Review- The Dead-Tossed Waves

Title: The Dead-Tossed Waves

Author: Carrie Ryan

Publisher: Delacourte Books for Young Readers

Rating: 4/5

Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as 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. Once 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 ones she loves.

My thoughts:

The Dead-Tossed Waves takes place about ten to fifteen years after the ending of The Forest of Hands and Teeth. All we know is that Mary has a daughter that she named Gabrielle, strangely after the fast one she found in her village and May has now become the keeper of the lighthouse, responsible for killing the Unconsecrated that wash up on the beach. Nothing is ever said about Gabry's father or what happened to Mary after she was found washed up on the shore. Well, not until the end, at least.

Gabry life parallels her mother in so many different aspects and the readers are presented with the sames themes in the Dead-Tossed Waves as in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Both Mary and Gabry are very quiet but feel confined by the barriers that the authorities have set upon them. They are both well-intentioned individuals, led by their curiosity of the forest. And in the end, they are both forced into the forest to seek refuge by those who wish to end their lives or take away their freedom.

The Dead-Tossed Waves shows a lot more aspects of the Forest of Hands and Teeth that was not seen in the first book. We see the people who worship the Unconsecrated, make them their pets and even sacrifice their family members to them. Gross, right? And it's the first we see of someone being immune after being bitten. So, you're definitely going to get more side of the story of the forest and more to Gabry and Mary's story as well.

As much as I love young adult books and I'm completely addicted to the genre, I wonder why the main character of the book always starts off by being the one who never does anything right or doesn't think she has what it takes to be the one to save everyone. But in the end she always does and all the guys are in love with her. What about the characters who are super smart, have been studying their whole lives to be doctors and then they find the cure for cancer! Not that I want to read a book about someone who cures cancer cause that would be kind of boring. But what about the person who has been looking for the cure for the zombie disease? What about their story? Lately I feel like I've been reading the same base story over and over again with slight variations.

Overall, I have really enjoyed this series so far and I'm excited about getting my hands on The Dark and Hallow Places!