The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Carrie Ryan
308 pages

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is one of the books I read while I was stuck in the car for, um like, 18 hours. I really didn't know what to include in a summary so I am going to let School Library Journal do it.

Mary knows little about the past and why the world now contains two types of people: those in her village and the undead outside the fence, who prey upon the flesh of the living. The Sisters protect their village and provide for the continuance of the human race. After her mother is bitten and joins the Unconsecrated, Mary is sent to the Sisters to be prepared for marriage to her friend Harry. But then the fences are breached and the life she has known is gone forever.

Mary; Harry; Travis, whom Mary loves but who is betrothed to her best friend; her brother and his wife; and an orphaned boy set out into the unknown to search for safety, answers to their questions, and a reason to go on living.
Debra Banna, Sharon Public Library, MA

I was excited to read this one because the premise sounded really interesting. I found it to be a fresh take on the zombie genre. The book, in my opinion, was very well written, but could be slow moving at times. Despite that, the suspenseful scenes will keep you turning the pages.

My biggest issue with this book is that I didn't like Mary. I found her selfish and not all that interesting. There is one scene where she kicks butt, but other than that she somewhat grated on my nerves. The plot started to loose my interest toward the end and there were many questions left unanswered. There will be a sequel, so hopefully some of the mysteries will be solved.

The verdict is: Read it, has a little bit of everything, romance, intrigue, action and adventure.