out. I look forward ti future works

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A MUST READ BOOK FOR EVERYONE!!!!

This was a magnificent book espicially with all of the action happening in the atmosphere. Gabry is teenage girl who always had a fear of beyond the forest of hands and teeth ( what her mother called the forest ) but on a fateful day she jumps over the barrier with her friends and only crush Catcher, but on that fateful day her world would be changed forever. She then has to go over the barrier and to the forest of hands and teeth to find her mother and survive with her true love catcher, follow gabry and catcher as they battle through mudo ( Undead ) having true friends die for each other, listening in the darkness for any sign or sound of mudo, and to fight for survival . This book should be read to everybody and for people who love romance, horror, and action.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Gabry, quit your whining already!

I wasn't that big of a fan of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and when this book, its sequel, finally came out, I decided I wasn't going to bother. But there is was, staring at me from the library shelves, and I had to grab it. TFoHaT left me with lots of questions about the Sisterhood, life after the return, and the survival of Mary and crew. And I wanted answers! The Dead-Tossed Waves held the possibility of answers and a story about the new generation of folks post-return besides. On some level it delivered, but on another, not so much.

All of my leftover questions from TFoHaT were answered, kind of, all in about 5 pages towards the end, and those answers were satisfying, I guess. Buuut those answers did not justify the rest of the book for me. There was less monotony and repetition in this book than in the last; really and truly a lot happened. Buuut it still didn't do it for me. A lot of the book was Gabry's reactions to what was going on around her, especially what went on between her and Catcher and her and new guy Elias. And, well, I didn't like being in Gabry's head. There were SO MANY TIMES that I wanted to shake her because she would read a situation as completely opposite of how I read it and/or completely opposite of how it actually happened. It helped to build tensions and intrigue the first couple of times she thought one of the boys was disregarding her or brushing her off when in actuality they were trying to profess their undying love, but when it happened EVERY TIME THEY TALKED, it got a little old.

And I have lingering questions. Again. These questions might convince me to pick up The Dark and Hollow Places when it comes out next March, but little else will.


Book source: Philly Free Library

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

great!!!!

The characters in this book i thought were well rounded, It had everything a reader could possible want, love, horror, friendship, loss, it was all very very great. The only thing that kinda made me mad was how it didn't give very much detail as to where Gabriel really comes from. i don't have anything bad to say.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Didn't like it.

I'm really, really sad to have to give Carrie Ryan a two on one of her books because I just loved THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, but I found myself struggling to get through the companion. For many of reasons I did not like this book, one, being that Gabry was a character I felt any hope towards. Who doesn't love the strong heroin? and it seemed that all Gabry could say or think was how she messed everything up, everything's her fault, ect. Major pity party... I never was able to feel the emotions of the character and she seemed quite ditsy to be honest. Secondly, I didn't like the potential romances. At first glance, I wanted to punch Catcher for bringing Gabry into trouble and then kissing her, after he's known her for his whole life. He seemed like a major jerk right off the bat. As for Elias, he was okay, I did like him more than Catcher. But he was a little too touchy-feely and grabby for just meeting Gabry, a stranger. Third, the adventure was boring! I was so tired of reading this book, I was skimming over the last 20 pages, so I really don't know how it ended. I'm trying to find it online somewhere.... no luck so far. Anyway, the adventure was also a little boring in THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, but the companion was about 3 times worse. There was nothing to be excited about. I had no idea why they were on this mission in the first place. Four, It was very sad to see Mary as an old lady and how she never found anyone. I also found it odd that she never mention Travis to her "daughter" but told her about everything else. I was waiting for when it would come up, but never did. Five, Ryan's writing style got very old to me by the time I had read about 700 pages of her writing (both books put together). She always had the same, "I wanted to...." and you know she's going to say next what she did instead and how she felt about it. This is an entire paragraph in itself. I was so tired of hearing about how everyone's life in the Forest was due to dooms day and depression and the Unconsecrated. What's the point of writing a set of three companion books when there is no light at the end? Every page of the book is talking about how to question life and what's next, ect. Not much fun for a teen like me. She also had the exact same plot technique of 1) layout 2) start of story 3) boring nothingness...filler of space 4) falling of character, giving up hope 5) something good happens to character, fills her with hope and energy 6) tragedy occurs, climax, testing of strength! 7) falling actions, everyone dies/ leaves her 8) main character left all alone. All that's gained is wisdom, strength, and knowledge. So it was very similar to F.O.H.A.T. Now, for the positives (!): I do like Ryan's descriptions, they're very nice and like you're living out the story. I was also about to connect a little more with Gabry since she seemed more like the typical teenager than Mary (besides the annoying, "I ruin everything, I can't do this, I'm not strong enough" talk). Since I extremely loved FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH, I would recommend to just sticking with that, don't read this, so you don't lose what you first loved about FOREST.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Must Read

Loved it this is a great book couldnt put it down

Great book

So great it really evolved the zombie genre

Sci fi fan

OMFG, i thought the first book was epic. This one is deff better and total action throughout most of the book. Secrets that u would of never guessed r revieled and Elias is not who he seems to be and Catcher blames himself for his infection and stays away from Gabry because he believes he can turn mudo at any time, this book was so dramatic and really surprising and i am really shocked that i did not have nightmeres while readong this book like the other one. PS please purchase this book it is too good of a novel to just leave lying around on the shelf or in the nook store or whatever.

HELP

I really like this guy and he told me he likes my best friend. My best friend says she doesnt like him.
THEN WHY DOES SHE AND MY CRUSH HANG OUT AT HER HOUSE??
The guy i like and me are friends. His friends dont like me..except one who is kind of nerdy.
HOW DO I GET HIM TO LIKE ME INSTEAD OF MY BEST FRIEND???

THIS BOOK IS AWESOME PLEASE READ COMMENT

This book IS A MUST READ FOR EVERYONE ON PLANET EARTH AND OFF PLET EARTH ANYONE IN THIS UNIVERSE NEEDS TO READ THIS BOOK ! Yes its THAT awesomlygreatwith a smileyface at the end. :) XD

An ocean of zombies. Gabry live is the small town of Vista near

An ocean of zombies. Gabry live is the small town of Vista near the ocean. She is shy and cautious and wants to live an easy life. Even though Vista is trapped between the ocean and a forest which has zombies. As the story progresses, you see Gabry develope as a strong character. The first couple of chapters she is a tad bit too cautious. But when the stakes are high, she will do what most people like her won"t do. Enjoyed this book and will start reading The Dark and Hollow Places

Interesting.

The storyline is different and interesting. Not my usual type of book...i would give it three stars but my 12 year old daughter wanted to give it five....thus the four star rating. Too depressing for me.

(I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-re

(I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to books4reviews.)
This is the second book in the ‘Forest of Hands and Teeth’ series.
Gabrielle (or Gabry) is a teenager. She’s lived her entire life in a lighthouse, surrounded on 3 sides by water and on 1 side by the forest. Her mother is very different to the other people that live in the village, she claims to have been born and raised in a village in the forest of hands and teeth, a story that the people of the village reject as delusional. The reader knows this to be true though as Gabrielle’s mother is Mary – the main character from book 1 – ‘The Forest of Hands and Teeth’.

Gabrielle’s world is a little different to Mary’s in book 1, Gabrielle and her friends have only ever really heard about the Mudo (or unconsecrated) at school, and haven’t had the real-life experiences that Mary had. Gabrielle has always been taught to fear what lies beyond the fence though, and the thought of her friends going over the wall to visit the old roller coaster makes her feel sick.

Her best friend Cira, and Cira’s brother Catcher are both going though, and when it seems like Catcher might return her secret feelings for him, Gabrielle allows herself to go along with their plan, and follows them over the way and to the amusement park.

Gabrielle’s world is soon turned upside down though when a ‘breaker’ (a newly turned unconsecrated that is ‘fast’ and can run), bites one of her friends, and then goes after the rest of the group. Gabrielle is saved by Catcher, but he is bitten during the scuffle, and Gabrielle sees her life crumbling before her very eyes.

Gabrielle runs, but the others are caught by the ‘Militia’ (the men who guard the fence). Those that are bitten are killed, and those that aren’t are imprisoned to await their punishment. Catcher is missing though, and when Cira begs Gabrielle to go back into the forest and look for him, Gabrielle knows that her life will never be the same again.


I really enjoyed this book. I wasn’t sure where the author was going to go after ‘The Forest of Hands and Teeth’ and I was surprised to find that so much time had passed between book 1 and book 2, and that we now had a different lead character.
Gabry is not a brave girl; in fact she’s scared of entering the forest, and wants to stay safe within the fences of the village where she knows it is safe. Like many teenagers though she is swayed by the boy she has feelings for, and follows her friends into the forest. She soon realises what a mistake this is, and wishes that she could go back in time and change things.
We don’t hear much from Mary initially, although we do get some revelations from her later on in the story. I wondered initially who Gabrielle’s father was, but it turned out to be a much more complicated situation that I could have imagined, and I wondered exactly how much time had passed between the end of the first book and the start of the second.

Similarly to the first book we have a sort-of love triangle situation going on. In the first book this was quite a complicated affair between Mary, her best friend Cass, and the brother’s Travis and Harry, and in this book it’s between Gabrielle, Catcher, and a boy called Elias who comes to Gabrielle’s rescue when she goes back outside the village looking for Catcher. Once again though things are never simple, and when not running for her life, Gabrielle agonises over her feelings for the two boys.

I felt really sorry for Gabrielle throughout this book, she just has so much thrown at her, and everything she has ever wanted or loved seems to be taken away from her, even if this was in part due to poor decisions on her part. First she has to deal with friends being infected, dying, or being locked away to await punishment. Then she learns things about herself and her family that she never knew before which leaves her unsure of who she even is anymore, and then there’s even worse to come! Poor Gabry really does go through an awful lot in this story, and you can’t help but feel for her.

I did feel that the story slowed down quite a bit in the middle, and even dragged a bit at points, which is why this wasn’t a 5 star book for me. Things did pick up again towards the end though, for a gripping finish, although we were left with a bit of a cliff hanger. I have to say that I’m intruiged to find out what will happen in book 3, although I hate to think how things could possibly get worse for Gabry and co. in this hell-ish zombie-filled wastleland.
8.5 out of 10.

The Dead Tossed Waves ranting.

Again people complain about how the characters arent relatable. Well its not about you. The author made the characters relatable to certain people. I could make a nice character whos a hero everyone would be like " Oooo im just like that!" But their not. If I made a character whos selfish mean and suicidal no one would be lik that and agree that they are like that. So step off idiots. Every one is different even in books. Good day.

Couldnt even finish it.

It was that bad.

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The ocean is what she grew up around but always felt as though t

The ocean is what she grew up around but always felt as though there was more out there.. Trapped by the fear of breaking the rules yet dealing with peer pressure.. A night that goes horribly wrong and continues to fall from there.. A love story that not only keeps you on edge but kind of breaks your heart as well.. A family secret let out and the series of handling it.. A new discovery about how Gabry grew up and things she learns along the way.. Will things work out in their favor or will everything crumble before them?
I LOVE this series.. I was wondering how Mary would play a part in this book but it makes itself clear shortly after starting it.. There is still an answer I have yet to get even after reading the 2nd book but it never really finalizes it just makes you think that the situation is done and I am feeling like it isn't.. I am not putting spoilers out there if you wanna know go read the books.. :)
I am looking forward to diving into book 3..To find out where this one will take us..
{ Recommend these books to everyone.. I am thinking I might read more by this author.. venture out of this series.. see whatelse she does.. :) }

It was an incredibly slow read. The general premise of the book

It was an incredibly slow read. The general premise of the book is interesting, but it is not executed well. The author fails at creating relatable characters to whom readers attach themselves. At the end of the book, I just sat there not caring what happened to the characters or their world.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

eh,

So, the first book was great! But the ending was crap. So I gave the sequel a chance....the book was SUPER GOOD. Then at the ending I was like WHAT THE HECK? So dumb. Disappointed. Oh well.

Creepy!

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.

Gabry is satisfied with her life by the ocean. Sure she has to deal with the zombie bodies coming upon shore and sure she has friends that test her patience by going beyond the barriers, but overall - she has a Mother, a best friend, a boy she sees a future with, and a community that embraces her. All is okay . . . until one night when everything changes. Now her future is not as bright as she had hoped, friends/family are leaving, and the village is starting to ask questions she doesn't want to answer. She soon realizes that to find the truth, she must face her fears and go outside into a world she has ever known.

Being part of the millions who devoured The Forest of Hands & Teeth in one sitting, I couldn't wait to begin The Dead-Tossed Waves. Though I would have liked to not have such a time jump in between the two stories, it was enjoyable to see past characters emerge and witness that life really does carry on, even in post-apocalyptic times. Gabry was a brave soul (since their are many scary moments) and I was heartbroken right along with her throughout all her pit-falls. Unfortunately, since the audience is already use to the world that is barricades, curfews, religious freaks, and crazy zombies - the book doesn't make you cling to it as the first one did. Yet, it definitely makes you interested in what's to come . . .

Likes: Carrie Ryan's spook factor and how she can make your heart beat rapidly.

Dislikes: The time gap. The readers had to get to know all NEW characters before getting back into the setting again.