THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES by Carrie Ryan

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

Last year, I read and absolutely loved The Forest of Hands & Teeth, so when I found out there would be another story set in this world, I was very excited. I've been waiting almost a year to read this, so you can imagine how awesome it was when I got started and absolutely lost myself in Gabry's bleak world.

Gabry lives in the seaside town of Vista with her mother. They live inside the lighthouse and patrol the beach, ready to deal with the dead bodies of the Mudo that continually wash up bloated and ready to infect. Her life has always been filled with security and safety, but the night she ventures past the town's Barrier and into the abandoned amusement park with her friends, her world comes crashing down around her.

The night she shares her first kiss with the boy she likes and finds out that he feels the same way about her was supposed to be a memorable one, not end in horror. But that's exactly what happens when a Breaker appears out of nowhere and starts to attack, infecting as many teenagers as it can.

After Gabry runs, leaving everyone else behind and lying about being there with them, her life is changed forever. Some of the teenagers are infected, others are imprisoned by the Militia, and the boy she likes--Catcher--is missing. The night she sneaks back into the ruins to find out the truth about what happened to him is also the night she meets the mysterious Elias.

The emotional rollercoaster ride that Gabry goes through in this book is amazing. Her life is once again turned upside down when her mother reveals a truth she's been keeping from her. But the secrets of her origins don't stop there. And when she's forced to run from the relative safety of Vista, she finds herself in the same paths that Mary travelled in the Forest, but heading the other way.

This book is as beautiful as the first. As shocking and sad, yet wonderfully vivid. This dead world is frightening but Carrie Ryan is able to deliver such a beauty with her tormented characters that I was consumed by every word. Gabry was a tortured soul who often did selfless things that wound up coming out the opposite way. I also enjoyed learning more about the Mudo/Unconsecrated situation, and how there is so much more to the world--like the Dark City, Soulers, and Recruiters, and why Mary's village had no idea there were other humans out there.

The Dead-Tossed Waves is every bit as brilliant as The Forest of Hands & Teeth, yet stands on it's own as a horrifyingly, haunting tale of survival in a dead world. I loved every minute of it and only have one question now: when's the next out going to be released?

In the meantime, here's the book trailer for this book:

The Dead-Tossed Waves, April 2010, ISBN 978-057-509090-3, Gollancz Paperback