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The Forest of Hands and Teeth

(The Forest of Hands and Teeth #1)

Carrie Ryan (Goodreads Author)

3.60 · Rating details · 84,547 ratings · 8,881 reviews

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 ...more

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Paperback, 310 pages

Published July 2009 by Gollancz (first published March 10th 2009)

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Start your review of The Forest of Hands and Teeth (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #1)

Jan 21, 2011 Cory rated it did not like it

How to Write a Best Selling YA Novel

1. Make sure you write the book in a POV that distances us from the narrator. If you have no idea how to write 1st Person Present, do it any way. It makes the book confusing and fun for your reader to plow through. Also, make sure your narrator's POV is very boring. Boring enough to put Plato, Jane Austen, and Shakespeare to sleep.

2. Make your narrator a selfish, boring girl with little to no life outside of her love interest and one singular hobby. Whether i ...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: to-ya-or-not-to-ya, oppressive-dystopian-regime, kat-s-book-reviews, apocalypse-rah

See this family?

family

Or this family?

other family

Take a good long hard look at all of their faces.

See how happy, how healthy, how loving they are. Imagine you've known them your entire life and that you love each one more than life itself.

Now imagine if you were one of the people in that photograph with them.

Now imagine that I told you and all those other people standing and smiling with you that I was going to kill you all so that I could go for a trip to the beach...

Okay, now you know the basic plot of The Fo ...more

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Feb 23, 2009 Meghan rated it did not like it

Synopsis:
Sometime in the future, the world is overrun by zombies--people infected by an unknown virus that causes them to return as the undead and feed on human flesh--called the "Unconsecrated". Mary lives in a village surrounded by the Forest of Hands and Teeth, where the Unconsecrated are kept out by a chain-link fence, and to the villagers' knowledge, they may be the last bastion of uninfected humanity. Mary's little world is ruled by fear and the people have turned to a Medieval-like relig Synopsis:
Sometime in the future, the world is overrun by zombies--people infected by an unknown virus that causes them to return as the undead and feed on human flesh--called the "Unconsecrated". Mary lives in a village surrounded by the Forest of Hands and Teeth, where the Unconsecrated are kept out by a chain-link fence, and to the villagers' knowledge, they may be the last bastion of uninfected humanity. Mary's little world is ruled by fear and the people have turned to a Medieval-like religious fervor to give them hope. Mary grew up with stories of Outside the Forest and fences and her latent desire to uncover the truth eclipses everything when Mary finds out a dangerous secret. However, a blooming romance further complicates matters, and Mary will have to make a choice...

My review:
The story sounds promising, right? It does have potential and the idea is rather unique (especially with the deluge of vampire-related YA novels that has been happening) but, ultimately, it didn't do it for me. The writing was fine and moved at a nice clip, but lacking in detail. So much so, that there were times when I wasn't even sure where the action was oriented! I never got a real feel for the setting. I also found myself not caring for the characters, and there didn't seem to be much character development (one of the pitfalls of first-person narrative?). Travis, the love interest, had no discernible personality and so I had no idea why our narrator was so in love with him. And for all her suffering, I had a hard time drumming up sympathy for Mary.

The biggest problem was that the author had too many ideas going on at once, and would completely drop story lines altogether. No questions were really answered by the end. And while I assume the author is planning one (or more) sequels, I have no compulsion to follow Mary's story. Because so many (seemingly important) threads were cut in this book, I don't know how they can be picked up again (if they would be at all).

Oh, and a chain-link fence? Come on!

...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Kiki rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: The Unconsecrated

Recommended to Kiki by: The Unconsecrated

Shelves: awesome-heroine, favorites, awesome-ya, i-hate-that-i-love-you, ya, books-that-changed-my-life, waterworks, lost-the-will-to-live, sentimental-value, will-read-the-next-one

Dear Mary,

You went full Shane. You never go full Shane.

Hugs and kisses,

Kiki

xoxo

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Apr 30, 2009 Tatiana rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya, why-the-hype, 2009, dystopias-post-apocalyptic

I was very much looking forward to reading this book. Great premise, rave reviews. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

First of all, I truly disliked the writing style. Present tense writing can do wonders in skillful hands (see Wake, Fade by Lisa McMann), but in this case this style was mishandled, it didn't add any kind of intensity to the story. Quite the opposite, I was extremely irritated by it.

I don't think this book was in any way original. It read mostly like kind of Village/Dawn of the ...more

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Aug 10, 2018 sunny rated it really liked it

Shelves: v-emotionally-moving, cringe-romance, fantasy, romance, im-all-kinds-of-shook, unfinished-series

**some mild spoilers ahead!!!

ohhh boy, this was dark and filled with death and zombies and i loved every minute of it. literally all my friends found this slow and boring, but i'm here like "biTCH WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT??? I NEED TO KNOW." i'm so shook, i literally had such low expectations for this book because everyone hates it!!! I guess I just hate books people love and love books people hate.

i don't know why, but i went into this thinking it was a horror ghost story, but it's **some mild spoilers ahead!!!

ohhh boy, this was dark and filled with death and zombies and i loved every minute of it. literally all my friends found this slow and boring, but i'm here like "biTCH WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING TO HAPPEN NEXT??? I NEED TO KNOW." i'm so shook, i literally had such low expectations for this book because everyone hates it!!! I guess I just hate books people love and love books people hate.

i don't know why, but i went into this thinking it was a horror ghost story, but it's actually about zombies!!!! Mary lives in a very religious village ruled by the Sisterhood and the Guardians. the Sisterhood is strict and enforces rules for everyone to follow and stay safe. the Guardians have always protected against the Unconsecrated (zombies) and provided for them. when the Unconsecrated break through the fences and start attacking the village, Mary has to decide if she wants to find another path to safety or pursue her dreams of finding the oceans and be free.

this is such a weird book. like, it's written so simply and dull?? but i actually really liked it. it's EXTREMELY simple and melancholic, which i feel really complemented the atmosphere of the book.

mary's character has like, zero personality. from the beginning she's always mentioning the ocean. Ocean. OCEAN. and that's what's always on her mind. she's so bland and has an obsession with this guy Travis which is the worst fucking romance ever? her personality is the equivalent of a paper and i fucking loved it. she's been raised under a strict leadership and defying them would mean being thrown to the Unconsecrated and when she starts learning secrets the Sisterhood is keeping and knows there's life out there, she wants to leave and be free. i kind of related to her wanting to live her life free of the village and find the truth.

also, this is surprisingly so dark?? one scene in particular that stuck out to me was the zombie baby one. Mary and Travis were in this tree house thing where they saw a zombie baby that someone ditched. it was pretty sad because this baby can't move, is crying, and wants food, but it's a fucking ZOMBIE BABY. Mary had these thoughts that it's literally a baby who wants to be cared for, but she just tosses the baby out of the fucking tree and the zombie baby dies again from the fall and i was just..... what the fuck. she waited to feel some kind of guilt, but didn't. idk, this was just..... damn. really stuck out to me.

there's also a lot of cool zombie attacks and then chasing you shit and death and grossness. it was pretty great.

ok, now let's talk about the god damn bullshit ass romance. literally, what the FUCK was this? Mary has always liked this dude Travis, whose brother likes HER, so it's a fucking love triangle. but our girl Mary here only wants Travis and being without him is like,,, she can't bear it?? which is lowkey unhealthy, my guy. she's OBSESSED with this guy!! there's zero chemistry with them and from the beginning she just loves him and wants to be with him. at first i was like, yaas some smoochy smoochy sex time, because i love romance, but the romance got weird and cringey real quick. and i just...... did not want their romance. other than that Harry, Travis's brother wants Mary and it was just awkward.

also, Travis is disabled! he has a limp and broke his leg somehow (which is revealed later on.) i was so happy to read about a character with a disability!!

i feel like, normally, i would hate a book like this but??? i didn't which is so surprising to me.

overall, aside from the shitty romance, i really enjoyed this book. zombies, death, secrets, isolation. it was SO GOOD. ...more

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May 23, 2012 Wigs rated it it was ok · review of another edition

More filler YA garbage. It had potential I guess but the writing quality, the plot quality, the dialogue quality, I just can't.

It was like the author lost a bet over how minimal a vocabulary she could use to write a book. Ocean. Ocean. OCEAN. OCEAN OCEAN OCEAN I swear to god stop saying ocean talk about something else anything else. Seriously. Do not hit your readers over the head with a hammer we GET IT. WE GET IT DON'T REMIND US EVERY CHAPTER I AM DROWNING IN YOUR SEA OF OCEANS.

All the main c ...more

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Feb 04, 2011 Emily May rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2011, horror

Ok... personally, when I see a book rated 3 stars I tend to avoid it, 3 stars to me seems a very poor rating. However, I want to stress that I think this book is worth the read and the story is very intriguing, even so far as that I am looking into getting the next book in the series.

So why did it get 3 stars? Well, it was more than 'ok' and I did like it, but there were just enough elements that annoyed me to not reach the 'really liked it' marker, especially when I compare it to other books th Ok... personally, when I see a book rated 3 stars I tend to avoid it, 3 stars to me seems a very poor rating. However, I want to stress that I think this book is worth the read and the story is very intriguing, even so far as that I am looking into getting the next book in the series.

So why did it get 3 stars? Well, it was more than 'ok' and I did like it, but there were just enough elements that annoyed me to not reach the 'really liked it' marker, especially when I compare it to other books that I've said to have 'really liked'.

For one, and this has been said a lot about this book, the protagonist was a pain in the ass. She was selfish and weak and pathetic. She constantly wanted to be saved by Travis or Harry or Jed, and yet she repeatedly shows a complete lack of emotion at others' problems and even the death of those she supposedly loved. I did feel her frustration when she was forced to choose between two lives that she didn't want, but it soon turned into resentment. Also, was she losing her mind? The author's style was confusing, was she trying to portray a girl slipping into insanity or just a selfish individual? And what was the feminist deal in the novel? The village is seemingly ruled by women, the 'Sisterhood', who make all the decisions for the village and it's inhabitants... but then it is the men who choose the women to marry and if they refuse they face a life of religion because they are suited for nothing else. Plus, the protagonist's constant search for male approval and even permission at times is cringy.

Then there is the zombie issue. I've never been a fan of zombie fiction - slow moving dead people who can be killed with a sharp knife aren't my idea of a huge scary threat. Plus, I'm fairly immune to horror. My parents are horror fans and so they relaxed the censorship on scary films even when I was a little kid - the oversaturation at a young age has left me pretty hard to scare (with the exception of The Woman In Black). This meant I never gelled with the main element of the story, the unconsecrated never sent chills up my spine and the point of the novel was slightly defeated.

BUT. The story is interesting, you want to know what happens. You feel angry and frustrated at times but this just shows that the story has absorbed you. And the non-scary zombies is just me, I'm sure this book would actually achieve it's purpose with many people and prove to be a very frightening novel.

AND the title is pretty awesome. ...more

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Aug 16, 2017 Aj the Ravenous Reader rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, physically-owned-books, sci-fi, apocalyptic-post-apocalytic, young-adult

I don’t think I’ve read a zombie book that I didn’t like. Sorry about the spoiler because yes, The Forest of Hands and Teeth is as story about zombies but it’s very gracefully written, you sometimes forget there are zombies in it. Carrie Ryan definitely has an effortless way of bringing art out of her words. Her writing seems to have this hypnotic effect on me and I just had to keep reading.

Writing aside though, I think the plot is also very commendable and I think very original. The utopian world is literally juxtaposed with the dystopian world and I was very impressed with the idea. The main characters live safely in a “Pleasantville-ish” village and believe they are the last humans on earth while outside the fence where lies the Forest of Hands and Teeth, the “Unconsecrated” surround them keeping the people inside and leaving them no choice but be content with how they live. But Mary, our main character is a curious (sometimes too curious it’s annoying) girl and couldn’t accept that all there is to life is their sorry one in the village. This is where all the conflicts in the story shall arise.

Perhaps one of the setbacks of the novel is the heavy romance despite not being really romantic. I’m not particularly sure why Mary earns a lot of affection from the boys since she’s not a very likable character to begin with. I didn’t find real chemistry with any of the matches and I don’t like how Mary is too indecisive of her feelings. I also find it weird that these sinister Sisters are the ones imposing these weird rules and rituals among the villagers. I don’t think this will be addressed in the sequel because WTH, I checked it and it has nothing to do with these characters. But I want answers on why the Sisterhood rules the village. What are these secret passages they’re hiding in their cathedral? What’s their connection with the Unconsecrated? What happens to the people left behind? To Mary? To Jed?

Overall, it’s still a gripping post apocalyptic read and I would have been eager for the sequel if it would answer all my questions but I guess it won’t so bummer. Guess I’ll just have to find out what the sequel is about.

P.S. I hear this is going to be adapted into a movie starring Maisie Williams. That would be so awesome!^^ ...more

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Jan 11, 2010 Shelby *trains flying monkeys* rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2014, end-of-the-world, zombies

Mary is a shit. Let's get that straight from the beginning. As a main character I tried to like her. I really did. Did NOT happen.
The story starts off in a small town that Mary lives in. It's ruled by the Guardians and the Sisterhood.
The sisterhood:

The book never really explained why the Guardians existed nor much of what they did. I actually want to know more about the creepy Sisterhood that everyone listens too. I don't get why they were in charge.
Mary ends up in the Sisterhood due to s ...more

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Jan 21, 2009 Anne rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2009, horror

I just finished reading, and I'm not sure if I liked it or not. To be honest, I feel sort of drained and depressed now that I am done. However, I've never really read any other stories about zombies, so I don't have anything to compare it to. The plot held my interest, and it is not a very long book, so that is a plus. I can't really say that I sympathized with any of the characters in the story, though.
It is told from Mary's point of view, but I didn't really like her very much. I found her obs ...more

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Nov 30, 2008 Yan rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. “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.

Wh ...more

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Jun 22, 2011 Cait rated it liked it

Warning: some spoilers do run about freely in this novel; like carefree little bunnies. If you are afraid of spoilers and/or bunnies, do not continue on.

Awwww! Sooo cute! Let's look at just one more before I start my review.

Sooo..... Cute.... Kind of weird to see little baby bunnies if you know what this book is about. Probably just my ADHD kicking in.

Bunnies..............

Ahem...... alright, so before I get to what I didn't like about this 3.5 star book, let me start with what I absolutely ...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Liz rated it did not like it

Shelves: hate-the-heroine, headdesk-not-sorry, abandoned-series, i-prefer-rum

The name of this book... When I read it I knew I had to read this book! The name was just promising...

After finishing the book I was like:

Promising name, beautiful cover...and a lame plot with lame characters inside. I was more than just disappointed in the end.
The plot is not thrilling, neither is it creepy or fascinating or dark. It is long-winded, somehow depressed and the protagonist is annoying.
Too many question stay unanswered in the end, the write style is boring and it feels forced... ...more

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Jun 01, 2010 Lucy rated it did not like it

Shelves: wasn-t-for-me, young-adult, paranormal, zombies, make-room-for-that-sequel

This book dedicates the first third of it to a complicated love triangle/square and the set up of a society that's completely disregarded for the other two thirds of the book. The love triangle is complicated and oh so important. The main character has barely another chance to find a mate before she's tossed to the nuns who are cruel and mysterious. Breeding is also extremely important. Producing children is the main goal for everyone. She's in love with one brother but the other brother has spo ...more

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Apr 10, 2009 Arlene rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, read-2009, zombies, dystopic, ya-dystopic

I really wanted to like this book because the premise sounded interesting and somewhat original and it was recommended by one of my fave authors. I was looking forward to being "creeped out" as some of the reviews said would happen. Well, I wasn't creeped out and I didn't care for the book at all.

Mary lives in a confined village surrounded by fences to keep the Unconsecrated out. The Unconsecrated are zombie like beings that thirst for human flesh/blood. They came after The Return which brought ...more

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Jul 25, 2021 Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: this-is-the-way-the-world-ends, ya-ya-land, horror, help-help-i-m-being-repressed, science-fiction

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest

Are you there God? It's me, Trash Can. Years and years ago, twenty-something-year-old Nenia stockpiled YA like it was going out of fashion. Little did she know, it basically was. All those HG dystopias and prom dress paranormals would soon go the way of Vanilla Ice and parachute pants, along with all other bizarre and slightly embarrassing trends that normal people would like to forget.

Too bad for everyone else, I'm not normal. And my Va ...more

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Mar 11, 2009 Danielle The Book Huntress rated it liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Not sure I'd recommend it.

Shelves: horror, angsty-read, dark-fantasy, zombie, keeping-it-in-the-family, young-adult, starcrossed, 2011-reading, fantasy, owned-copy

3.5/5.0 stars.

Why Not a Higher Rating?

*Ultimately this was a rather unsatisfying read for me. It took me a while to get engaged in the story, and to care about the characters.
*When that finally happened, then things got rather tragic. I realize that it wasn't Mary's fault, and she showed true heroism, but part of me wanted to blame her for how things unfolded. Probably not fair, but kind of how I felt.
*Mary was a bit too wishy-washy for me. She wanted Travis more than anything. No, she wanted to 3.5/5.0 stars.

Why Not a Higher Rating?

*Ultimately this was a rather unsatisfying read for me. It took me a while to get engaged in the story, and to care about the characters.
*When that finally happened, then things got rather tragic. I realize that it wasn't Mary's fault, and she showed true heroism, but part of me wanted to blame her for how things unfolded. Probably not fair, but kind of how I felt.
*Mary was a bit too wishy-washy for me. She wanted Travis more than anything. No, she wanted to leave to find the ocean. No, she felt really close to Harry. What did she want? Maybe I'm being hard on her, but I just found her frustrating.
*The secondary characters seemed kind of one dimensional. The only person I saw clearly was Mary. I don't think that can solely be blamed on the 1st person POV, either. Honestly, Travis came off as wishy-washy, and less than reliable in his affections. He was the man of Mary's dreams, but he wasn't strong enough for her. He knew that though. We don't really find out what makes Travis tick until too late in the story for my tastes. Before that, he was too far in fickle-land for me. Harry had some really good traits, and I would have liked to see more of him in the narrative. I realize that Mary is all about Travis, so I can see why Harry doesn't get much screen time through her eyes, but since they were best friends growing up, I could have done with more filling in of his character.
*We are never told some aspects of the setting. I felt there was good detail in some instances, but a decided lack in other ways.
*But, I think the number one factor in my rating is the feeling of disatisfaction I had after finishing. I wondered what the point was. That hope means nothing in the end. Sacrifice ultimate counts for absolute zero? Yeah, not my kind of novel theme.

In all fairness, I think Ms. Ryan is a good writer. Her writing has an elegance I appreciated. I couldn't put this book down, although some aspects were a bit off-putting. She does zombies well. The focus on the emotional horror of zombies, and its cost on the hearts and souls of those who face this epidemic, instead of the gross-out factor. I really appreciated that, and I certainly had some hold my breath moments. I think that I would have enjoyed this story more if there was a more focused feel to it, as if the destination I was headed to counted for more than it did. If I feel this way, than I can only imagine how Mary must feel. ...more

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Jul 19, 2017 Charlie rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: instalove, dnf, not-good

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Nooooo!!!! I had such high hopes! WARNING: This is not a review! This is me ranting and pouring out my all too many emotions at 1:00 in the moring!

I did not finish this, and ended up just flipping around pages to see what would happen.
Okay, pretty sure everyone is dead by the end of this book, no lie. And I know who Mary "ends up with" in the end. But guess fucking what??! Everyone's dead. DEAD DEAD DEAD!!!!!
This book could have had sooooo much potential!!!!
Had the romance not been a complete Nooooo!!!! I had such high hopes! WARNING: This is not a review! This is me ranting and pouring out my all too many emotions at 1:00 in the moring!

I did not finish this, and ended up just flipping around pages to see what would happen.
Okay, pretty sure everyone is dead by the end of this book, no lie. And I know who Mary "ends up with" in the end. But guess fucking what??! Everyone's dead. DEAD DEAD DEAD!!!!!
This book could have had sooooo much potential!!!!
Had the romance not been a complete crapptastic catastrophe, I would have continued reading, loved it soo fucking much, and then cried to the point of my eyeballs drying up and falling out of my god-damn head, once he died!

Harry!!! I got some flash back moments of him and Mary, but for some bullshit reason, she'd rather have Travis, Harry's brother, boning her instead!!! I got nothing, nada, of Travis, but she still pours all her love towards him!?!!? WTF??!!???!! I wanted a slow-burning, heart-wrenching, sub-plot romance, but that is NOT what I got!!!

Then things started to get good, what with zombie action, and I thought Mary could grow to love Harry, but NOPE! In comes boring, pointless, lump on a log boy- I bet you know who it is. Travis!!! *insert squelching noises of me gouging out my very much moist eyeballz* He had no substance, no character, he just "loved" Mary, but I have no idea why!!! There is no foundation for the two of them!!
It's like in minecraft, and you can place blocks in mid air, with nothing stabilizing them on the ground, but somehow it stays up there, therefore deeming it UNREALISTIC!!! Just no. Uh uh. Stop it.

From the way Mary describes Harry, and her memories of the 2 of them, you'd think her feelings were aimed towards him. But no. I don't understand! Someone please explain this craziness to me!!!

You're probably thinking, "Charlotte quit being a whiny, little biotch, and stop just honing in on the romantic elements."
Well, I could if that wasn't the majority of my damn narrator's thoughts!

There were times when Mary wasn't drooling over Travis, and that was nice. There was even a sorta, kinda, not really moment with Harry, which gave my heart a lil' flutter, but that was all. That part just made me even more depressed, because I got the feels of something that would never fucking happen!!!! Does anyone understand how I feel??!!!?!!?!

Anyways, I am truly happy for (and extremely jealous of) you if you were able to enjoy, love, whatever this book! I just couldn't push on just to be extremely disappointed by how it continues and ends.

P.S.
Ahhh!! I'm not okay!! I know I sound really angry in this "review" but in reality, my heart is breaking in two over what could have been:'( ...more

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Aug 26, 2014 Carol (StarAngel's Reviews) Allen rated it really liked it

Shelves: post-apoco-loco, zombies

WTF......WTF......WTF

I don't know if I can rate this book right now.....I'm fuming....I'm ready to throw this fucking computer against my cubby (if it didn't belong to my work).

How could this possibly end this way??? Well, it wouldn't have mattered it there was a fucking sequel but ...... what is that? NO NO NO

I go to the next book to read the synopsis...and it doesn't mention Mary (even though I hated her)- NO instead this is more of a companion book....

So....we are left with:

What happened to M ...more

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Aug 03, 2008 Kristi rated it liked it

Shelves: books-i-own

I’ve been trying to write my reviews soon after I read a novel why the emotion of the story is still fresh within me, but with The Forest of Hands and Teeth, I needed a few days to digest.

I particularly enjoyed this novel. The writing was beautiful, it was one of the best written novels I’ve read in a while. The plot itself, while it did remind me of a mix of the movies The Village and I Am Legend, I still found it to be original in context. It was captivating and suspenseful, I had a very hard ...more

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Apr 12, 2010 Flannery rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-teen, read-in-2010, bpl

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 24, 2009 Morgan F rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: fans of The Giver and I Am Legend.

Shelves: scary, own, read-2011, young-adult, 2000s, goodreads-author, re-read, zombies, medium-sized, dystopian-apocalyptic

I was really excited to read this book when it first came out. But being short on money (like always), I had to wait an entire year for it to come out in paperback. You should have seen my face when I spotted it's cover at Borders. It immediately went to the enormous pile I was lugging around (sadly, I had to put half the books back, because it would be called stealing otherwise).

This book is told from the perspective of Mary, a young woman growing up in a small, isolated village surrounded by I was really excited to read this book when it first came out. But being short on money (like always), I had to wait an entire year for it to come out in paperback. You should have seen my face when I spotted it's cover at Borders. It immediately went to the enormous pile I was lugging around (sadly, I had to put half the books back, because it would be called stealing otherwise).

This book is told from the perspective of Mary, a young woman growing up in a small, isolated village surrounded by a fence that keeps the unrelenting zombies out. But they are not called zombies in this book (in fact the word zombie never mentioned), but rather the Unconsecrated. Trust me, they are true zombies. They eat flesh and babies and everything. Anyway, Mary grows up believing that her village, run by the dubious Sisterhood that claims that their little pocket of humanity amidst the formidible forest is the last of mankind. Mary, of course, questions this and is not content with her future as a member of the Sisterhood or married to man she doesn't love. Instead, she dreams of the ocean and the other stories her mother used to tell her of generations long gone.

From the first chapter, Mary's life is turned upside down. Her father walks among the dead, and her mother goes to join him. She is turned away by her brother and is sent to live in the Cathedral with the Sisterhood, which has well-kept secrets in every room.

This book is very well-written. Fluid and suspenseful, I had a hard time putting it down. While it did have some zombie-slaying action, it wasn't the focus of the book. Instead what kept me going was the sense of mystery and doom. Nothing good ever happens to Mary and the questions just kept coming with little-to-none answers. Mary was an unreliable narrator and a little crazy. All what the reader sees is first filtered through her eyes. She selfishly clung on to her dream of the ocean and refused to settle for anything less, even when it cost her the people she cared about. But hey, she is still one of the few chracters alive at the end, and the only one with a chance at a life, so she must have been doing something right. The rest of the characters wouldv'e gotten eaten long ago if Mary wasn't there to drive them.

This book is severely creepy, what with zombies relentlessly moaning in the background. I got skeeved out in a couple scenes (zombie baby). Like I said earlier, nothing good really happens at all. This book isn't for the faint at heart as it can be somewhat depressing. But I still found it intelligent and refreshing. It's so nice to read a young adult novel without a saintly narrator and a perfectly happy ending.

My least favorite part of it though was the love triangle? rectangle? I don't know what to call it. But the gist of it is Mary is in love with Travis. Travis is in love with Mary, but is engaged to Mary's best friend, Cass. Cass is in love with Harry, but Harry is engaged to Mary. Harry likes Mary, but I wouldn't call it love. I think he just wants a wife. Oh, and Travis and Harry are brothers. It's just a mess of duty and love. No one wants to marry who they are supposed to, but feel like they have a duty to do so. So, its complicated without ever being really interesting. I never really saw what was so great about Travis. Mary nursed him and her previous crush on him turned into full out love (or so she says). This might sound weird, but I could never tell when they were kissing or not. The scenes between them were written oddly, and I kept thinking they were kissing, but later on in the page I was proved wrong. Their lips were just really close together and they were almost kissing. My bad.

Anyway, despite some personal preferences and little annoyances, this book was really good. Not for everyone, but I recommend everyone try it. I'm sooo looking forward to The Dead-Tossed Waves, where some questions might finally be answered. ...more

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May 03, 2009 Misty rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: helluva-halloween, recommended, excited-for, horror-mystery-suspense-thriller, juvenile-ya, read-in-2009, cover-appeal, own, sci_fi-fantasy, favorites

This seems to be one of those books that gets really mixed reactions. I've read more than a few rants that complain of the writing style (present tense), the love aspect, the originality aspect, and Mary herself, saying she's selfish and unlikeable. And most of the things that seem to bother people about this book help me to love it.

I found Ryan's writing beautifully and painfully evocative, and the present tense lent an immediacy to the narration that really worked. There are times when the thi This seems to be one of those books that gets really mixed reactions. I've read more than a few rants that complain of the writing style (present tense), the love aspect, the originality aspect, and Mary herself, saying she's selfish and unlikeable. And most of the things that seem to bother people about this book help me to love it.

I found Ryan's writing beautifully and painfully evocative, and the present tense lent an immediacy to the narration that really worked. There are times when the things that Mary says in the novel are so perfectly phrased as to make me actually stop reading and just dwell on them. I could see everything so clearly, and sometimes just ached with it. It was lovely in a heartbreaking way.

Much like the romance between Mary and Travis. I loved every moment of that, and bought it all. This bit is a teensy bit spoilery, so if you haven't read it, look away.

I know there are people who find the relationship unbelievable, and think that Mary was selfish for a) choosing Travis over Harry for no reason (? did they read the same book I did?), and for feeling like there was something more even than Travis. I understand why people were frustrated by this and thought Mary selfish -- so many people read YA for the easy romance and the lies. I hate to say it, but it's true. I respect Ryan so much more for not making things easy like that. I absolutely loved that, although Mary loved Travis, she realized there was more to the world, and since she lives in a pretty effed up world, there most certainly is. Mary is a woman on a mission, and she doesn't let anything sway her from that. It's a bit maniacal, maybe, but understandably so, and it makes for a much more complex, nuanced, adult novel than people typically get from YA. I appreciated that.

Same goes for the ending. Some people were really upset about the lack of resolution in the end, and I personally loved it. (And even though I know there is a sequel (and 3rd!), and fully intend to read them, I would have been content with 1 open-ended but powerful book.) It would have been a cop-out to have everything wrapped up neatly. I like a book that makes you wonder and makes you think, and even that makes you uncomfortable. It means the writer was working and doing their job, not just churning out some schlocky mess for $$.

This isn't to say I thought it was a perfect book. There were times when the prose was a bit purply, and I was worried on occasion that it was about to go over the top. I originally rated it a 4 on Goodreads, but as time passed, I found myself craving it, and thinking about Mary and the things she went through, the choices she had to make, and respecting it more and more. It's one of those books that I know I will reread and appreciate in different ways, but that I would reread even if that wasn't the case, just to get back to the beauty of Ryan's writing.

...more

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Jan 14, 2013 Merna rated it it was ok

Shelves: dnf, hate-with-all-my-guts

I still haven't finished reading this book. But I felt it would be necessary to write as I go along reading the ‘Forest Of Hands And Teeth’. Just to make the book to some extent more bearable.

Props to the writer who faintly has beautiful way with words, but also has a way with boring me to tears. Yet, I can't tell if I'm bored stiff because of the way it’s written that causes my eyes to go heavy with sleep, or if perhaps it’s the plot. It could be the characters in addition. Or, possibly it’s a ...more

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Jul 14, 2009 Shannon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: zombie, suspense, horror, and mystery fans

Shelves: borrowed, young-adult, novels, horror, suspense, zombies

The Forest of Hands and Teeth instantly reminded me of the movie The Village and it also made me think of the movie Dawn of the Dead as well. But even if you didn't like those movies or never saw them, don't let it detract from wanting to check out this book.

Mary, the main character, lives in a village some time in the not-so-distant future where civilization has been set back by hundreds of years, because of something called "The Return." The village is surrounded by a fence which holds back th The Forest of Hands and Teeth instantly reminded me of the movie The Village and it also made me think of the movie Dawn of the Dead as well. But even if you didn't like those movies or never saw them, don't let it detract from wanting to check out this book.

Mary, the main character, lives in a village some time in the not-so-distant future where civilization has been set back by hundreds of years, because of something called "The Return." The village is surrounded by a fence which holds back the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Within the forest are Unconsecrated, or really, zombies. The inhabitants of the village live their lives while the Unconsecrated moan, push their fingers through and shake the fence.

But Mary has dreams of the ocean. She remembers a photograph that her mother showed her of her great-great-great grandmother standing in the ocean. She can't shake the image and she longs to see it for herself. But leaving the village means death or becoming another of the unconsecrated so Mary has to be content with dreaming.

Until the fence is breached and she's forced to leave the village and survive.

This novel was at times frustrating, heartbreaking, and horrifying, but it's one of those books that you just have to read that next chapter to find out what happens.

That part that was frustrating for me was the first part of the book when Mary is still in the village. Women have two choices; either be spoken for by a man or join the Sisterhood. If a man doesn't speak for you, you default to the Sisterhood. The Sisters and the Guardians are a bunch of Puritanical crazies, but I can see how they'd want to create order in a small village that could be the last of humanity.

There's a heartbreaking love story told throughout this book as well. I can't really say anything without giving something away, but this aspect of the novel really adds something to the story and it makes you care that much more for the characters.

There's a lot of gruesome parts to this book and if you're squeamish about decapitation and things of the sort, you might want to look for another book. It's not too graphic, but there are some disturbing scenes.

At the end, there's still a lot of unanswered questions. This chapter of Mary's life has ended, but her story is not over.

Now I can't wait for The Dead-Tossed Waves. I read the description, don't read it unless you don't mind spoiling yourself, and it sounds just as good as The Forest of Hands and Teeth. There aren't that many zombie books around, but this is definitely one of the best. ...more

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Mar 11, 2009 Angela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Zombie fans

Shelves: zombies, horror, ya

I can solidly say that my acquisition of The Forest of Hands and Teeth is entirely the work of John Scalzi's Big Idea posts that have been prominently featured on his blog. This book was just recently featured, and as soon as I saw the post go up I knew I had to check this one out. I don't read a lot of YA, but this one had all the right elements for me: a young heroine anxious to explore beyond the confines of her restrictive world. A post-apocalyptic setting, where what's left of humanity has I can solidly say that my acquisition of The Forest of Hands and Teeth is entirely the work of John Scalzi's Big Idea posts that have been prominently featured on his blog. This book was just recently featured, and as soon as I saw the post go up I knew I had to check this one out. I don't read a lot of YA, but this one had all the right elements for me: a young heroine anxious to explore beyond the confines of her restrictive world. A post-apocalyptic setting, where what's left of humanity has had to cobble together a civilization out of the ashes of the old. And, most importantly, zombies!

Because, as I have expressed before, I do love me some zombies.

But here's the thing. This is a zombie novel, yes, but it's an oddly haunting and lyrical one. The title alone captures this and is in no small part what drew me to the book; then, too, you've got the cover art. Mary, the girl on the cover, stands looking pensive in front of a bleak woodland. This captures the mood of the book perfectly, because this story isn't about the zombie outbreak; it's about the tiny society that's arisen seven generations after, and the few remnants of the pre-outbreak life they've managed to cobble together into a village. What happened to create the Unconsecrated, as Mary's people call the zombies, is never called out. Instead, the zombies are a constant background detail, a shuffling, shambling mass of unlife beyond the fences that surround the village.

Mary is the heart of the story, a young woman who's grown up on her mother's tales of the ocean, which no one in their village has ever seen. When Mary loses her mother to the Unconsecrated, it puts her on a path between having to decide between two young men, challenging the long-held secrets of the Sisterhood that rules her village, and ultimately, to finding that mythical ocean. It's an excellent story overall and well worth checking out for YA and adult readers alike. Five stars.

ETA 11/3/2014: On a reread I find that yep, I still like this story a lot. I have a couple more quibbles with it than I did on the first read through, but I was very happy to revisit it by way of preparing to read the rest in the series. ...more

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Jan 19, 2019 ✨faith✨trust✨pixiedust✨ rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-stars, zambams, science-fiction, urban-fantasy, postapocalyptic, spooky-scary-skeletons, butt-ugly-covers, mc-gurl, dystopia, young-adult

We are our own memory-keepers, and we have failed ourselves.

Honestly, I lowkey hated the first two thirds of this. It was dreadful. Dreadful isn't even the right word for it. It was like a soap opera set in a middle school being relayed to you on the cringest tumblr account imaginable. It was a time capsule from 2009. #10yearchallenge to the extreme. There was no personality. The atmosphere was minimal. Not a single character had a personality. The passing of time as imperceptible -- months pass ...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Laurel rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Non-Zombie Folk

Recommended to Laurel by: My Zombie Love

Shelves: that-cover-unf, ya, read-em-once-then-it-s-done, um-what, damn-love-traingles, sigh, who-let-you-be-heroine

What did I think of The Forest of Hands and Teeth?

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I'm sorry to those who enjoyed this book, but I was not amused.
In fact, I was severely disappointed.
And it HURTS me to be disappointed because zombies. Freaking. Zombies.

But no, guys. No.
Love comes first. In every story, you will ever read again, the main character's love life is the top priority.
And not just their love life! NO IT HAS TO BE A TRIANGLE TOO. Everything has to be goddamn love triangles every waking moment. Please think of my brain ...more

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Dec 22, 2008 Lauren rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own

It's been a couple of hours since I finished reading this and I still can't believe how truly remarkable The Forest Of Hands And Teeth was. In my view, this defiantly has the potential to be one of the best debuts of 2009, if not the best.

The writing, the world, the characters were all so interesting and haunting, which made you become totally involved in the story from the beginning.

The characters in The Forest Of Hands and Teeth were extremely three dimensional to the point were you felt tha It's been a couple of hours since I finished reading this and I still can't believe how truly remarkable The Forest Of Hands And Teeth was. In my view, this defiantly has the potential to be one of the best debuts of 2009, if not the best.

The writing, the world, the characters were all so interesting and haunting, which made you become totally involved in the story from the beginning.

The characters in The Forest Of Hands and Teeth were extremely three dimensional to the point were you felt that they jumped off the page. Since, you could feel their fears, their fight for happiness, and their battle to be strong in a world were all you want to do is cower in a corner. Carrie even crafted the unconsecrated in a way that you began to feel sorry for what they had became even though you wanted to hate them for what they had done to the world. Mary was probably my favorite character overall because her strength just amazed me. I loved how no matter what happened to her she never gave up and always found the bright side of things. Also, I liked the romance between Travis and Mary. It was a cute and great add to the story.

Also, I became completely enthralled in the world Carrie Ryan had created. Since, I always find it interesting to read about what an author thinks may happen in the future. Plus, the world felt real to me. Though, I had a couple of problems with it. Such as, Carrie never really said what had lead to the unconsecrated. Also, she never really came out in said what the unconsecrated were, leaving me to infer that they were zombies.

The writing was up to par, too. Carrie Ryan shows in this that she has big talent, which makes me extremely excited to read more by her.

Overall, there is not enough adjectives to describe how incredible The Forest of Hands and Teeth was. As said above, I'm really looking forward to reading more by Carrie. Also, I truly hope she wrights a sequel to this telling of what happens to Mary. Since, the ending was kind of a cliff hanger.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games or to people looking for a great book that contains romance, fantasy, and horror.

Grade: A+ ...more

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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Duology about a girl living in a village with zombies - genre: apocalyptic coming of age fantasy? [s]	4	18	Jun 27, 2020 05:37AM
Rated YA-MA: roll call/ spoiler-free Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (May 2020)	7	11	Jun 08, 2020 05:32AM
Rated YA-MA: Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan full discussion/ mark spoilers (May 2020)	12	11	Jun 08, 2020 05:31AM
Challenge Corner: The Forest of Hands and Teeth (#1), by Carrie Ryan - starting December 21st, 2019	3	4	Jan 06, 2020 07:09PM
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Help: 4 part YA fiction series that are all interconnected (like the Giver series) each with only a 1 (one) word title. [s]	4	34	Nov 13, 2018 10:34AM

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About Carrie Ryan

Carrie Ryan

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Carrie Ryan is the New York Times bestselling author of a lot of books. She use to be a lawyer. Happily, she is not anymore. You can keep it that way by reading her books:

If you like zombies, try the Forest of Hands and Teeth series.

If you like clever, fun adventure fantasy for 8-12 year olds, definitely read the Map To Everywhere series (co-written with her husband, John Parke Davis).

If you lik ...more

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The Forest of Hands and Teeth (3 books)

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The Dead-Tossed Waves (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #2)

The Dark and Hollow Places (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #3)

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“I want to sleep, I want dreams to pull me from this world and make me forget. To stop the memories from swirling around me. To put an end to this ache that consumes me.” — 441 likes

“Suddenly, all I can think about are all the things I don't know about him. All the things I never had time to learn. I don't know if his feet are ticklish or how long his toes are. I don't know what nightmares he had as a child. I don't know which stars are his favorites, what shapes he sees in the clouds. I don't know what he is truly afraid of or what memories he holds closest.
And I don't have enough time now, never enough time. I want to be in the moment with him, feel his body against mine and think of nothing else, but my mind explodes with grief for all that I am missing. All that I will miss. All that I have wasted.” — 235 likes

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