The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Release Date – March 10, 2009
Publisher – Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages - 308
My Rating- 8/10

Here is the Goodreads 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?

This was my first real Zombie book (as I count Die For Me as something else). I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but I am so glad I read it.

The story is heart pounding, and sad. The world Carrie Ryan has created is harsh, and full of danger. I was rooting for the characters to survive and make it through. This is the type of book that has you edge because you can feel the danger, and it seems so real.

Part of me liked Mary and part of me wanted to smack her. She couldn’t make up her mind at all. She bounced all over the place with what she wanted, and never seemed satisfied with anything. She ended up only realizing what she truly wanted when it was too late. I found her to be very realistic though. I think a lot of people don’t truly know what they want (or what they have) until it’s gone.

I loved Travis and Harry. I really enjoyed them both and had a hard time picking between the two in terms of who I liked better (Travis won out in the end). I also enjoyed Cass, Jacob, and Jed as well.

I love that Carrie didn’t sugar coat what would happen in a world like this. People would get bitten, die, and this is the case in this novel. People I didn’t expect to die ended up not making it through this novel. It was different from anything I had read as I wasn’t expecting it.

This book had moments of amazing awesomeness and other moments I felt moved a little slower. They balanced each other out, but I felt itchy to get to the good stuff sometimes.

The ending left a lot of questions unanswered. I want to know the fate of a few of the characters as some are unknown at the end of the book. I know there is a second and third in the series, so hopefully they will answer some of the questions I have. I liked the ending though. Not everything gets tied up in a nice “happily-ever-after” bow.