The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Forest of Hands and Teeth Series #1)

Reviewed by Ashley B for TeensReadToo.com

Mary lives in a village surrounded by the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

The Unconsecrated fill the forest, moaning, trying to get into the village, to devour and make more of their own by a single bite, which will spread the infection. They don't give up. They want to feed.

The Sisterhood holds the secrets of the village, from before the Return. No one knows the truth, except them.

The Guardians protect the village, and make sure the fence holds back the Unconsecrated. The fence is the only barrier between the village and the Forest.

But then, once Mary is forced into the Sisterhood, she learns things that she wishes she hadn't. There is the one section of the fence, which is forbidden; but, it leads somewhere... Mary knows it. But where does it lead?

Mary must choose between her village and what may or may not exist beyond that one gate.

I really enjoyed this book. I was hooked as soon as I started. Mary was a great character. She was strong, and always wanted more than what she had. She kind of reminded me of myself (only a little, though!).

The only thing I didn't like in the story was the ending, only because I wanted to know more! It left me hanging a little, so I don't really know what will happen to Mary.

When THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH comes out in March 2009, I recommend it to everyone. You'll enjoy it. I hope Carrie Ryan writes more books, too - her writing was amazing!

12 out of 12 people found this review helpful.

Forest of Hands and Teeth

Mary's life has always been simple: protect your family, follow the Sisterhood, and stay away from the Unconsecrated in the Forest of Hands and Teeth. This is the only life she's ever known: a village surrounded by fences with the large Cathedral dominating every day life. But Mary's mother always told her stories of the ocean and Mary is sure there must be something outside of their tiny village. After the fence is unexpectedly breached and the town is overrun with Unconsecrated, Mary flees with her brother and his wife and her childhood friends Cass, Harry and Travis through a series of gates without any clue as to where they will lead.

Let me start by saying how much I enjoyed Carrie Ryan's writing style: it is filled with beautiful descriptions (including a lovely title) and has a wonderful ebb and flow of action. I also thought her world building was pretty solid and full of interesting ideas - the whole idea of how the village establishes its own customs and religious ideals intrigues me. That said, I could not stand the character of Mary - or really any of the others for that matter. She seemed selfish, immature and seemingly incapable of the love the author keeps telling you she possesses. None of the characters were developed adequately for my tastes and consequently I never understood why she loved Travis so much or why others were drawn to her. Over and over again everyone asks Mary what will make her happy - I got so sick of that question by the end. Mostly because Mary proved time and again that whatever she felt like would make her happy would occur no matter the cost to anyone else. Yuck.
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11 out of 13 people found this review helpful.

The Forest of Despair and Unanswered Questions

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. Looking forward to The Dead-Tossed Waves

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Disappointing

Rather than discovering a world torn apart by zombies, I was treated to a first class tour of Mary's neuroses. She's afraid! She's lonely! She hates herself! She hates everyone else! She loves Travis! If only she could have Travis! But Travis isn't enough! And always, harping in the background of every other page is her talisman for escape, The Ocean! The Ocean! The Ocean!

The more emotional Mary got, the less I cared about her. And when she felt burdened by her own hope? I'm sorry, but *why* am I reading this? Mary doesn't learn anything about herself or the world that she didn't at least suspect at the start of the book. And all the interesting aspects of her world---the Sisterhood, the fences, the nature of the Unconsecrated, even the concept of community---were passed over in favor of the mire of Mary's angst.

5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

not for me.

There are some writers who use violence to communicate powerful messages about society. A prominent example of violence and gore done right can be found in books like The Hunger Games, The Lord of the Flies, and the short stories of Kelly Link. The Forrest of Hands and Teeth, however, roots itself in gratuitous gore and endless (bordering on obnoxious) violence. This story could have been better communicated, I think, in the form of a looming threat, or presence, than in chapters littered with beheadings. Fortunately, none of the characters were so interesting I minded when they got sacked. Mary's endless yammering about the ocean was also a little bit too contrived for me. Also, Mary is so self-centered I'm not sure how she convinces anyone to go along with her plan to see the ocean. The end of this book is unsatisfying as well, not because it's an unhappy ending (though, to be sure, this is quite an unhappy ending) but because it was so predictable. If you've seen M. Night Shymalan's The Village, and pretty much any zombie movie ever made, then this book will feel redundant. Themes like love, longing, coming of age, etc., are lost in an ocean of salivating zombies. Excuse me, in an ocean of the "unconsecrated". As a middle school girl (and even a high school girl), the imagery in this book would have given me nightmares. I like it when a book leaves me awake at night thinking about characters and themes. This one leaves you awake at night because it was so violent for no real reason. This was a major let down for me. The one positive I found is that, at times, Carrie Ryan's voice felt unique. I won't be reading any more of her novels in regards to this series, but I would be willing to try other books written by her in the future. However, I wish I'd known more about it before I bought it, as it was a waste of money for me. I would recommend borrowing this book before you buy it. I would definitely not recommend it for younger readers (sometimes I see this book marketed as "a love story". Trust me when I say any semblance of romance is secondary to mass amounts of gore and whiny characters.)

3 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

Omg

I love ths book! I recomend to anyone who wants a good book to read! I Love this book.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Wow!!!!!

This book was just amazing! From beginning to end you want more more more. I love this!!!!!

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Loved

This book was awesome! I dont really like "zombie" books ( love zombie movies) but this one (all 4) have horror but also love and family. Everyone should read!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Haunting and Emotional - Way More Than Just a Zombie Story

The Forest of Hands and Teeth lies at the edge of the Village that Mary has lived in her whole life. Surrounded by fence, trees, and the Unconsecrated has forced Mary into a lifetime of fear lingering under the surface of every emotion she has ever felt. After her Mother is turned, Mary's life takes a turn she never imagined and she begins to learn the secrets of the Sisterhood and just what lies beyond the Forest.

Carrie Ryan has this astounding ability to write about zombies, but to do so in a beautifully haunting way. Nothing about this book is quite as it seems and I was instantly pulled into Mary's world of fear and despair. It is so much more than just a zombie story. It's a story about hope and faith and love and loss.

Ryan writes with such fervor that Mary's journey past the fences feels so real, like the reader is stumbling along with her, hearing the moans of the Unconsecrated and feeling the hope seep out as the days carry on. The fact that this story is so strongly about staying true to oneself, breaking free from the expectations of a devoutly religious society, finding and holding on to love and family, while holding zombies at bay by the fences, is incredible. Not many people would be able to include so many pieces of a puzzle and fit them together so flawlessly, but Ryan does.

I was entirely unprepared for the depth and emotion that poured forth from the pages of The Forest of Hands and Teeth. At times haunting, at times terrifying, but above all else, this book is filled with life; in good times, bad times, times of joy, times of despair, and times when hope triumphs over even the worst circumstances.

Opening line: My mother used to tell me about the ocean. ~ pg. 1

Favorite line(s): I sob because this is not a life. This is not the way life should be and because I don't know how to fix any of it. ~ pg. 50

And this one:

It is a bright clear day, the sun sparkling off the ice crystals. One of those days when you can't understand why there is such beauty in a world that is nothing but ugly. ~ pg. 69

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Tween Romance

The Forest of Hands and Teeth / 978-0-375-89197-7 I really like zombie literature, and I was really excited to pick up this novel. I was intrigued when one reviewer compared the setting to a combination of "The Village" and "Resident Evil", so I was prepared to like this book when I settled in with the audio book and the e-book, ready to follow along. Two hundred and thirty-three pages later, I'm at a loss. I guess I'm not the right audience for this book, despite how strongly I was hooked by the premise; I'm not sure who IS the right audience for this book, but it puts me in mind of all the "paranormal romance" books that the " The Twilight Saga" has spawned. Against all odds, this book is a terribly slow starter. Unlike other recent "teen" novels, like "The Hunger Games", very little happens in the first 100 pages outside of world building and character establishment. Both show initial promise but ultimately bear rough edges - the zombie premise contains major gaps (like why a village with safety-platforms would fail to keep said platforms stocked with food and weapons and other necessities - this ultimately becomes a major plot point, in fact), and the characterization feels shallow to the point where most of the characters seem like unrealistic stereotypes of teenage angst. When the general zombie mayhem that was promised on the back of the box does finally occur, it's almost on sufferance - *any* sense of adventure and danger is immediately quaffed to make room for more love-quadrangle discussions. The plot of this book is basically Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", but instead of fairies propelling the action forward, a zombie very occasionally pops up to say 'boo'. And this is, fundamentally, very disappointing to me - there's lots of novels out there that center around the complications of teen romance, even under a variety of unusual, difficult, and/or post-apocalyptic conditions, so adding this one as one more tween romance on the pile feels disappointing, and a criminal waste of a good premise. Wishing no disrespect to the author, a lot of the writing feels very amateur - the main character's running narration repeats itself frequently, and the same relatively minor details crop up repeatedly across the chapters. When reading along with the audio book, I kept finding myself saying, "You just said that, two pages ago!", and it makes the already slow, dreamy pace feel like a crawl. When the zombies *do* occasionally force themselves into the action, it's almost a relief, because then the main characters can stop arguing incessantly over their romance problems. A final word about the audio book - it feels like the narrator herself found this book deathly dull, as the audio just seems to plod along without much in the way of animation or inflections. The narrator does a nice accent for the character of Sister Tabitha, but everyone else has the same monotonous tone, with no emotional inflections, and even the breathing and pausing seemed a little 'off'. If you like paranormal or post-apocalyptic teen romances, then I think you may really enjoy this book - it's an interesting premise, to be sure. But if you came for the zombie mayhem or for the post-apocalyptic world building, I think you'll be disappointed and may do better to look elsewhere. ~ Ana Mardoll

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Zombie Apocalypse

When I first read this book, I had no idea that it would be about a zombie apocalypse. I absolutely loved the characters and the story. I loved how even though the book was basically a horror movie in a book format, it added some romance as well. I couldn't wait to read the companion. I absolutely loved this book, loved it. After I picked it up, I ripped through the pages. It was beautifully written and I would love to see more from Carrie Ryan. I think it was brilliant to write about a topic that really draws attention to most teenagers, like myself. I wouldn't recommend this book to people who aren't great with gore. Even though you can't see it, Carrie Ryan does an amazing job to make it seem so real. I would definitely reread this book and I highly recommend reading it too.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very good.

I really did like this book even though I'm not so into the whole zombie thing. I really like how Mary wanted to find out what was beyong her little village for a better life. This book had me on edge and shocked throughout it. I felt Mary's pain and heartbreak and such. I definitely recommend this book to anybody who likes action books.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good idea although unoriginal. Ruined by god awful characters and bad writing.

The characters in this story are completely stereotypical. The handsome boy that the female lead falls for, the childhood friend who secretly loves the female lead and the weak willed best friend who will end up betraying her best friend becuase she is driven mad by jealously. The chracters in this book made me sick the female lead repeatedly made the stupidest decisions for love and refused to see logic in anything and was way to emotionally attached to trivial things. The author tried to instill emotional depth into the story but it feels forced especially after she continues to kill off one chracter after another in basically the same way each time. The author also tried to make a strong independent female lead but she failed miserably. She is horribly indesicive and oftentimes is unable to do anything without being strengthend by the love that she feels for Travis, a love that make basically no sense as they dont even talk to each other for most of the book. Oh wait that's supposed to be true instantaneous love that has no explanation and makes no sense. All in all decent story but the characters were atrocious and what was supposed to be a emotionally driven story was weak and uninteresting.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

review by kerilynn

this book was ok. Mary was selfish and annoying. when she got what she wanted she still was not happy. i can not believe they were in that house for so ling and never thought to connect the house and trees. they wanted to act like all was fine. all the characters at one time or another become jurks. an when it ended i was like no way this can not be how they end it. so i went to see if there will be a sequal, and there is. i will read the next book, but i wont hold my breath.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

I loved it, depressing but excellent.

I understand why most people would not like this book, they are too used to happy endings, I am not going to go into detail but just from the first chapter you could tell this wasnn't going to have a fairy tale ending. While reading this I found that Mary had a tendecy to go over the sames things over and over, an example is the ocean in almost every chapter she always said something about it. I undestand why, it being one of the few hopes and dreams she has left. I admire Carrie Ryan for writing this book for the simple fact that she wasn't afraid of killing of characters like most authors are. She wasn't afraid about wether or not people would understand the neccesity of making this the dark book it was. This is a excellent and fast read I read it all in a day. I loved that even though her world was turned upside down Mary still had a tiny bit of hope. Again excellent book, if you are not into books that don't have happy endings I don't recommend it.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Recommended Read

I walked into the book store and just happen to come across this book. The reason I picked it up because it was an autographed copy and I have never owned an autographed copy of a book. So after deliberating for all of 5 minutes, I decided to go for it and buy it. Man, am I glad I did! I had been in a rut.. the past 3 books I've read were only so so books. This one was great! The story line is intriguing (kind of has a "I am Legend" and "Village" feel to it but with it's own twist), the love story is great, and the sacrifice made by the heroine is real. That's what I like most about this book; the sacrifices by the characters are so real. You really start to feel the characters pain. The only bad thing I can say about this book is that there is not much dialogue. It's almost all first person narrative with little dialogue, so you do not get to know much about the other characters. Plus, I just love dialogue, so I missed that at times during this book. But that is not near enough to keep me from recommending it, especially to all my urban fantasy fan friends. I'm really happy that this book is now part of my library! Another plus, is that Carrie Ryan says on her website that there will be more "Forest of Hands" books ocming in 2010.... but don't worry, this isn't necessairly a cliff hanger ending (i say that cause if you're like me, I am too impatient to walk into the middle of a series and have to wait the year between books for them to be published, so I try to avoid them as much as possible).

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

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

Mary was raised with these edicts, it was her life, the law to survive. To question it was unthinkable considering what lay waiting on the other side of the fence. The constant moaning and cries of the unconsecrated that surround her village borders are relentless and the sisterhood never lets anyone forget.

The sisterhood in the village rule over everyone, their belief in constant prayer and rituals to keep the villagers safe are never questioned, but Mary does. Her mother had always told her about the ocean, and Mary holds on to this dream, despite everything.Those close to her believe her crazy to entertain such thoughts, but Mary always felt that it existed beyond the forest of hands and teeth. It is this belief that drives her when cataclysmic events brought on by a stranger forever change her "protected" village.

Mary's fragile world begins to unravel as she realizes that the sisterhood has been keeping secrets, and the village walls are breached and Mary has to make some choices. Does she stay in they only world she knows? or does she follow her heart and explore the dangerous world beyond her destroyed village? Mary is not alone, with her are a few survivors including the one that she loves and the one that she is betrothed to, thus causing her to question how much she will sacrifice to follow her dreams. Mary's strength and conviction are what push her and the survivors forward into unknown territories and at times they resent her actions and consider her selfish, but at the same time they admire her tenacity. The characters in this novel experience a terror filled situation that Carrie Ryan has written so wonderfully that in the end you have a hauntingly beautiful story that stays with you long after the pages have been read.

I must admit that I am not a fan of the "zombie". Honestly they freak me out, but this book only had me wanting more...brains?..no, more book. Maybe, because you read this entire novel about zombies without ever seeing the word mentioned, or the fact that Carrie Ryan wrote an amazing post apocalyptic story so well that you could actually feel those cold fingers reaching for you beyond the other side of the fence. SHUDDER!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This was a very good book. I wanted to reach into the book many

This was a very good book. I wanted to reach into the book many times to shake Cass, Sister Tabitha, etc. virtually everyone who were too close-minded to even give her thoughts a chance. Maybe because I know that the ocean exists. It reminded me of the story of Joseph and the coat of many colored dream coat. Mary had dreams of the true thing and noone believed her.

Not my favorite novel

Not my favorite novel

Amazing

Ok i really hated marry at parts. (Spoiler )one part is when he brother died she treid to look for him then gave up. And at the ending. Ok she left her best friend, futur husband (i think jacob forgot xD) in the forest of hands and teeth. Then didnt care they were there. Sorry but thats not right. If she didnt go thought the gate her brother would still be with her. She would be with everuone she loved besides travis her mom and dad. No gabrielle. But i forgetbuf it telles yiubif gabrelle is dead ir not. But this book is really good fir a zombie book even though it doesnt tell you its a zombie book intil you get like 10 pages in. But i dont think marry is a good char. My teacher read this and went im not reading the other books if her daugter is like her. But. Imma read the other books. Wow i just got off topic oh well. Hey if you felt like readibg this whole review read the book. I highly recammend it.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.