Review: The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

The Dark and Hollow Places

by Carrie Ryan

Reading Level: Young Adult
# of Pages: 384 pages paperback
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (March 22, 2011)

There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed theDark 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 Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.

But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has 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 covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

I have been dying for this one, and it did not disappoint! I was anxious to see where Carrie would take us next with this story and was so glad to see Annah again and to see where she has been. There was allusion to her in the previous novel but to see her come to life and get to know her even better was such an amazing route to go. I bit my nails off as she struggled through the challenges and rooted for her as she found herself through the trials and tribulations.

Being able to see Gabry, Catcher and Elias in a new light was also refreshing. Catcher captured my heart in the last novel and I was glad to see him find himself through Annah. They mirrored each other in many ways and their growth as individuals as well as a pair was essential to this novel. There are always elements within a novel that stand out, but the strength these characters show and the way Ryan has written them continues to astound me.

I fell in love with her writing when I opened The Forest of Hands and Teeth (even though there was quite a bit of hesitation- I didn’t know about these zombies) and am so glad that I listened to Jeremy and Jeffery from Novel Thoughts and Travis from InkedBooks when then told me to read this series.

Visit Carrie's site HERE for more info on her books and other fun stuff!

Read my reviews of Carrie’s other books also...

The Forest of Hands and Teeth review HERE

The Dead Tossed Waves review HERE

Carrie will also be visiting my school and you can see the video promo HERE.

Author Visits

There is nothing better to pump students up about reading and writing (at least in my opinion) than bringing in the authors they love to read to the classroom. This year I was lucky enough to receive a grant which is allowing me to do just that. I am super excited to welcome

Carrie Ryan

and

Jackson Pearce

Here is the video promo I made for the students to see! Enjoy :)




My reviews:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
Sister's Red by Jackson Pearce

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

The Dead-Tossed Waves
by Carrie Ryan

Release Date: March 9, 2010
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 416

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.

This is the companion novel to Carrie’s debut novel, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and it blew me away just like the first one did. I love Ryan’s depth with the writing of her characters and plot. I was so drawn in with the first book that I had to read this the day it came out (read the post on the adventure to get it here). Her characters are real and jump off the page into your mind because of the characterization Ryan uses. So often we get lost in the plot and the characters almost become secondary to the story, as strange as that sounds. That is definitely not the case with The Dead-Tossed Waves.

Gabry is a character that is completely relatable to many because she has the normal struggles of a teenager, just on a much bigger playing field. She is trying to figure out who she is, where she belongs, and what she is supposed to do in life. She struggles to figure all of this out and has many obstacles in her way, but she comes out on the other side and we know that things are getting brighter for her.

I love that this is a companion novel and not a sequel. Honestly, I didn’t understand the difference at first, but now it is clear. We come back in contact with some of our original characters but we see a new story, new life, and new adventure in this novel. Ryan has done an amazing job expanding the novel and shining light into a whole new area of this story. I would love to get into her head and see where she goes to get all of these intricate details and ideas. She continues to blow me away.

The ending leaves me drooling for more and I can’t wait to see where Ryan takes us next. She makes the Upstate of SC PROUD!!!

Visit Carrie here for more goodies about her books and upcoming appearances.

Check out my review of The Forest of Hands and Teeth here.

And just for fun, here is the trailer for The Dead-Tossed Waves. I saw this in the movie theater when I went to see Remember Me and about fell out of my seat! I had never seen a book trailer in the theater and everyone in there started buzzing about it! Made me proud!

Happy Realease Day Carrie Ryan!!

What a day! The companion novel to Carrie Ryan's magnificent book The Forest of Hands and Teeth hit shelves today!

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 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.

Gabry knows only one thing: if she is to have any hope of a future, she must face the forest of her mother's past.

Carrie is from my neck of the woods so it makes me super happy to see her so successful! Visit her site here to see more about her books and see where she is going to be during her tour. You can also read and excerpt from The Dead-Tossed Waves!

I have had quite a day trying to get this book in my pretty little hands! I called our local bookstore to ensure they had it and (GASP) they didn't even know it was released today... idiot tried to question me about it! I called the books store in Greenville and they did have it! So I packed my kids up and we went to Greenville (45 minutes away) to get the book! Before I left though, I checked my mailbox and inside I found..... CARRIE RYAN SWAG! I knew then that I was destined to get this book! So here is what my Carrie Ryan day amounts to...

Check out the trailer for The Dead-Tossed Waves too!



And now... I am off to read this book! Happy reading all!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Reading Level:
# of Pages: 320 pages paperback
Publisher: February 9th 2010 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers (first published March 10th 2009)

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 am ashamed to say that I didn't even have this one on my radar until my pal Travis (InkedBooks) told me about meeting her and that she is from our area! So I set off in search of it and bought it thinking that I would get to it eventually because it didn't seem like one I would enjoy. How wrong I was! I could not put it down.

Carrie's writing was simply stunning. Her characters are so believable and amazingly written and the plot is astonishing. Mary is one of those girls that stands out because she thinks differently and isn't afraid to let others know that she does think differently. I love all the dynamics between the characters... some I love (Mary, Travis, even Gabirelle) and some I just wanted to smack (Sister Tabitha, Jed, and Harry). Mary thinks that her life is planned out, yet in the back of her mind she seems to know that there is more to the life that she has been told is "just so" for her entire life. She believes in love and believes that there is life outside of the small place that she is being contained. Her mother has told her stories and she has faith that those places are real when no one else does. Along with being trapped in this horrendous environment, she is in love with Travis whom she believes wants nothing to do with her. Travis, however, wants everything to do with her but doesn't know how to let Mary know that. When chaos ensues into their protected area of the forest, Mary and some of the others set off to find what is beyond the woods and find that there is more to life than they ever imagined possible.

I loved this book from start to finish and I am so excited for next Tuesday when Carrie's companion novel, The Dead Tossed Waves, comes out! Visit Carrie's site here for more info on her books and other fun stuff!

And... this is crazy to me, but as I was reading this book I kept staring at the cover thinking, "this looks like someone I know." Well, I finally figured it out and this is Perri, one of my students! Check out the resemblance!!




Happy reading everyone!