Dystopian or not dystopian, that is the question. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first offering in a zombie-eat-world trilogy. While that statement might seem something of a spoiler, it's not. The unconcecrated (read zombies) in this book are part of the setting. The story is not about how zombies ate the world, nor even how the last vestigaes of humanity faired once the deed was done. Instead, Carrie gives us a story of an angsty teen (for here is true angst), with angsty teen problems (nevermind the constant threat of zombies).

The beginning of this book has all the hallmarks of a classic dystopian novel. Cryptic world changing event sometime in the distant past? Check. Development of an oppressive, overly intrusive governing body intent on making everyone "happy" and "safe" whether they like it or not? Check. Wild card protagonist suddenly wanting to live her life for herself rather than for the "good" of everyone else? Check, check. In fact, the setup for this book was fantastic (if slow), but once the plot gets moving, a wrench flies into the works and gums up the machine.

Personally, I wouldn't categorize this as dystopian, tho I know many others do. It is without a doubt post apocalyptic, but that is NOT the same thing as dystopian (I acknowledge the categories share many traits). The key to this categorization lies in it's title (duh! Chris, yer like, totally brilliant)... "dystopian", you know, like the opposite of "utopian". Here, let's bust out some definitions courtesy of dictionary.com.

dystopia- noun
a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding.

utopia- noun
any visionary system of political or social perfection.

The common element in both these definitions is the social / societal element. In classic dystopian literature (Brave New World, 1984, Farenheit 451, etc.) the story focuses on the protagonist's struggle to break free of (or change) the society in which he (sorry ladies, the protagonist is typically male in the classics) finds himself caught. In other words, it's all about railing against "the man". The Forest of Hands and Teeth is not that.

(view spoiler)[ No, in this book, Carrie throws us a head fake. She makes like this will be one woman's fight against the injustice of a religious tyranny but then changes her mind. Once the village is invaded, nearly all the societal elements are tossed out the window. What we are left with is an "adventure" book (a pretty lame one at that), wherein the protagonists have to find a way to survive the zombie scourge of a post apocalyptic world. No more Sisterhood dictating how Mary will live, no more sneaking around in covert rebellion, no more attempts to uncover what the Sisterhood is hiding. In fact, we discover that the big bad tyranny from which our protagonist originates, was likely an isolated one with each of the separate villages autonomous in their various governmental structures.

It isn't the only head fake she throws us either. Much of the early portions of the book read like an allegory to the Garden of Eden and Eve's pursuit of forbidden knowledge (we all know how that turned out), but if she really intended allegory, then she screwed it up pretty good.

It is ultimately not Mary's pursuit of knowledge that causes her to be cast from the village (garden), but the behavior of the Sisters (a delicious irony had it been executed correctly). In a sense, it seems that Carrie meant to move this theme forward by having the Sisters' experimentation with Gabrielle somehow create the "fast" unconcecrated. But Carrie chucks this out with the bathwater as well. She later offers us reports that fast zombies had randomly occurred in other places, hastening the collapse of pre-"return" society. So it wasn't a matter of an unbrideled (not to mention unethical) desire for knowledge that destroyed the village, but pure dumb luck. (hide spoiler)]

The technical aspects of Carrie's writing are fair. She's great at building atmosphere and paints an excellent picture of the bleak and harsh realities of her world. She does a reasonable job of conveying relatable fear in her characters. Although I'm rarely scared when reading a book (this book was no exception), she does an acceptable job of building tension, at least in the beginning (before she starts cheating, more on this soon). The narrative is a bit terse, but I think it helps her better convey the stark and dreary reality of the world.

As a story teller, however, Carrie committs some pretty egregious sins in my book. This is pretty unfortunate because Carrie's premise was great and I might have been able to forgive the rest of her weaknesses. I'll say that in the beginning, I was really enjoying this book, but it quickly went to hell.

To start, Mary is a pretty realistic teenager, she's self centered, overly dramatic, useless in a crisis (view spoiler)[Okay, this is debatable. Mary does save Travis (temporarily- and he wouldn't have needed saving had she been working on a solution to cross to the platforms rather than relishing her time with her forbidden love) and at least makes an effort to save Jed (although he wouldn't have needed saving had she not insisted on leaving the protection of the fenses. Also, we don't know how that all turned out anyway- well, you might if you've read the other books, but I haven't). In the original flight from the village she does little more than blunder around (hide spoiler)], and vindictive. Remind me why, I'm supposed to like her again? OMG, this girl is insane. She behaves in ways that are completely irrational (view spoiler)[ Think picking up and rocking the unconcecrated baby, and later running around the house trying to prod zombies with a spear so she can figure out which woman the house used to belong to (hide spoiler)].

I can't decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Her character is terribly difficult to like, but at the same time, since the book is in first person, it is Mary's mindset that furnishes the great atmosphere of the story. I can totally understand why in a situation like this Mary would come apart at the seams, most people would. In some ways it's fascinating to watch. To write a story from the perspective of a person who appears to be losing her marbles, would be an interesting approach to take. Unfortunately, although it feels like that is what's happening sometimes, I don't think it was how the writer intended Mary to be perceived.

Next we get to the obligatory love triangle (all YA books apparently need one or the YA gods will be displeased), which is wholly unconvincing. The obstacles placed between the trio are ill conceived, difficult to believe, and obsurdly shallow.

(view spoiler)[These people grew up together. Travis and Mary had so much in common, it is inconceivable to me that Travis would have picked Cass over Mary, merely because Harry liked her too. It's not like Harry had a prior claim on her. While I know it's a bit dastardly, I find it hard to believe that once Harry failed to speak for Mary (an event never explained in the book, but needed so we can put Mary in the hands of the Sisterhood for a while), Travis wouldn't have dropped Cass in favor of Mary, since Harry apparently didn't want her anymore. At least Cass wouldn't have been forced into the sisterhood, as her family hadn't conveniently disowned her. I'm also skeptical that Cass wouldn't have simply approached Harry and asked him to let Travis have Mary so that Cass and Henry could have been together. Regardless, this is another one of those cases, typical in YA, where a little communication resolves the major issues. (hide spoiler)]

Characterizations and love triangles aside, Carrie committs the unforgivable in Forest of Hands and Teeth. She violates my faith in her as a story teller by cheating. Maybe I'm just especially sensitive to these kind of things, because I haven't seen any other reviewer comment on them, but for me internal consistancy is a deal breaker. When a writer violates her own logic, she shatters the world she has built and makes me mistrust her to boot. Look, I can suspend disbelief just as well as the next girl, otherwise I would never be able to read PnR / UF. I generally try to give writer's the benefit of the doubt, but this book is insulting. Carrie's only concern appears to have been the emotion she was trying to stir, and was willing to ignore structural logic in an attempt to manipulate the reader.

(view spoiler)[OMG, where to start. Okay, how 'bout this. I was reading this book for book club, so I took some notes as I was reading here is one of my raw entries:

"Obviously, the House in XIV fell to the unconsecrated (baby, bridge to the tree village severed) so I'm going to be very upset if we don't get some form of explanation as to how Travis and Mary are safe in the house. Same, more or less, goes for the tree village. If the rest of the group is safe up there and there are supplies, what happend to the original villagers? I guess I'm supposed to have faith in the writer at this point."

And so I did, I read and waited for an explanation confident she would explain it. She doesn't. No explanation as to how unconsecrated got into the house but left the front door intact. What, they never got in? Explain the unconsecrated baby then. Maybe the inhabitants opened the door and let the zombies in themselves! Okay! I don't buy it, but at least it explains the ground floor.

But the bridge to the platforms was cut, presumably so the unconsecrated couldn't get across. How'd they get thru the attic door? It was intact too. That must have been left open as well. For that matter, how'd they get up to the attic to begin with. During the dramatic escape from the house, Carrie says it's because they just piled up on each other until they could reach the attic. No matter how hard I try, I can't envision this. Certainly if it would work for the latter to the attic, it would work to breach a fence too, No?

The thing is, Carrie needed a safe place for her protagonists to stay while muddling thru the whole love triangle thing for a while. So we have an intact house, well provisioned, all defenses still whole. Who cares how it happend? I DO!

Next, we have an inability to communicate from the platforms to the house. We need that because Carrie wants Mary and Travis to spend some time together isolated. The distance between the refuges is apparently too great for shouting... That is until later when we have Travis on the rope and need Mary to be able to motivate him to escape. At that point voices will carry just fine.

Ah but we eventually come up with a solution for our off again, on again communication woes... We'll fire arrows across to each other. But wait, Harry's a horrible shot (I think this was supposed to be funny), to bad he's all alone on the platform and can't have someone else, like a guardian with training and better aim shoot the arrows instead... Hey, wait! We did have one of those... grrrrr. Well, clearly Harry was missing on purpose, cuz later on when Travis LEAPS FROM THE PLATFORM OVER THE HEADS OF THE UNCONSECRATED ON THOSE STRONG AND HEALTHY LEGS OF HIS, in his bid to escape the fire, Harry hits everything he aims at (oh and Jed too, cuz he'll pick up the bow to shoot at zombies, just not to pass messages, it's a weapon after all, not a damn telephone).

Did someone mention Travis' bad leg? You know, the one too injured to get up the latter into the attic? Really?! He can't climb a latter without both legs? You have got to be kidding me. Nope, not kidding. But don't worry, he'll manage to shimmy across a make shift rope bridge, with just one leg, later on. See the trick is a little coaxing from Mary (good thing she didn't have to do it by arrow express, cuz that would have been awkward). I believe I mentioned the debacle of the miracle leap already.

See the pattern here? Create weaknesses / strengths then ignore them when they are no longer convenient. This is the ultimate betrayal a writer can make in my opinion. It's half-assed, shoddy, and condesends to the reader (Oh, they'll never spot or care about THOSE discrepancies, I can't be bothered to plug inconsequential and meaningless holes, I'm busy telling my "story". Please!). (hide spoiler)]

What really sux is that I feel compelled to read the rest of the series. Many at GR say the rest of the books are SO much better, and I can believe that, when it comes to pacing and story elements. But I strongly doubt that the logic errors will end, which are ultimately what completely ruin this book for me. The problem is Carrie's mindset, she clearly finds this method of story telling acceptable.

I listented to this one and despite the narrator's short comings, I commend her selection for this particular book. Vane Millon
does not have a dynamic voice and her delivery is clipped and monotoned. In another story, this might have been a problem, but it fits with the world that Carrie has built. At first I thought Vane was reading it this way as an affectation to convey the atmosphere, but she doesn't change up her delivery during scenes calling for a higher emotional content. Vane has a hint of an accent that I can't really place (French? Italian, maybe?) that was neither pleasant nor bothersome, but she does mispronounce words from time to time.

Did I like this book, not particularly, no (although I liked it's premise). Will I read the rest? Probably, but as with Kate Lauren's Fallen series, I suspect I'll regret it. Do I recommend reading this book if you haven't already? Your kidding, right?

-Chris