Name: The Dark and Hollow Places
ISBN: 9780575094864

Carrie Ryan

THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH introduced us to Mary and took us into her world - a world where decades after The Return mankind is hanging on to survival surrounded by the endless hordes of the undead; the Unconsecrated. A novel of extraordinary power and imagination, FOREST took you to the centre of a terrible future and showed you that even there the hardest decisions are the decisions of the heart. A companion novel, THE DEAD TOSSED WAVES, followed in Spring 2010 and this novel will continue Ryan's superb story. Perfect for readers looking for their next injection of supernatural thrills and dread, the series has already proved to be a word-of-mouth sensation, powered by extraordinary internet activity.

The Dark and Hollow Places

Jess

Read my review here! --&gt; <a href="http://www.gonewiththewords.com/2011/04/review-dark-and-hollow-places-by-carrie.html" rel="nofollow noopener">http://www.gonewiththewords.com/2011/04/review-dark-and-hollow-places-by-carrie.html</a> <a href="http://www.gonewiththewords.com/2011/04/music-monday-dark-and-hollow-places.html" rel="nofollow noopener">Music Monday: The Dark and Hollow Places + November by Azure Ray</a> This series will forever be one I treasure. I knew it the moment I first finished The Forest of Hands and Teeth. That book left my heart bleeding. It was just like nothing I had ever read before. Then after The Dead-Tossed Waves my heart was mended because of the ending. It left me feeling hopeful for the outcome of these characters I had fallen in love with. Now here we are, at the end of this amazing trilogy. Carrie Ryan has taken us through a very scenic journey. First with the Village surrounded by a forest in the first book, then Vista, an ocean town. Now we get to see the Dark City, which is what’s left of what used to be New York City. It’s dark and gritty…perfect dystopian setting. I’m not really sure what I expected Annah, our main character, to be like, but I did not expect her to be so wounded, emotionally and physically. She’s had to live with the regret of having left her sister in the forest when they were five. She feels ugly because of the scars she has on her face and body from an accident a few years back. But…she’s a survivor. Of all protagonists in this series, Annah’s had it the worst in my opinion. I loved getting to see her transform from this insecure, angry girl to a strong, confident woman. Some of the things that happen to her in this book made me so angry! I seriously hated the Recruiters. The way they treated everyone, especially their captives, was completely enraging!! And I hate to say they got what they deserved in the end, but they did, and I was happy about it. Annah is able to get past some of her issues, in part, thanks to a couple of people. One would be Catcher. Although Catcher gives Annah the whole “Hands Off!” spill, I could see that he really did care for her. Catcher is just as wounded as she is, maybe not on the outside but definitely on the inside. Catcher and Annah are also very alike in that they don’t let people get close and in the way they feel about themselves. I think this is why they connect so deeply. I thought I had an idea of where this story would go or how I hoped it would end, but Carrie Ryan honestly surprised me. I was on the edge of my seat for most of this book! The ending, while not what I imagined (it was better), was sooo her. I felt okay letting these characters go because Carrie Ryan has written an ending that makes me believe they are going to one day make their world better. I don’t have to worry about them, they’ll be just fine. I loved it. It was a beautifully written conclusion to an amazing series. And like I said before, I will treasure these books always.

Monicap

My favorite book of the trilogy, hands down.

Characters
Annah: Annah is the main character in this book, Gabry’s twin sister. She’s very angry ad snarky and sarcastic and stubborn and very dark and all the things I love to see in a Main Character.
Elias: Elias is here again, and we learn that Annah was in love with him before he joined the Recruiters. (Also: when this book begins you will realize that Annah’s telling of her and Elias’s history and what happened when and after he joined the recruiters does not line up with his story when he met Gabry. It’s just another plot twist)
Catcher: Catcher is Annah’s love interest, and I like him much better in this book with Annah then I did in the Dead-Tossed Waves with Gabry. Catcher and Annah are a much better match then Catcher and Gabry, if you ask me. Also, he grows into his Immunity in this book. (chapter XXXVIII, anyone?)
Gabry: I only think Annah refers to Gabry as Gabry once in this book. She usually refers to Gabry as Abigail or ‘my sister’. It’s a little disconcerting, but it makes sense.

Plot
We still have zombies. And we still have Recruiters. But instead of a couple normal zombies scattered about and a couple Breakers, we have an entire freaking Horde. It’s pretty epic.
Also, where in the last book the Recruiters were just a peripheral bad, in an oh-o-they’re-after-us way, in this book, we get better acquainted with the special of awful that the Recruiters are. They’re… I’m tempted to say sociopaths, but I’m not sure if that’s the right word. Sadists, maybe. I don’t know, but they’re pretty awful.

I think that the point of this whole trilogy has been to answer the question: what makes us alive? What separates from the zombies/mudo/unconsecrated? 
I think that question has been answered, several times over. The difference between surviving, existing and living has been explored, and it leaves you with a feeling of hope.

Emily Perkovich

** spoiler alert **
           I did like this much more than 2 but sooo much less than the first one. It felt too easily packaged up too frequently. One relationship can’t work out anymore? It’s ok, here’s another character who has been slighted and now you two can easily fall in love nbd. It was just very YA suspend your disbelief to make the story neat.

Chelsea Breher

I enjoyed the third book more than the second, I like learning about the past of the various characters and how their lives all changed due to a split second decision. The love triangles troop made me roll my eyes many times, but I guess its what sells books these days 😂😂

The Dark and Hollow Places

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