Review: The Dead-Tossed Waves (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #2) by Carrie Ryan

Synopsis:

Gabry lives a quiet life, secure in her town next to the sea and behind the Barrier. She's content to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. Home is all she's ever known and, and all she needs for happiness.

But life after the Return is never safe and there are threats even the Barrier can't hold back.

Gabry's mother thought she left her secrets behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, but, like the dead in their world, secrets don't stay buried. And now, Gabry's world is crumbling.

One night beyond the Barrier . . .
One boy Gabry's known forever and one veiled in mystery . . .
One reckless moment, and half of Gabry's generation is dead, the other half imprisoned.

Now Gabry knows only one thing: if she has any hope of a future, she must face the forest of her mother's past.


Review:

The Dead-Tossed Waves is a companion book to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. It takes place some years after The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and the main character is Mary's daughter, Gabry. Gabry is not at all like her mother. While her mother was adventurous at her age, Gabry is cautious. She is afraid of crossing the barrier and would have been content with living her life in her barricaded city by the ocean. That is until the night Catcher, her best friend's brother, convinces her to cross the barrier and everything goes wrong.

I did like Gabry most of the time, but sometimes she was just too whiny for my taste. Like The Forest of Hands and Teeth, there is a love triangle of sorts between Gabry, Catcher, and Elias. I ended up liking both guys, but I like Elias more. I thought it was a better love triangle than the one between Mary, Travis, and Harry because Mary really wanted the ocean more than the guy.

I love the way that Carrie Ryan writes. It is so beautiful! The story is original, fantastic and tragic at times. Just when you are thinking how cute and sweet a moment this is, something horrible happens to shatter it. Surprisingly, I liked The Dead-Tossed Waves more than The Forest of Hands and Teeth, but they were both so amazing! There is a cliffhanger ending, but I felt that it stopped in a good place. It goes without saying that I cannot wait to read the next book, The Dark and Hollow Places, when it is released next spring.

Rating: 5/5

Swords are for fighting,