Posts Tagged: carrie ryan

Carrie Ryan SLC Utah Signing

31 Mar, 2011 by in Heather Gardner Photography Leave a comment

Last night I was able to attend the book signing for Carrie Ryan and let me tell you she is one sharp cookie! A great motivational speaker and storyteller, her third book Dark and Hollow Places was just released March 22nd by Delacorte Press. The first two in the series The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Dead Tossed Waves speak of women’s resilience against a zombie apocalypse as well as standing up for what you believe in. The motivation for the story came from a story of her grandmother’s about wearing plum tights, some cans of tuna, her husband whom she married on April’s fools day and the desire to pass down stories from one generation to the next. Carrie shared her favorite all time reads with us which are The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen.

Ryan advised new writers to be persistent in your attempts to get published. She had a ten year plan for success herself. Colleague Beth Revis, author of Across the Universe, an instant NY Times bestseller went through 10 manuscripts before her book was picked up. Carrie was super supportive of all the local Utah authors in the audience which included: Ally Condie, Bree Despain, Elana Johnson, Jessica Day George, James Dashner, Brodi Ashton and Dan Wells. What a crowd!! We picked up some signed goodies which are being auctioned away for Japan below. Photos by Heather Zahn Gardner.

Books For JAPAN #2- Signed Carrie Ryan Swag

31 Mar, 2011 by in Uncategorized 5 comments

Our Books for JAPAN auction #2 is a swag pack of signed goodies from bestselling author young adult author Carrie Ryan.

You are bidding on:>

1) a signed paperback copy of The Dead Tossed Waves

2) an exclusive pin from The Forest of Hands and Teeth Series

3) one author signed postcard

Place your bid by commenting below with your email address and the amount you are willing to donate for all three items together. 100% of the proceeds go directly to Japan tsunami victims humanitarian aide. Auction ends April 9, 2011 at 8 pm MST.

Teaser Tuesday-Dead Tossed Waves

16 Feb, 2010 by in Uncategorized 5 comments


The Dead Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
to be published March 9th 2010 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

details Hardcover, 416 pages

isbn 0385736843

synopsis from Goodreads: Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves

I read the Forest of Hands and Teeth a couple of months ago and can’t wait to read the sequel!Visit Carrie’s website to learn more: http://www.carrieryan.com/books.php

Forest of Hands and Teeth

29 Dec, 2009 by in YA fiction Leave a comment


Publish Date: March 2009
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Format: Hardcover, 320pp
Age Young adult
ISBN: 0385736819

In Mary’s world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Carrie Ryan lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can visit Carrie at http://www.carrieryan.com/.

I picked this book up at the library because of the cover (the title threw me off I must say.) Typically I avoid books with a lot of graphic imagery and violence, but got sucked in by all of the intrigue and secrets the Sisterhood were holding. For me, Mary’s world of zombies and isolation seemed doomed and ruled by other’s choices. The romance between her and Travis was beautiful at first and disappointing in the end.

I understand Mary’s need for independence and freedom, but her choices seemed selfish and put the ones she loves in danger. The ending left me sad, but I will read the sequel hoping it answers all of the questions left in my head. Overall, I would give it 3 and a half stars out of five. Very interesting and haunting, yet I found myself wanting Mary to make different choices, taking into consideration all that she lost.