The Dead-Tossed Waves

The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
(The Forest of Hands and Teeth #2)
Published: March 9, 2010 by Delacorte Books


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.

Read my review of The Forest of Hands and Teeth here. 

       I had a lot of issues with The Forest of Hands and Teeth, but before I even read it I had The Dead-Tossed Waves from a swap. I figured it was a zombie apocalypse series so where could it go wrong? I am having a really hard time embracing the cheese factor here because it actually takes itself very seriously. I know a lot of people love these books, but I'm a fan of The Walking Dead and want my zombie books gory or at least way more action-packed than I am finding this series to be. This review is going to be full of SPOILERS, so I will try to warn you when a big one comes up!

Reasons I love this book:

• Elias - I can't help but like the guy. He was so dedicated to righting the wrongs of his past - and he knew how to fight. He ended up on the path due to sense of responsibility, while Gabry was following her sense of guilt.
• Gabry - I liked Gabry better than Mary. Even though both of them were in sappy love triangles, I felt like Gabry was just a little less pathetic about hers.
• the sonnets - I really liked the way that the Shakespeare sonnets were connected to the story. It made me think that maybe Mary learned a little something after all, and I thought it was extremely clever. 
• writing - I do enjoy the descriptions in these books, as you'll see in the favorite quotes section. Some of them are so dark and just really add to the creepy atmosphere of the forest. 

Huh, what?:

• Gabry's mom - SPOILERS! The big reveal that Mary wasn't really Gabry's mom rocked Gabry's world. Uh...ok then. From the second the book said Mary had a daughter I was wondering who Mary had slept with. Her 2 "loves" were left behind by the time she reached the ocean, so is Gabry's dad the random guy Mary met at the lighthouse? If you mother was from the other side of the forest, wouldn't you wonder where you factored in?
• Catcher - MORE SPOILERS! First of all, you live in a tiny village walled in against the ocean to protect you from the undead - and you can't tell a girl you have a crush on her? Man up dude! And when Catcher gets infected, he turns out to be the only known person who is immune? That's a huge honking coincidence. I would have rather he died so this wouldn't be another love triangle.
• Gabry - OH HECK, THERE ARE PROBABLY SPOILERS HERE TOO! Oh Gabry. Why can't you get it through your thick skull that the guy you've only kissed once is now a walking Petri dish fro the infection that could kill you in a matter of hours? He is the one who convinced you to leave the village and you are so lucky you even survived that. I think it'd help everybody if you sucked it up and helped protect Catcher from the Recruiters instead of making the poor guy's "life" even harder. Gabry screams at her mother at one point to kill a washed up zombie, but she spends the rest of the book trying to kiss a guy who could turn her into a zombie. Error, does not compute.
• Mary - Mary hasn't learned a dang thing since her trek through the forest. She's disappointed with herself for leaving her friends in the forest. So instead she leaves Gabry alone while she ventures back into the forest for her own selfish reasons. Abandoning another person kinda cancels out your quest to right abandoning those other people Mary!
• the twist - Uh, way too confusing for me, but that may be because it was revealed near the end and I'd already given up hope. I just wasn't interested anymore.

Favorite quotes:

• I fall, my face slapping against a wave, my knee scraping the sand. I scream into the water. The salt scratches at my eyes as I lunge for the surface. He grabs my arm and pulls and I try to fight. I kick and claw and thrash against him. I scream again, choking as a wave crashes on my face. I swing wildly, my fists connecting with flesh.         - pg. 82
• The simmer of panic explodes. "Go!" I shout. "Run!" The old bridge sways under our weight and pounding feet as we sprint across it. In the gaps between the wooden planks the waterfall churns and roars, racing into the black emptiness below. I can almost feel the flames of the torches behind us as we reach the other side of the bridge, as Elias slams against the gate and struggles with the latch.         - pg. 225

2 Robots

Too much sappy love triangle and not enough action. This series is just not for me. Zombie book recommendations anyone?

Acquired: swap.com