THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

by Carrie Ryan

2009

310 Pages

From Inside Cover:

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, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.

Now 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 by so much death?

My thoughts:

Two words..Dark and Scary...okay that's three, but you get the point.

This post apocalyptic tale blew me out of the water.

Mary has been orphaned and abandoned by her older brother to be taken in by the Sisterhood. The women of her village that make the rules and keep the order.

Mary is sure of two things- First she knows that she doesn't want to devote the rest of her life living in a convent abiding by the strict rules of the Sisterhood. Second, she knows deep in her heart that something lies beyond the fences of her village. Something other than the flesh eating zombies that the fences were built to keep out. She dreams of another place, of an ocean that she has never seen, of other people and villages that must exist like her own.

When the fences are breached by the Unconsecrated Mary escapes and barely survives the attack. Now she is forced into the Forest of Hands and Teeth to discover truths that have been long hidden and find answers she has been searching for her whole life.

This story grabs you with both hands and doesn't let go. Although I didn't particularly care for Mary I couldn't stop turning the pages. It's a story that stays with you long after you put it down. It's Creepy with a capital C. I'm super excited that there is now a sequel-Dead Tossed Waves. Which is at the top of my current Wish List. I also noticed in the summary that Mary is not the main character in this next book-interesting!
I bought this book used on Amazon and I will be donating it to my local library.

I recommend this book for ages 14 and up. There is violence-it's zombies. And if zombies are your thing I would also recommend World War Z by Max Brooks and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.