Book Review: The Dead Tossed Waves

Genre: YA, Horror

Another Zombie Thrill Ride matching The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Gabry's mother escaped the Forest of Hands and Teeth and lives in a light house, over looking the dead tossed waves. Her job is to patrol the beaches at high tide and decapitate the Mudo who have washed ashore. Gabry has always known a safe life, sequestered behind the barricades in a town guarded by the Protectorate. Her fragile existence all changes one night she takes a dare and ventures into the ruins of an amusement park with the boy whom she loves.

My Review:

I inhaled this book in less than twenty four hours. I could not put it down until I knew the end. The tension is high throughout, and her situation is constantly precarious, making for great reading. I love the high stakes of zombie tales, and this book really delivers. The setting is vivid and the writing pure poetry. Gabry's world is desolate with tiny fires of pure passion that make it all worth it. The chemistry sizzles with her, her childhood love, and the new mysterious boy that enters her life.

That said, Carrie Ryan's conclusions are not satisfying ones, and her heroines are often frustrating in their inability to cope with change and carve their destinies. Gabry can't make up her mind. Who does she love? Where does she want to go? These questions plague her every thought, and it's hard for me to read without yelling at her which decision I'd make for myself.

Will I buy the next one in the series? You bet.