The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
Released: March 22nd, 2011
Published by: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Series: The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Book 3
Page Amount: 384 pages, US/hardcover
Buy It: Borders | Barnes and Noble | Amazon

This is the third book in the Forest of Hands and Teeth series. Although we do not post intentional spoilers, the following review and synopsis may contain information from the past books. So please do not read unless you have read The Forest of Hands and Teeth and the Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan. 

"There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.
Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.
But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?"
Information from Goodreads.com

QUICK OVERVIEW: 

Carrie Ryan has captured my heart when she created this post-zombie apocalypse world. Every book is almost absolute perfection, and The Dark and Hollow Places is no exception. Ryan has a vengeance against her characters, and the violence and heartbreak in each word carries with you even when you set the book down.

REVIEW: 

Carrie Ryan's books, just keep getting better and better. The Forest of Hands and Teeth began a journey to safety and dreams, The Dead-Tossed Waves gave us characters and plot that added perfection to the series, and The Dark and Hollow Places takes you from desperation to hope.

I will literally read anything that Ryan produces. She has such a different writing style than most YA authors. She doesn't care to kill her characters, she never leaves you with a complete happy feeling. It is always happiness with a lot of sadness intertwined. Which make the story so much more real. If zombies were to attack (which, uh, I TOTALLY believe will happen one day. I am totally riding the zombie-apocalypse wagon) not everyone we loved would survive and it would be hard to ever find hope.

This story actually takes place where The Dead-Tossed Waves sort of left off, but from Annah's point of view. As you may know, The Dead-Tossed Waves isn't a direct sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth, well this is a direct sequel to the Dead-Tossed Waves. And it is perfect that way. You get such a different perspective of the world from Annah's eyes, but I actually get to see the characters I fell in love with in the last book. And let me just say, I love each and every character in this book. The characters you're supposed to hate are perfect villains, the characters you're supposed to love carve a special place in your heart.

The plot moves a little quicker in this installment than I feel it has in the past. It still has its down moments, but they don't feel that way when you're reading it. It all reads like you are just watching a video of someone's life. It has the real moments and the moments that feel like dreams.

I could talk forever about how much I love this book, but I won't, because that is just taking up time for you to be reading the series. If you don't stand in line to get this book the day it comes out, you're crazy. Because Carrie Ryan's world is one of the best in YA that there is.

FIRST LINE: 

"This city used to be something once."
-Page 1

TEASER: 

"My arm throbs where he's already attacked me and useless grunts slip from my mouth. This isn't the way I'm supposed to die. I've fought too hard. I've resisted the Unconsecrated for too long for this to happen now."
-Page 65

RATING BREAKDOWN: 

Plot: 19/20
Characters: 20/20
Creativity: 20/20
Writing: 19/20
Ending: 10/10
Cover: 10/10
=98/100, A+ ()

PARENTAL CORNER: 

This book contains the following:
Violence
Mild/Excessive Cursing
Mild/Excessive Sexual Content
Drug/Alcohol Abuse