Author: Carrie Ryan

Series: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Genre: Dystopian

Publisher: Ember

Pages: 336

Mary lives in a world where things have always been pretty black and white: The Sisterhood has always been in charge, and they are right. The Guardians protect their village and mind the fences that keep them safe. The Unconsecrated (think zombies) want to get in to kill or turn them, and they will never stop trying. Their village is all that is left after The Return, and there is nothing beyond The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Only Mary grew up with her mother telling her stories of what life was like before The Return, and she has always dreamed and believed that there has to be more out there beyond their village and the Forest. A startling series of events turns Mary’s world upside down a very short period of time. The biggest change: the fences are breached… The unconsecrated swarm the village, and Mary and her group run for it. On the run, and looking for anywhere to go, Mary realizes that this is her chance to find out what it beyond the Forest. She also must choose between the man whom she is promised to and the man to whom her heart belongs, but is promised to her best friend.

This is not the first time that I have read The Forest of Hands and Teeth, but I obtained it in hard copy (my other copy is digital) in my post-Thanksgiving book buying, so I decided to read it again. I’m so glad that I did! I enjoyed it as much the second time as I did the first. Carrie Ryan does a beautiful job of world building in this novel, so the reader can really visualize what she imagines the land to be like post The Return. The characters are very well fleshed out, so the reader can feel for them, and really feel the emotions coming off of them as the book progresses. You can really feel Mary’s struggle in the book, and know what she is going through. There is definitely a love/romance component to the book, but I love how the author is able to balance that with the larger issues at hand, so that it doesn’t overwhelm it. If you are looking for a good, quick, zombie book, give this one a try! It’s definitely different than any of the other post-zombie apocalypse books that I have read before!