The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan

I just finished this this morning, and just had to share my thoughts .....       I'm sure just about everyone has heard about this book, the companion to The Forest of Hands and Teeth.   I had ordered this for our collection and pounced on it as soon as it got here.    

Here's the quick summary, taken from Amazon:  "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."

I had really enjoyed The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and this companion book didn't disappoint.  Gabry isn't always the easiest character to like, but I got completely caught up in the story, and really found her, and the other characters, to be very well-written.   You get more answers here to what's going on in this world than in the previous book, so I felt like this story filled in some gaps for me.  The one thing I wasn't wild about was what seemed to be the somewhat melodramatic treatment of the relationship between Gabry and two of the other characters, Catcher and Elias.   Gabry swings back and forth quickly between how she feels about them, and how she speaks to them --- I found it annoying at times.  However, this aside, I thought the story was really strong and thought-provoking.    I think the author has done some interesting things with the world she has created, making it a place that's harsh and foreboding, but also somewhere where hope can shine through.   I whipped through this book because I just needed to keep reading, to see what was going to happen next.    Now, I just need to wait for the third book........

If you'd like to see what other people thought of this book, the Book Smugglers had a really nice review.

Where I got this book:   The library (of course)!    I've been neglectful in my postings to state outright where my books come from, so I'm trying to make sure I do this now.