The Forest of Hands and Teeth (The Forest of Hands and Teeth, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

May 22, 2010 Chelsea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: suggested-series-firsts, uf-pnr, fantasy, ya, zombies

Everyone who recommended this book to me billed it as a zombie romance. Each time I heard or read that phrase, I kept picturing two of the living dead presenting brains instead of flowers as tokens of affection. While that would be totally funny, it’s not akin to what I’ve been reading. Luckily, I read the inside flap on the dust jacket, and didn’t see any hints of the main character being a zombie.

I sank my teeth in, as it were, and was impressed by both the plot and themes of Carrie Ryan’s nov Everyone who recommended this book to me billed it as a zombie romance. Each time I heard or read that phrase, I kept picturing two of the living dead presenting brains instead of flowers as tokens of affection. While that would be totally funny, it’s not akin to what I’ve been reading. Luckily, I read the inside flap on the dust jacket, and didn’t see any hints of the main character being a zombie.

I sank my teeth in, as it were, and was impressed by both the plot and themes of Carrie Ryan’s novel. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is not a zombie romance book. It’s a love story that just happens to have zombies as outside forces impacting the living characters. And, despite the dark tone, it’s a refreshing read. It’s not a story you’ve read before. (Though one could draw some similarities to the film The Village.)

Mary’s world is sheltered. Everyone knows it, and they’ve been convinced they should be thankful for the cloistering. The community is surrounded by a towering fence. Outside lies the Forest of Hands and Teeth, home to The Unconsecrated. Throughout the day The Unconsecrated will attack the fence, breaking fingers and limbs, attempting to get at the living inside. The Sisterhood (a religious authority, as you may have guessed) runs the town, and blames the wanton ways of society before The Return for the existence of the aforementioned zombies. All are taught that their community is the only one left. Everyone else has been killed or turned into one of The Unconsecrated.

Mary doesn’t believe that. For one, why are there paths leading away from their village? For another, her mother passed down stories of the ocean — such a vast body of water could surely keep The Unconsecrated at bay. She passes along her mother’s stories of the ocean, of the world before The Return to her friends, and knows there must be more out there.

As Mary doesn’t work hard to toe the party line, she finds herself under the watchful eye of The Sisterhood. She spots a girl in vivid red enter the village from outside the fence, but the sisters keep her hidden. The Sisterhood is keeping secrets, and Mary realizes she has options. But then the fence is breached, people are dying and she must flee.

She always wanted to leave, to prove there was more to the world, to find the ocean. But now she has her friends with her, including the guy she loves, his brother who loves her and her best friend who thinks leaving the village even when it is in shambles is a bad idea. Choosing to build the life she thought she wanted with the person she loves is hard when the chance to find the ocean, and maybe escape The Unconsecrated, is nearly in reach.

Often doing what is best for ourselves can be hard, especially as we grow. Carrie Ryan does an excellent job of depicting the internal strife that comes when you realize you’ve outgrown your dreams. When you realize you want something bigger, and are forced to make the hard choice to act on it. In a much more secondary way, it paints a picture of why transparency in government is vital. If the citizens had known more about The Unconsecrated, about the creation of their village, it’s likely they would have been better prepared.

While this review doesn’t focus on the romance angle, mostly to avoid spoilers, the interactions between couples are real, not storybook. Each of the characters in The Forest of Hands and Teeth feels honest to the reader, which is something I highly value.

Carrie Ryan recently released the sequel to this novel titled The Dead-Tossed Waves, which has been pushed toward the top of my to-read list.

This review is also available at the Vampire Book Club ...more

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Aug 30, 2010 Daffodil rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-fantasy

Very interesting concept. Most "living dead" stories take place around the event itself or in the immediate aftermath of the event (within 1 lifetime). In constrast, CR speculated about how society would develop over time. This story takes place generations after the initial outbreak and it makes for an interesting conflict for the characters. They don't know how the sickness started, all they have is rumors and knowledge grudgingly handed out from the Sisterhood. The only world they know is the ...more

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Nov 12, 2010 Holly murphy rated it really liked it

so.. i am a zombie reader sometimes, this was just so sad and i found it slow at times! an alright book... depending on the taste

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Jul 29, 2010 Bianca rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2010, 1st-of-series, dystopian, young-adult

Read this book in one sitting, I was completely fascinated by it. In a dystopian, zombie-overrun world Mary was such a dream-filled girl. I cried my eyes out at certain points in the book and that doesnt happen to me that often, so awesome book!

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