The Dead-Tossed Waves
by Carrie Ryan
Release Date: March 9, 2010
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 416
Source: Publisher
Interest: sequel
Challenge: None
Other Titles in Series: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
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.
The Dead-Tossed Waves isn't really a sequel to The Forest of Hands of Teeth but more of a companion novel. Still has some of the same characters as The Forest of Hands and Teeth, still set in the same world, but it's a few years later and it follows Gabry, the daughter of Mary who was the main character in The Forest of Hands and Teeth.
As with it's predecessor the writing in The Dead-Tossed Waves is exemplary. Ryan's talent emanates from the pages, amidst her descriptions of the world she's created, in relaying the desperation of her characters, it's immensely powerful as a reader.
It was captivating and suspenseful. Yet, at the same time it was very depressing. I often feel the glimpse of an underlying current of hope, but it seemed diminish at every opportunity. This book put me in a very solemn mood. I just wanted something for once to go right. The whole situation itself is very depressing, Gabry's situation, the world she lives in, the lives lost... and I so wanted something hopeful.
I loved how Ryan masterfully connected the two novels, how all the characters were somehow connected. I definitely never saw it coming.
Overall this was a spectacular novel, I can't wait to see where the story takes us next.