The Dark and Hollow Places

By Carrie Ryan; Delacorte Press 2011

Summary:  There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face when she and Elias left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the horde as they found their way to 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 him to come home ever since. Without him, her life doesn't feel much different from that of the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Then she meets Catcher and everything feels alive again.


Except, Catcher has his own secrets—dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah's 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 drenched in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

My Review: OMIGOSH! Carrie Ryan has done it again! She has officially made it on my top five favorite authors. She has only written three novels and she has already gained my approval because of her exceptional writing. Her Forest of Hands and Teeth series is amazing.  She loves imputing love triangles and zombie terrors. She makes you nervous  about whether the protagonists od the story will survie. The romance and the action of the story is satisfying. Each book is a different perspective of the characters Mary, Gabry, and now Annah. 

The Dark and Hollow Places has become my favorite in the series. The main character Annah is by far one of my favorite female heroes in a novel.  She is different than the other women in this story. She was brought up without a mother, she was left by her friend to live in the Dark City  by herself to survive, and she has brutal scars covering her body from a barbed wire accident. I loved watching her grow and change throughout this book. She learns to look past the  scars and the comparing of her to her sister to learn to love herself. She is the main reason I love this book so much because she made me realize several things about myself. I highly highly recommend this book, but read the other two in the series first.

Things to Watch Out for: Violence, gore, brief kissing scenes, sexual advances, brief mention of nudity, and zombies. 

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The Dead Toss Waves

The Dead Tossed Waves
By Carrie Ryan; Delacorte Books


Summary: 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.
My Review: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Alright I'm glad I got that out of my system! So I've been waiting to read this book every since I picked up The Forest of Hands and Teeth which is a companion to this book. It is almost as amazing as The Forest of Hands and Teeth. The reason it isn't as good is because I like the character Mary better than Gabry in this book. Gabry at first comes across as a wimp and always trying to be apart of the crowd, but she eventually starts to grow on you when she starts risking her life and acting brave.
Carrie Ryan has officially made it to my list of favorite authors. Her writing never ceases to amaze me. She can really draw a person into her books. For instance I hate horror movies and books, but I decided to try out her books and fell in love with the whole zombie thing. I find it all so intriguing and addicting. I secretly want to go into one of her books and live in that kind of world and see how I would deal with living in a dystopia environment and have Mudo surround me. It so eerie but so cool at the same time.   I seriously can't wait for the last companion book to come out.  I recommend reading these books if you are into horror/romance/ survival/ ...but read at your own risk!

Things to Watch Out For: Violence, killings,a cult that preforms a sacrifice, graphic depictions of the Mudo (zombies),  and some kissing,

Book Trailer:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

The Forest of Hands and Teeth
By Carrie Ryan; Delacorte Press


Summary: In Mary's world these things are known. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians 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 form the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
But everything that Mary has ever known starts to fail her. She's learning things she's never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, the Gauridans and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.


When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, Mary must choose between her village and her future. She must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there really be a life outside a world surrounded in so much death?




My Review: This was such an amazing book! I seriously could not put it down. I even brought it with me to work out with. ha ha. I have never been into the zombie type books, but this one changed my views completely.The hungry unconsecrated beings tearing at the fences surrounded by the village would literally send shivers down my spine. All the mysteries of the sisterhood,village, numbered gates, and never ending paths really got me hooked and intrigued about what I was reading.


The descriptions in this book made the images and characters so clear to me, as if I was really there, witnessing the whole story first handed. Can you imagine being trapped in a world where you are told that there is nothing beyond the fences, but the unconsecrated? Or to only have your mother's story of the ocean to keep you hoping that there is a world beyond the village? I know I can't. The emotions and imagery in the this novel is incredible and definitely worth the read.


The Forest of Hands and Teeth is an intense story of hope, faith, and dreams. In this book, the character Mary has this undying faith in her mothers stories of the ocean and will stop at nothing until she sees the ocean and gets away from the village that holds her there. Her hopes and dreams of her mothers stories test her faith and courage to give up the world she's always known, and push past the gates into the unknown.


 I'm not even going to lie, I cried like a baby throughout this whole book. I would put myself in the character of Mary. I felt all her emotions through the things she faced throughout the whole story. Making the story more terrifying and thrilling. It push reading to a whole different level. We will call it "Being one with the book." ha ha. Try it sometime.


All in all,this was truly a masterpiece and well written novel. I give two thumps way up for Carrie Ryan and her excellent writing skills. I highly recommend this novel to those who aren't afraid to face the unconsecrated.


P.S. I can't wait for the next one in the series, The Dead-Tossed Waves, which I will be buying as soon as possible!!


Things to Watch Out For: Sensual acts, religious ceremonies, killings, unconsecrated beings(zombies basically), graphic detail, death, violence, and terror.


For More information: Carrie Ryan and her books: GoodReads-Carrie Ryan,
                                      The Forest of Hands and Teeth: Common Sense Review