The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will 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 from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?


I love this book. I read it back earlier in the year and fell in love with it. The only flaw about it was little parts and pieces of Carrie Ryan's writing. Basically, I was at the edge of my seat and felt fear while reading this book. The only author that I've heard that can make you feel fear just by reading words is Stephen King, but Ryan had my stomach knotted up and I had to put the book down several times to gather my emotions. Just amazing.


The Forest of Hands and Teeth:
Published: July 2009
Format: US Hardcover
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Average Rating: 3.61 stars
Page Count: 310 pages


Rating: 4/5

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.


Wow. I loved this so much better than The Forest of Hands and Teeth. The only time that this has ever happened is the Need series, with how much I love Captivate over the first book, Need. This is a companion novel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I felt my teeth chattering and was just scared at some point. In Carrie Ryan's writing, you feel the emotions that Gabry (our main character) is feeling. I absolutely love her writing. 


The Dead-Tossed Waves:
Published: March 9, 2010
Format: US Hardcover
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Average Rating: 3.96 stars
Page Count: 410 pages


Sequel: The Dark and Hollow Places (March 15, 2011)

Rating: 5/5 stars