The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Synopsis: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?

First line: My mother used to tell me about the ocean.

My Thoughts: I truly enjoyed this YA dystopian novel. I thought it verged on horror with the gruesome deaths and descriptions of the Unconsecrated (zombies.) I found the Unconsecrated to be creepy and the romance to be as painful as I've come to expect from YA romance. The setting reminded me of the movie The Village mixed with your choice of a zombie movie. Interesting. This page turner kept me reading until well past my bed time, and I'm too old to stay up too late.Ryan's world building here was quite good, I was surprised to find that I wasn't reading about happenings on an alternate world, but right here on our earth. That made it that much more scary. I had a couple of issues with this story. One was I didn't find out how the how it all began, what caused The Return. Another was with Mary. As much as I liked her character in this book I wish she could have found happiness. I hope these things are covered in the sequels. I'll be reading them. If you like YA, dystopian or horror novels I think you'll like this one.

Rating:

Quote: I try to get a feel for the blade in my hand, for my only weapon. From a young age everyone in my village is taught how to fight for a day such as this. The wood on the handle is smooth and slippery from the dampness of my palm. It feels awkward and unwieldy, and the bag of food throws me off balance.

Links:
Carrie Ryan

the series