Book Review: The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication date: March 2011
ISBN: 9780385738590
Source: Library


The Dark and Hollow Places (Forest of Hands and Teeth, Book 3) 

Annah has grown up in the Dark City, every day reliving the memory of leaving her twin sister behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth.  And then the more recent memory of Elias leaving her behind.  When both her sister and Elias return unexpectedly, she is thrown into a world of swirling emotions.  But she doesn't have much time to worry about them or about the new boy Catcher who makes her feel so different, because everything about her world is about to change.

Things I Liked:
I really love these books because of their balanced look at zombie action and humane reactions.  I love how it challenges what you think and expect about zombies and how you will look sympathetically perhaps to their plight as well as the human plight.  I became wrapped up in the reality of Annah and Gabry and Elias and Catcher, who struggle to survive in an ever shrinking world of thinking humans.  It was such a realistic view of how it would feel to watch the human race disappear a piece at a time and then to see the different reactions survivors have.  I just love the heart and soul of this series and the tough and sympathetic characters Ryan creates.  Great series!


Things I Didn't Like:
It dragged for a while in the middle.  Not much seemed to happen while they were trapped on the island for most of the chapters.  Things definitely picked up near the end and were exciting for much of the beginning, but there is a bit of a slow spot right in the middle.  And the ending is a bit of a stretch too.  Still, I never wanted to stop reading it.


Read-alikes:

Read The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan first
Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@
some, not a lot


mrg-factor: X
a few incidents, but nothing explicit


v-factor: ->->
quite a bit, what with zombies and all


Overall rating: ****

Is there a book or series that almost makes you believe in zombies?

If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
 
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