Review: The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

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 is a companion book to Carrie Ryan's debut novel, The Forest of Hands and Teeth. While it's not a direct sequel, Mary's story is revisited and (kind of) continued.
This novel is told from Mary's daughter's point of view, and from chapter one, Carrie wastes no time in making everything tense, bleak, and depressing. I love her for that. After meeting her, it's so weird that such a bubbly, fun person could write this kind of novel, but she excels at it.
If you've read The Forest of Hands and Teeth, then you know that there will be a lot of casualties, as this is a zombie novel. I knew that not everyone would make it, but each loss still shocked me. There were also a few twists that I didn't expect, and that's exactly what I want from a book.

The cover is gorgeous. It definitely represents the book, and as Carrie said,"You want to know what her story is just by looking at her face."

Recommended if you like The Forest of Hands and Teeth, zombies, The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner

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