The dead tossed waves by Carrie Ryan

Orion Books, 2010. ISBN 9780575090903.
(Age 14+) I loved The forest of hands and teeth and couldn't wait to read what turns out to be a companion volume. The dead tossed waves is set well in the future, with Mary, the heroine who couldn't wait to see the world, now the mother of teenage Gabry, and a secondary character. The action centres around Gabry who has grown up obeying the rules about staying on her side of the Barrier, well away from the Mudo, the Unconsecrated, who can turn the living with a single bite. One night she is persuaded by Catcher and his sister Cira to climb over the Barrier which keeps them out, and when Catcher is bitten her whole world changes.
What follows is a series of adventures, interspersed with a lot of soul searching by Gabry, who often irritated me as a narrator. She seems to be constantly doubting herself, while undertaking the most amazingly brave feats, like swimming in an ocean which could be infested with Mudos to go to see Catcher andfinding her way through the forest while evading their waving hands and teeth.
Although it states that it is a companion volume on the back cover of The dead tossed waves, reading The forest of hands and teeth first would definitely be an advantage, especially as it fills out some of Mary's story. This volume gives very little background to the characters from the first book although some of that information is crucial to the story of Elias, who is a Recruiter searching for his lost sister and a major player in the book.
In many ways this story parallels the first volume: Gabry also loves 2 boys, Catcher and Elias, she has issues with her mother as did Mary and there is a race through the forest evading the Unconsecrated (the Mudos). However along with some breathtaking action and suspense, it brings some new thought provoking ideas: Is there any soul left in the Mudos? Is there any chance of finding out how to become immune to them? What is life like in the Dark City?
It looks as if I will have to wait for Volume 3, The Dark and Hollow Places, due to come out in 2011, to get some answers to my unresolved questions about Gabry's dilemmas, how Elias lost his sister, and what boy will Gabry end up with.
Pat Pledger