YA ZOMBIE Friday: The Dead-Tossed Waves and The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

Title: The Dead-Tossed Waves; The Dark and Hollow Places
Author: Carrie Ryan
Series: The Forest of Hands and Teeth #2 and #3
Genre: YA, paranormal, horror
Publisher: Delacorte Books For Young Readers, 2010; 2011
Source: Library

The Dead-Tossed Waves picks up several years after The Forest of Hands and Teeth leaves off (so spoilers are a fair warning for the first book). Mary is living in a lighthouse by the sea with her daughter, Gabry. Gabry enjoys her safety -- she doesn't want to go outside the Barrier, and she really doesn't want to ever go into the Forest of Hands and Teeth. However, after reluctantly going outside the Barrier one fateful night (for a boy, naturally), Gabry's life changes forever. Her decisions affect everyone around her, and she must learn to come to terms with what she has done and what she wants to do.

If I could describe The Dead-Tossed Waves in one word, it would be angst. Gabry is a very confused girl. She doesn't know what she wants, she doesn't know how to deal with what she's done, she doesn't know who she's interested in. She is very angry and she makes quite a few mistakes. The selfishness of the main characters seems to be a theme in this series; the characters are trying to strike a balance between their will to survive and the (angsty) love they feel for their friends (but mostly their moody, equally angsty love interests). In the case of Mary from the first book, I wasn't ever really bothered by it. Occasionally her drive to find the sea became a bit all-consuming -- I can't imagine wanting to find a location more than wanting to stay with the people I love. However, her drive and her decisions made sense to me. Gabry was all over the place, constantly changing her mind and discussing her uncertainty. At times it was grating for me.

The story itself was much more exciting than The Forest of Hands and Teeth, rife with chilling moments. The opening scene was absolutely explosive and set the scene for the rest of the book. I was spellbound by this book -- it definitely causes "one-more-chapter"syndrome. I also enjoyed seeing the way the Unconsecrated -- or the Mudo, as they are called in this book -- are seen and dealt with in the seaside community of Vista. The village in The Forest of Hands and Teeth was isolated, ruled by a nun-like community of Sisters. The city of Vista is run by the Protectorate, a government agency with stringent rules to try and preserve the survival of the human race. It is also filled with Recruiters, a sort-of army that finds supplies, clears out areas for settlement, and kills as many Mudo as possible. The ending was rending of course, as per Ms. Ryan's style, but was slightly more hopeful than the complete decimation of The Forest of Hands and Teeth. 


I do think the lovely writing style that I enjoyed in The Forest of Hands and Teeth was less present in The Dead-Tossed Waves. It was drowned out with angsty-angst-angst and frightening moments. However, it does make a reappearance in The Dark and Hollow Places.

I am going to be intentionally vague in this summary because while The Dead-Tossed Waves is separate enough from The Forest of Hands and Teeth that not too many spoilers surface, The Dark and Hollow Places begins only a few weeks after and is more directly connected. The Dark and Hollow Places is about Annah, a girl who left her twin sister in The Forest of Hands and Teeth years ago and has been struggling to eke out a life every since in the Dark City, first with her "brother," Elias, and later on her own when Elias joins the Recruiters. Scarred and tough, Annah knows how to survive, and is driven to survive at all costs. However, she realizes that sometimes living is more important than surviving, and has to choose the kind of life that she really wants.

Where The Dead-Tossed Waves left me occasionally disappointed, The Dark and Hollow Places left me completely fulfilled. First of all, the writing was stunning. Only rarely do books deliver a complete, cohesive picture straight to my mind when I read a scene. This one did -- I could see the snow, the treacherous tunnels, Annah's scars, everything (although why does the girl on the cover have no scars at all, hmm?).  The images were beautiful despite the bleakness of the story and the setting.

And the story was very bleak. While the characters in the other book have encounters with the Mudo, some of them absolutely terrifying (re: the final scene in The Dead-Tossed Waves -- I can't even imagine), in this book they are all around. The characters are right in the trenches with the zombies, and Annah is grabbed more than once, feeling fingers wrap around her ankles or her wrists or her hair. And the zombies aren't the only dangers in this world -- there are horrible, twisted people who pose just as much, if not more, of a threat. I had the most moments of being completely freaked out in this book. As being freaked out is kind of the point of why I read them, I was pleased with this. And despite the bleak, bleak setting, the book also had the highest concentration of hope. The way Annah transforms from someone who is living for another breath to someone who is passionately clinging to the pain and beauty of life was moving. She is one of the toughest characters I've ever read.

Overall, I recommend both of these books (and the first, of course). They are frightening and disturbing. Carrie Ryan is pretty ruthless in disposing of characters. However, the overall message is one of hope amidst the bleakest of circumstances.

The Dead-Tossed Waves: 3.5 stars
The Dark and Hollow Places: 4 stars

Warnings: a few swears, zombie violence (lots) and some human violence as well

Why I Read... Paranormal

No, wait! Don't stop reading yet! I have a confession to make. In my baby-book-blogging days (aka about a year ago), I was a little bit of a book snob. In general, in high school and college I read classics, with perhaps a smattering of literary fiction and the occasional fluff read. I read YA in middle school. When I first realized that I had not in fact invented the concept of a book blog and that there were hundreds, maybe thousands, out in the blogosphere, I was excited - but also a little disappointed that so many were dedicated to YA lit and especially paranormal YA lit. It took a bit of searching to find books that were "my" kind of book.

I quickly expanded my horizons to include YA lit - many of the literary books I was already reading could be classified as YA, although I didn't know it at the time - but I still avoided paranormal. I think it was the Twilight phenomenon - which is silly, to be honest, because I heartily enjoyed Twilight. I was never obsessed, but I genuinely enjoyed it. I was a little turned off by the covers, and the concepts. It all just sounded a little... weird.

However, this summer I picked up Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare and that all changed. While at first I was a little turned off by all the paranormal "weirdness," I found myself genuinely enjoying the story once I got past my initial uncertainty. And while I will never consider paranormal lit to be my favorite genre, I'm glad I chose to give it a chance.

Because it is that Halloween time of year, I thought this would be an appropriate genre to cover. While paranormal romance and I are more on acquaintance/coworker terms (as opposed to soul mates with modern classics or BFFs with contemporary YA), I'm enjoying the development of our relationship. Here are a few reasons why.

Why I Read Paranormal

* Because sometimes, I like to read about scary things. I don't like reading things that feel evil or gross from how scary they are, but it is fun to get the little thrill of scaredness with creepy creatures.

* Because they are exciting. While escapism is by no means the main reason that I read, sometimes it is nice to forget about the fact that there is a thick layer of grime on my bathroom sink, that I have a test next week, that it is hard to lose weight. It is nice to go into a little fantasy world for a few hundred pages and forget about real life. 

Recommendations

* Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Oh, you know it. I'm sure there were great paranormal reads before this series came out, but this was the beginning for me. I know that Bella is annoying, and that Edward is kind of a stalker, and that Stephenie Meyer makes things way too easy for her characters. But the atmosphere of the story rocks, in my opinion. I loved discovering that Edward was a vampire, and I loved when Bella and Edward went to the meadow and discovered they were falling in love. And I want to go visit Forks, because it sounds beautiful to me. Anyway, I'm not ashamed to admit that I enjoyed it. I also liked New Moon. After that, things went downhill for me. But we won't talk about that.

* A Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. Steampunk. 

* The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. I loved this story, despite the fact that it took itself excessively seriously. I think zombies are my favorite paranormal creepy thing to read about. 

For more recommendations, visit...

A Makeshift Bookmark. An exuberant YA blog with a love for paranormal romance. 

Short Story Spotlight: "Hare Moon" by Carrie Ryan

For this month's Short Story Spotlight, I am deviating a bit from my normal fare of classic short stories available for free online. When I heard there was a short story prequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth, I knew that I had to get my hands on it. While it isn't free online, you can either read it in the book of short stories Kiss Me Deadly by Trisha Telep, or you can buy the story separately as a Kindle Original for $1.99.

"Hare Moon" is the story of Tabitha, the head of the Sisterhood in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. As a young girl, she is not chosen for a wife at Brethlaw and becomes a part of the Sisterhood. However, she aches to know what is beyond the fences of the village, and sneaks away as often as possible. One day she meets a boy from another village, Patrick, and they fall in love, agreeing to meet each month two days after the full moon. However, in the times between their meetings, Tabitha learns more about the history of her village and the role the Sisterhood has played, and feels the burdens of duty press upon her. The balance between caring for her village and the love she feels for Patrick weigh on her, and in the end she must make a painful choice.

I liked that "Hare Moon" showed a different approach to take to the village. While Mary in The Forest of Hands and Teeth resisted passionately any hold the village had on her, longing only to escape and seeing her experiences there as restrictive, Tabitha feels a sense of obligation. She understands that to keep the village safe, many sacrifices have been made, and she feels a pressing sense of duty to care for her village and respect the lives of those that have died to sustain it. However, in fulfilling that duty, something that could be seen as altruistic, Tabitha loses much of her humanity. In the story, she describes it as choosing survival over life.

I also thought Tabitha's view of the Unconsecrated was very different and interesting. She doesn't hate them or resent them for forcing her to keep her life walled and protected. She envies them - she has so much unrestrained passion for life that she wants to need and desire as much as they do. She unequivocally believes she will join them some day, and doesn't necessarily see that as a negative thing, although she isn't rushing out into the forest on a suicide mission.

Overall, I found this to be an interesting addition to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I haven't read the other books in the series yet (although I took them out from the library this week - hooray!). The story was intense and haunting, certainly not a comfortable read, but a thought-inspiring one.

YA Friday: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride

Title: Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
Author: Lish McBride
Series: I've heard there will be a sequel. I know nothing else.
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co., 2010
Source: Library
Read For: FYA Book Club, R.I.P. VI

Sam is a college dropout who flips burgers and skateboards. His life is pretty simple, and fairly enjoyable (minus the fact that he hates his job and feels like he has no idea what he actually wants from life. And the fact that his landlady won't stop hassling him about finding a girlfriend). However, after an unfortunate smashed taillight and a violent confrontation, Sam learns that there is a whole world of supernatural powers surrounding him, and that he has irritated one of the most powerful. And now that powerful man wants him dead. Crap.

This book was significantly more enjoyable than I expected it to be. While there are a few paranormal books that I enjoy, in general they aren't my first pick. I also wasn't so sure about the scary factor - I love a good creep-out, but it's always hard to tell if a book will be scary in a thrilling way or a disgusting way. However, right away Hold Me Closer, Necromancer racked up several points in its favor.

Point 1: Clever song titles at the beginning of each chapter. "Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer" was stuck in my head for the week that this book was sitting on my night stand, not aided by the fact that my husband burst into spontaneous song every time he saw the book. But still, clever.

Point 2: Sam was college-age. I've seen the want for more college-age protagonists in YA fiction all over the blogosphere, and I completely agree. While Sam was not actually in college, it was great to read about someone close to my age (although I guess technically, at 23, I am a little older than college-age, even though I am still in college. Dang it).

Point 3: Sam himself. I loved this character. He was a believable guy, not too-perfect-to-be-true like most male leads, but he was still sweet. He was protective of his sisters and his female friends. He was a little bit of a softie (evidenced by the fact that he was a vegetarian). He wasn't quite sure what he wanted from life, but he was a good person and a good friend.

Point 4: Humor. This wasn't a book that took itself too seriously. I'm not afraid of books that take themselves seriously - right now Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth comes to mind, as a book in the same genre with a completely different tone - but I like a little lightness now and then, and this book supplied it.

Point 5: Still a little creep factor. I didn't want something too gory, and for the most part this book delivered. (And when there was violence, it was usually tempered by some humor and self-deprecation, aka Sam keeps getting his butt kicked because he has annoyed the All Powerful Necromancer). However, there were a couple of creepy scenes. Which I appreciated.

So, the book was better than I was expecting. Still not perfect. There wasn't a lot of depth or character development, which I think can happen with humor, but doesn't have to happen. While I enjoyed reading about the characters, I didn't necessarily connect with them. However, still an enjoyable, light read for Halloween.

3 stars

Warnings: Brief sensuality, creepy violence (think severed, cauterized heads)

YA Friday: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

I am super disgruntled because I spent hours today working on a flyer to get toy and food donations for the crisis nursery I volunteer at, only to be shot down because it is "solicitation." So, I will write a review about zombies.

Title: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Author: Carrie Ryan

Genre: YA, post-apocalypse/zombie apocalypse

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2009

Source: Library

Mary is used to her life surrounded by The Unconsecrated. She has heard their moans as a backdrop to her entire life, lived every moment encircled by the powerful fence that keeps her village safe. However, Mary starts to wonder if the Sisterhood, the religious and protective force of the village, has been keeping secrets - secrets like other settlements beyond the Forest of Hands and Teeth, and just how the Unconsecrated came in the first place. As she learns more and more, Mary must decide if she can be content with the life she's been dealt or if she will be driven to seek out the world beyond the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

This book had me seriously behind in homework. I started reading it while waiting in line for the bus one morning, only to have to keep promising myself chapter after chapter that "this is the last one." I ended up reading all four hours of my bus drive that day. Carrie Ryan knows how to build suspense. I couldn't stop reading until my questions were answered, but as soon as they were, another would be presented. I was swept into Mary's dark world, discovering with her the secrets that the Sisterhood had kept hidden.

Romance was a fairly heavy aspect of this book, as each year there is a festival where young adults choose a spouse to keep the village populated. An epidemic wiped out most of the people of child-bearing age, so the pressure is especially high. However, Mary is confused as Harry seeks her out as his companion, but his brother Travis - who has already selected his own girl to court - confides in and develops a relationship with Mary. The angst was high throughout the book, and the added element of imminent death by zombie-bite only elevated it. Everything played out to a gut-wrenching climax.

As far as the "scary factor" goes, I was a bit disappointed. I like a decent scare as long as it isn't too bloody or evil, and while the plot was intense, I never really felt spooked. I had no trouble going to sleep at night. It's not that I don't find zombies frightening, either - I had at least two different nightmares about I Am Legend. However, in this book the people were much more awful than the zombies, who actually seemed pretty dumb and easy to fend off except for the fact that there were practically infinite numbers of them. It was still a powerful and emotional story, but I would have liked to be kept up a bit more. The Unconsecrated just weren't quite vivid enough in my mind.

I was also a little disappointed in the fact that some of my questions weren't answered. Granted, this is a trilogy, so things might become clear later on. However, I know that the next books follow different characters - they aren't about Mary, at least not directly. I was left wondering why "The Fast One" was better than the other zombies, and I also didn't find out how the zombies got there in the first place. Neither of these were absolutely essential to the plot, but I felt a little cheated that they were raised multiple times and never answered.

While the scares weren't always powerful, the emotions were. I felt in tune with what Mary was going through, with her conflicting desires for love, acceptance, and answers. At times, her absolute need to get to the ocean was perplexing to me, but when I remembered my own passion for ideals as a teenager, it made perfect sense. Don't get me wrong, I still have ideals that I care passionately about, but when I was sixteen, they were the only thing in the world. I would never have allowed pragmatism to get in the way of pursuing that dream, and neither does Mary. I think adults may see her as a selfish character, sacrificing everything to get what she wants, but I think teens may identify with her single-minded passion for escape and a better world.

I also have to add in this little (mostly unrelated) thought I had while I was reading this book. A year and a half or so ago, I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy. There are no zombies in The Road, but there are people who (slight spoiler) eat other people, and have lost their humanity. The zombies in The Forest of Hands and Teeth also eat people and have completely lost their humanity. The only difference is that the characters in The Road still look human, while the zombies in The Forest of Hands and Teeth are visibly monsters. Anyway, thanks for indulging that brief aside.

This was definitely a powerful book, and I am looking forward to reading the remainder of the series (finally, a series I started when it was already finished!). It isn't my normal cup of tea, but certainly left me thinking. If you are looking for something a little darker or love reading about the zombie apocalypse, this is for you.

3.75 - I can't quite give it a four, but it was much better than a three. *Joys of subjective blogging*

Warnings for the sensitive reader: Violence. Scary zombies. Making out.