THE DARK AND HALLOW PLACES by Carrie Ryan Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (March 22, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 0385738595 Extras: Tour Information Source: Publisher Rating: YYYYY Summary: Good Reads

There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face when she and Elias left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the horde as they found their way to 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 him to come home ever since. Without him, her life doesn't feel much different from that of the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Then she meets Catcher and everything feels alive again. Except, Catcher has his own secrets -- dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah's 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 drenched in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

MY THOUGHTS In reading The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan I have found one of the most frightening stories that I have ever read, yet despite it's violent and disturbing nature it proved to be an uplifting story that demonstrated how the human spirit cannot be squelched. The Dark and Hollow Places is the final novel in a trilogy that showcased a separate heroine for each of it's stories, and with this one I have found Annah to be my most admired protagonist. Annah's voice is clear and strong outshining her predecessors. As the story begins you witness her struggle at being left alone and soon an unsettling encounter sets her on a path that has no possible return. Annah is driven to find Elias but soon encounters Catcher who leads her to her long lost sister Abigail/Gabrielle, but not before Annah realizes that the Dark City that has been her home is going to be lost to the masses of the undead that are threatening to overwhelm it. The visualization of the incoming undead was a bit much for me at times and I had to put my book down, but then I would pick it up a second later and keep on reading It was too enthralling to set down. I was captivated by the relationships between the main characters and was content to see love alive and thriving despite such dismal circumstances.

This book is by far the darkest of the trilogy, with scenes so graphic and brutal that I could not sleep without having nightmares, and I can never enter a subway system without the bone chilling fear of being chased by a horde of the undead. *shudders* Yet, despite these fears of mine I would gladly read this story over and over again because it is well written and executed to a fevered pitch of perfection. The Dark and Hollow Places is a must read for 2011 and a book that you will not soon forget.

Video Book Trailer: THE DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES