The Forest of Hands and Teeth Series

Just finished the last of the series: The Dark and Hollow Places. My opinion of the books was always very high. I fell in love with this series when they were recommended to me. I finally added them as a favorite on Shelfari because as I was reading the 3rd book, I remembered how fantastic the writing was.
I have always been drawn to books with dystopic societies, and this series was no exception. Mary, the main heroine from the 1st novel: The Forest of Hands and Teeth, lives in a village that is surrounded by fence keeping the unconsecrated, zombies, out. The sisterhood is in charge, and their rules are the ones everyone abides by. When an invasion breaks loose in the village, Mary, her lover, her fiance, and her best friend fight desperately to find this ocean Mary always longed for. The only thing they have to hold each other together is hope. Although decisions the group makes are, at times, questionable, Mary's hope never dies. The author leaves the reader with a very cryptic ending; because truly how can one be happy in a world where people are constantly in fear?
Book two: The Dead Tossed Waves takes on the point of view of another strong heroine: Gabry. Gabry is Mary's daughter, and the two of them are continuing to fight the good fight against the unconsecrated (Mudo, zombies). Once an invasion of unconsecrated leaves the ones she loves infected, she must find a way to get past the Recruiters, who control everything. Some of their rules and regulations don't make sense, so she grasps to find another way. Gabry breaks the rules, and in doing so meets Elias, who claims to know her past. Not only is Gabry trying to survive, but she begins to unravel the stories of her mother's pasts and the secrets she's been keeping. Another strong female lead. You can feel both female character's curiosity and pain. Both lost people close to them, and both discovered that there was something more than the fence closing them in. They reached and hoped for other answers, which they soon discovered and craved.

To finish out the series, The Dark and Hollow Places is narrated by Gabry's twin sister, Annah. Personally, I feel Annah is the strongest of the 3 women. She is jaded and broken herself. After being left behind by Elias, she has been on her own surviving in the Dark City, a place that is uninfected at the moment. Her shattered past and dying hope seem to only drive her towards one thing, surviving. Feeling neglected and lost, Annah feels her only hope for surviving is finding a way out of the city. She is confronted by Catcher, a friend of Gabry's from her old village. As Annah begins to accept her past, she realizes that something about Catcher is familiar. Both of them are broken in different ways. Annah must continue to survive, but at the same time she must discover what is it is like to live.

The writing was absolutely fantastic. I found myself bookmarking pages just so I could remember the lines. Carrie Ryan's writing weaves through and gives the reader so much detail it swallows you whole. I found, after finishing, there were many sequences where there is no dialogue. Annah struggles against the night, the wind, the darkness, but she is alone. I was so drawn up in it that I didn't ache for the human interaction, which is something I usually do. I typically will skip ahead just to see the dialogue, but in this last book it was amazing how her writing was enough for me to see everything. I could see the tunnels, I could feel the shiver and cold, and it was incredible. I think the third was my favorite also because I was able to relate to the scenery. Annah's story takes place in a city, which gives the readers the idea that this story could take place during a recent time. Mary's story is in a forest, Gabry's near an ocean, so readers may not be able to image the time period because it could be any time. They aren't around civilization, whereas Annah is. The fact that people can better relate to the city atmosphere gives a different feel to the story, and also makes it more powerful.
I absolutely love this series. You have a dystopic society where everything seems hopeless, but these three characters find the courage to push on and continue fighting. No matter how jaded and how scared they are, each one has something different to drive them further. The romance was a nice pinch of happiness to make you smile. Love these books. I am so glad I own them because reading them again would not be a chore. I recommend them; they are three of my favorites. :)