Review: The Dark and Hollow Places (The Forest of Hands and Teeth #3) by Carrie Ryan

Title: The Dark and Hollow Places
Author: Carrie Ryan
Series: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Reading level: Ages 14 and up
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 22, 2011

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There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.
Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.
But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

My Review

The Dark and Hollow Places is the third book in the Forest of Hands and Teeth series by Carrie Ryan. The first book in the series told from Mary’s point of view, and the second book follows her daughter Gabry. This book is from Annah’s point of view, who is Gabry’s long lost twin sister. This maybe a bit spoilery for the second book, but I will try to avoid it as much as possible. Annah and Elias depended on each other of everything, after getting lost in the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Annah is left to survive on her own, after Elias joins the Recruiters.  This makes her a very strong and independent person, which I think makes me love her as the main character more than I did Mary or Gabry.

Annah feels like her life stopped, when the only person she cared about left her. Then she meets Catcher, and that starts to change. Once Annah finally see her twin, Gabry, it is hard on her. Annah fell into a razor wire trap, when she was a little girl, and it left her entire body scarred. This makes it hard to see herself, as she should have been reflected in her sister. The Dark and Hollow Places feel like the name reflects, it feels darker than previous novels due to the emotions and circumstances. There are a lot more of the dark, and disturbing human behaviors featured in the book, than in the previous books.

I absolutely love this series, and I think I love The Dark and Hollow Places the most out of all three. I have to say I love Annah in the book. She does what she has to for the people she loves, and it is such an admirable quality. I also like her relationship with Catcher, because of how things worked out in the previous book. I loved so many things about this book, but I do not want to give too much away. This is just an amazing book, full of emotions.

I have to say that if even if you were not completely in love with the previous Forest of Hands and Teeth, this one is worth reading. It is truly the best one out of all of them. It is a great read even for someone who is not a huge fan of zombie novels. I think these books are about far more than zombies; it is more about the human emotions and reactions. It is just a great series, and it has to be one of my all time favorites!

**Unabridged Bookshelf borrowed this book from the local library**