Dead-Tossed Waves

Ryan, Carrie. The Dead-Tossed Waves. 2010. 416p. ISBN 9780385736848. Available as FIC RYA on the library shelves.

In The Forest of hands and Teeth, Mary managed to escape the confines of her village and found both the ocean she had been craving her whole life and a living city. The Dead-Tossed Waves picks up two decades later.

Gabry has always known the safety of Vista, her hometown, protected by thick walls on three sides and the ocean on the last side. Living in the lighthouse with her mother Mary, Gabry has no interest in the world beyond the wall, and is the opposite of courageous. Her friends all dream of the Dark City, the capital of the Protectorate, and often leave the safety of town for the thrills of the amusement park a short distance beyond the wall.

Catcher, the boy she has always liked, entices her to come with them to the amusement park, and everything goes wrong. They are attacked by zombies, and several of the teens are killed. Catcher is injured, but manages to profess his love for her. The others are captured by the militia, but Gabry manages to escape back to Vista. Unfortunately, Catcher was not with the other teens. Now, he’s out there, alone and dying.

Gabry scales the wall again, but before she finds Catcher she encounters Elias, a broody fighter who’s out beyond the safety of the town, looking for someone. With Catcher dying, and Elias lurking, Gabry is unsure of what to do. When her mother hides back in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, Gabry must now decide between safety and a boring life away from Catcher and Elias, or the freedom and dangers that dwell in the Forest. Can Gabry escape her past and gain a new future?