The Forest of Hands and Teeth

I'm going to start this by saying there are some spoiler alerts. So do not read this if you have any interest in reading the book and haven't yet, unless you like knowing ahead of time. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a post-apocalyptic zombie novel, meaning that it takes place in a time long after the world as we know it has ended. Mary, the protagonist, lives in a village cut into a thick, supposedly unending, forest which is surrounded by a fence keeping the "unconsecrated," ie zombies, out. There is a lot of action and a lot of heart-ache, etc etc. While I was reading I at first found myself having many of the same problems stated by "beckyjean" and others who have replied. I was especially frustrated with the lack of drive all of the characters seemed to posses, not to mention how Mary clung to the idea of the sea like a dog with a bone. I kept wanting them to realize that all they had to do was get to where the forest ended and then they could see how much more land and space there was. I wanted them to form a game plan other than "survive until supplies run out." I was mad at how people treated each other, mad when Mary just accepted and even forgave people who wronged her. And yes, I was mad that the honeymoon phase between her and Travis ended so quickly, as many have stated. However, I realized that I was putting myself in the mindframe of a person who would be reacting if the zombie apocalypse were to happen today. I know the way the land is comprised, I know and have been to many oceans, and I would be trying to kill as many zombies as I could, not just run away from them. In my mind, if you're stuck in a city overrun by zombies, even if they number in the hundreds or thousands, if each person killed even just five or ten a day their problem would soon be solved. (Or at least lessened in the event that they had to escape.) I also have the luxery of getting mad when people wrong me, of speaking my mind and even cutting people out of my life. But to those who have spent several generations living in a secluded, small town, all they know is what they've been told. They do not understand what all is out there. They do not see the bigger picture because they have never even been told that there is a bigger picture. They don't even know what an airplane is, and cannot imagine what would let a person take a picture of zombies from above, like an eagle. And it would make sense that people, back during the initial attack, who managed to create an isolated city would believe that isolation was the key to survival. Keep traveling, keep letting others in and out, and the risk of contamination skyrockets. It is logical then that, over time, the world described at the beginning of the book would come to be, including the way people react. A lot of readers have been angry with the protagonist Mary. However, it is easy to write a character who understands what is going on, who speaks out when they are wronged and who knows that love is worth more than the ocean. But is it really realistic? Isn't it more realistic that a person would want to see something that they have always been told was a fairy tale? Or that, if finally given the chance to have something that has been covetted for so long, grievances be pushed into the background until given the time and security to come forward? That is what happened with Mary. She loved Travis all the way throughout the book, but he hurt her. He chose Cassie. Even once he said he loved Mary he didn't come for her. It took her a lot of time and courage to finally bring herself to ask him why. At first she kept quiet because she wanted to enjoy finally having Travis. She didn't want to ruin their chance of being together, and that uncertainty itself was hurting their relationship. It makes sense. My biggest problem with the book was its lack of happy ending, but it's hard to be mad at an author for trying to create a realistic world. Personally, I love "and they all lived happily ever after" endings, or something to that degree. But that isn't the most realistic. It broke my heart a little and I felt sick while reading, but I understood the author. It would have lessened the whole book, the horrible and frustrating things that happen throughout, if the author was to simply tie everything into a neat package at the end. I would have had a happier reading experience but been overall dissapointed. I hope that makes sense. I gave this book four stars instead of five because I think that the author could have made these points easier to see for people, if what I wrote was even her intention... which is my point. What the author was trying to say is not expressly clear. The book was really bothering me and because of that I spent a lot of time figuring out how I really felt about it, which can be a good thing but can also seriously deter readers. In any case, if you want a good, thrilling zombie read but do not want one based in stark reality and true horror, stay away from this book. There are many good zombie books out there that aren't so devastating ("Souless, by Christopher Golden is a good one.) However, if you want a book that really makes you think about what the world and its people would be like several hundred years after modern-day society has ended, this book is a good pick.

A long time ago, back when it was common to hear the question because of my age, someone asked me "What do you dream of?". My answer changed periodically, depending on what I was currently into or wanted to be, but there was no sort of consistency. Nothing that made me think, if someone showed me the way, I would take the chance in a heartbeat. Not even writing quite frankly. Mary doesn't have that sort of mentality. Her dream was the ocean. No matter what happened that stayed consistent. Through her mother's Death (and Return), the first pangs of love, village tragedy and personal sacrifice Mary consistently held onto the belief that the Ocean was the answer.I envy that sort of belief. That faith, no mattered how it wavered, made everything she lost almost worth it. I say almost, because towards the end Mary begins to understand what her brother meant about love and how she didn't understand it (in the beginning of the book) at all. I cried for her, wondering if she would have been happier ignorant of the feeling and safer grasping at her dream. She makes mention of that same thought, wondering if her mother hadn't Return'ed if she'd have lived her life happily (though not content). Unfulfilled dreams are like that.Throughout the novel, Mary grew from a selfish girl into a young woman who understood loss and regret. Its not that she wasn't consentious of others, or only thought of herself, but very often she would worry about the problems of her village in terms of how it made more misery for her. The laws the Sisterhood put forth. The expectations of Sister Tabitha, her brother Jed, the village in general. She was short-sighted in other words. Little things she did added up to a bigger picture she didn't understand, or want to understand. Instead of worrying what an Outsider could mean to the village at large her thoughts were immediately "There is something else! There may be an ocean!" and she ignored the implied threat.Those closest to her--her older brother Jed, childhood friend Harry and Travis, best friend Cass--she cared about them. And despite anything else they cared about her. Jed may have been upset about what happened with their mother, but he was still worried about her when she was put into danger. Harry tried so hard to keep her, to possess her, that he failed to understand what she wanted. Travis was guilty of the same thing, though for different reasons. Cass, I think she may have been the most truthful, if also the most hurtful at times. As their journey took them deeper and deeper into the Forest of Hands and Teeth, possibly following an endless maze of dead-ends, they grew to know each other.So imagine my surprise when near the end everything falls apart so quickly. It wasn't the first dire situation, but it was the worst I think. So much left unsaid, so many regrets and 'If only...' I think they weigh a person down. For Mary this was the hard truth she had to learn. When all you do is look towards the horizon and say 'It will be better there', you can't make a life. You lose what you want to share that 'better tomorrow'. And it made me cry for her (again).This is a zombie book, no matter what you call them, and it made me cry. Its possibly the first time I didn't root for the Zombies to win the day. That's a little unsettling on a personal level. I look forward to reading the second book, The Dead Tossed Waves and learning more about what becomes of Mary's dream of the Ocean. Did she regret her decisions? Wish she could have stopped dreaming and starting living for the now? It's intriguing and I'm glad I have it waiting on my shelf for me!

Good idea for a book, slightly different take on the zombie apocalypse idea, however the constant dribble of a love struck teenager really detracted from the story. It felt like the writer was trying to convey adult emotion and passion, but it came off as flippant, whiney and confusing. Also, the zombie attack scenes were written in a painfully plain, un-exciting way - the sentences just flowed together so that they evoked no emotions of shock or fear.. you would get to the end of a paragraph and realise people had died. I'm not going to read the next book in the series.

I wasn't expecting too much from "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" after reading a few reviews from disappointed readers and after reading 50 or so pages I was beginning to think I should have listened to them and avoided this one. BUT THEN, it suddenly improved and I couldn't put it down! So with that said, it's fair to say that this book is a bit chewy to begin with, but persevere because it's so worth it, and here's why:The world of "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" is unlike our own. Surrounded by fences like caged animals the villagers of Mary's town are trapped. Or so it would seem. The Sisterhood holds many secrets except one - if that fence is breached there will death. Because outside of the fence lies the forest, and inside the forest are the Unconsecrated. The unconsecrated are infected humans; zombies desperate to infect the living. The Sisterhood promise that the village is safe. The fences are patrolled by the guardians. They cannot get in. That is, until the fence is breached, the alarms are raised and Mary must make a decision. Fight or run.I liked Mary. Sometimes. I liked her because she had ideas, she believed that there was more than just her village left - they couldn't possibly be the only living people left to preserve humanity. She's extremely inquisitive, which is great because I wanted to find out as much as possible about the secrets the Sisterhood are keeping. But sometimes I really wanted her to shut up. She's a very restless character, never content with things even when they're working out for her, and this can be frustrating because the story sort of flat-lines whilst she rants on about the ocean (Growing up Mary's mother told her stories of the ocean and Mary wants to believe that the ocean is real and it does exist). Equally, she makes some really selfish decisions which result in other people dying.Carrie Ryan's done a great job in my opinion of creating a believable zombie apocalypse. BUT, I wish she'd have explained how the infection was started, more about why one of the zombies is much faster than the others and how the village was initially formed but I suppose these things may be better explained in the following books.

I read this book about a year ago, it is one of my all time favourite books. The story has stayed with me - which is the sign of a great book. I have raved about this book to my friends and none of them have said they didn't like it. It may have taken some convincing for them to read a book with zombies in. I too was very sceptical. But this is not a gore fest book. This book mainly looks upon the people who are trapped inside their world, with the zombies on the outside.I must say when I first picked up this book I was a bit put off with the zombie theme. Zombies just freak me out, something to do with the rotting flesh and mindless moaning urrrggghh. But I have to say this book blew me away. Totally absorbing and I read this in record time. I will definitely read this book again and again.The story follows Mary a girl who is part of a village fenced away from the unconsecrated - zombies. Mary's mother tells stories of an ocean far away where there is so much water it is beyond belief. Throughout her life Mary has dreamed of seeing this ocean. But the one thing that comes between her dreams is the Forest of Hands and Teeth which is full of the unconsecrated. Maybe there is no life in the world other than her own secured village, which is run by the Guardians and the Sisterhood. They are a poweful force who stop at nothing to secure the villages safety. But all is not as it seems............I can highly recommend this book. I have now read all of the books in the series and they are all just as good. My only niggle is that a few loose ends were left between the first book and the second book Dead Tossed Waves.

The unconsecrated are never alone. You are...It's been a while since I read this book. I think originally I quite liked it but since then and thinking about it I have changed my opinion a little. It's a good book. It's quite unusual in the sense that it has taken the idea of `The Village' (the film) and placed it in a zombie novel.It was quite well written, from what I remember, and it's got a very interesting storyline with a GREAT twist at the end, even though I was kind of expecting it in the first half of the book the second half made me change my mind so completely that by the time it came I didn't believe it would come at all.My only problem with the book was the characters.Mary: For a girl raised in a village where the women are in charge Mary, and let's face it most of the few female characters in this book, was really kind of pathetic. There were a few instances where she took control, but most of the time she sat around and waited for the men to do something manly that would control the direction of her life. She never really made many choices for herself, or the ones she did were always kind of s***. And what's with her whole desperation to see the sea? It was the one thing in her life she wouldn't give up on or let guys dictate and it was kind of a stupid thing to be obsessed about in my opinion, and don't get me wrong I love the see but it's not worth everything they put themselves through.Harry: He felt like a really 2D character. Yes, he loved Mary, but aside from being slightly cruel and doing anything he can to get her there really was nothing else to his personality.Travis: Travis was also a really flat love interest. He kept deciding he didn't want Mary only to turn round and go after her anyway. If he had just been true to himself to begin with then Mary, Travis, Harry and Cass may have had chances to be happy before the `BIG EVENT' that ruins the equilibrium in the village. I also didn't feel that there was much connection between him and Mary. Yes she thinks she loves him, but she would sacrifice him for the sea and he only loves her because she loves the sea. Ok...The rest of the other characters annoyed me too for the most part, or once I started to like them they died.So all in all I liked this book but the characters just fell flat for me. I think I will read the next book though. I already feel like I like those characters from the short extract I've read.

The quality of the writing in Forest of Hands and Teeth is superb, and normally I would enjoy any book in any genre that was this well written.Unfortunately, I found this book heavy going. You don't expect an apocalyptic plot to be cheerful, but usually there are chinks of hope and humanity in the characters and their relationships. In this case, all of Mary's relatives, friends and love interests let her down really badly, and don't really redeem themselves as the plot progresses (with one possible exception). Perhaps in light of this it's no great surprise that Mary also pushes her weak friends too far. There are also some missing bits of plot - why did her father go into the forest? What, exactly, did the Sisters know? What was Gabrielle up to? And in the end, Mary can only invest her hopes in hope itself, and that's largely discredited by her discoveries towards the end of the book. It's a grindingly bleak book - and hey, perhaps life in a zombie-infested world should/would be exactly that.I was going to give this book four stars anyway as anyone who enjoys zombie books should read this for the superior writing quality. Then I re-read my own review and thought no, actually, for me the wonderful writing wasn't enough. I don't think the rest of this series is suitable for me - I need to believe in hope!