Monday, February 8, 2010

Review: The Forest Of Hands And Teeth

Book Details

Title: The Forest Of Hands And Teeth
Author: Carrie Ryan
Genre: YA Fiction
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Published: March 10, 2009
Price: $22.99
ISBN: 0385906315, 9780385906319

From the Publisher:

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?

Carrie Ryan lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can visit Carrie at http://www.carrieryan.com/

My Review:

Before sitting down with a cuppa tea to write a review on, The Forest Of Hands And Teeth, by Carrie Ryan, I had an impulse to check the windows and doors to be sure they were locked up tight against a possible invasion of “Unconsecrated.” I devoured this book in one sitting while spending time at my cottage on a little island in Lake Simcoe, in Ontario Canada, where just outside my door is my own little forest of hands and teeth…minus the hands and teeth (hopefully). From the very first sentence and for every one thereafter, I was completely engrossed in the atmosphere, plot, and characters of the novel. Set generations in the future in a post apocalyptic world overrun with the zombies known as, “The Unconsecrated,” the main character, a young woman named Mary, faces a reality filled with heartache, terror, secrets, and the unknown. Carrie Ryan’s descriptions of a small village surrounded by guarded fences with hundreds of Unconsecrated pushing against them from all sides was made so real and vivid by her descriptive language that I was on the edge of my seat from chapter to chapter. As a character Mary is believable, likeable, and relatable for young adult and adult readers alike. It is truly a coming of age story filled with the disillusionment of the world created for her by, The Sisterhood and The Guardians, the heartache of a tragic love triangle, and the impossibility of making life altering choices in the midst of terror and confusion when the fence protecting her village is breached and Mary must flee the village and face The Forest Of Hands And Teeth. This is one of the most genuine and heartfelt stories I have ever read in the YA genre and I felt as though I was running for my life alongside Mary and feeling the confusion, terror, uncertainty, conflict, love, heartache, tragedy, and simple joys of life right along with her. I would recommend this novel to all young adult and adult readers who love the fiction genre and are looking for something new. I eagerly anticipate the release of the second novel in the trilogy, The Dead Tossed Waves, coming out in March 2010.

My Rating



4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great review. I really want to read it now. Hope its out in the UK.

The Book Guru said...

It is!! go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/Forest-Hands-Teeth-Carrie-Ryan/dp/0575090847

I believe The Dead Tossed Waves will also be released at the same time in the UK (March 9th)!

WonderBunny said...

Good review. I am looking forward to the next book in this series too. I hope that the main character is not as whiney as I found her to be in the next one though. She seemed to be growing up throughout the first novel so I can hope.

The Book Guru said...

Haha yes I can see why you would hope that. I think if I were her I may have had a bit of a pity part for myself to after both my parents and my entire community was attacked and turned into zombies lol. However the impression I have about the next book is that it is about her daughter and not her. I have two posts for this book and one includes an excerpt from the next book. I hope its good! Thanks for checking out my blog I appreciate the comments!

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