So, so, so much better than the first one. I felt pretty blah about The Forest of Hands and Teeth, so I didn't expect much from The Dead-Tossed Waves. I pleasantly surprised to find this book much more engaging and interesting. Can't wait to read book 3!

I still like this series, but... I can't help but feel like everytime someone kisses or says I love you, that means they are going to die or have something horrible happen to them. I hope the third book is better.

another great title from carrie ryan. Just like the forrest of hands and teeth she does an amazing job at using the title throughout the novel. Great teen romance with zombies! Zombies are the ultimate feeling of being trapped and insecure. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough.

Ugh, I'll probably have to read the last one simply because I read the first two, but it will be really low on my list...

I KINDA enjoyed Forest of Hands and Teeth and was really looking forward to finding out how Mary coped at the ocean, what happened to Jacob, Harry, and her brother. Dead Tossed Waves skips several years and Mary is an adult with her own child that is around her age when her story took place. I was sure that my questions would be answered somewhere in the book but I just couldn’t get through it. Ryan writes using A LOT of similes. I like a good simile every now and again but it annoys me when its used to describe everything. Internal dialogue can take up to two pages when the action scenes are finished in a few paragraphs. Her characters are stereotypical. Luckily for the internet, I read the spoilers and already know all the twists of the story, so I’ll be taking this book back to the library asap. Maybe I’ll try it again at a later date because I just hate not finishing a book and who knows..maybe it really does get better.

This carries over some of the worst aspects of Forest of Hands and Teeth (the narrator's self-pity, the ridiculous love triangle) and drops some of the best (the world-building, the slowly revealed mysteries). Also, I think I'm a little burnt out on zombies.

Ryan's first book (Forest of Hands and Teeth) was fantastic, but this second novel was amazing. Her abilities to develop characters (particularly the main protagonists) are stellar. I was engaged from beginning to end. Don't let the classification of Young Adult Fiction shy you away from reading her work; I found them intelligent and engaging.

This isn't a direct sequel in the usual sense of the word to [b:The Forest of Hands and Teeth|3432478|The Forest of Hands and Teeth (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #1)|Carrie Ryan|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41q8PcJO1mL._SL75_.jpg|3473471], but a "next generation" story about Gabry, who has grown up in the sea-side town at the end of the previous book.

Some parts in here I loved, like the explanation of what causes Breakers (seen in the previous book as well--the super fast zombies that go in infection sprees), which gave some better ideas as to why the zombies were able to take over so efficiently. Also, the cult of the Soulers was super creepy and added a lot to the world-building in here.

Unfortunately, for me, there was a lot more focus on a love triangle in here than I would have liked. While there are some interesting aspects brought on from this, I not only didn't like Gabry's waffling between love interests or just how much of the story was taken over by it. As a result, I felt like there was less focus in here than the previous and didn't enjoy it quite so much. Still, an entertaining story and I'll be reading the third for sure.

I started reading this story less than twenty-four hours after finishing The Forest of Hands and Teeth and I’m already halfway through the third as I write this review. If you’re a fellow book addict, you know what that means!

Overall, I found The Dead-Tossed waves a bit less emotional than the first book in the series, but the cast of characters is definitely improved and there is a thread of hope in the plot that was absent before.

Rest of the review at Dark Side of the Covers blog

The Dead Tossed Waves does not disappoint this major fan of Ryan's first book, The Forest of Hands and Teeth. How can anyone transform the post zombie apocalypse into such a moving, thrilling and lyrical literary event? I don't know, but Carrie Ryan has done it again.

I postponed reading this book because the first one was such an intense, gripping experience, I had to be in the right head for it. So I brought it along to the beach with me. Then I discovered that coincidentally most of the action happens to take place on a beach, where the "Returned" bob up in a water-logged, partially decomposed state of semi-hibernation and are activated into their murderous frenzy by the presence of live, biteable human beings. Obviously the reawakening zombies have to be bashed to death immediately with a shovel or some other blunt instrument, but the fear is that they will turn out to have been someone one knew and perhaps loved very much before. (!!!)

So I have been trying very hard to forget these gruesome images and not keep waiting for the zombies to bob up out of the beautiful waves at Cape May. Hopefully this will give you all a sense of how powerful the book is without giving away any spoilers.