“The Forest of Hands and Teeth”
Author: Carrie Ryan
Pages [hardcover]: 310
Available in stores everywhere
The first in a series
First Lines: My mother used to tell me about the ocean. She said there was a place where there was nothing but water as far as you could see and that it was always moving, rushing toward you and then away.
Memorable Quote: It’s not about surviving. It should be about love. When you know love…that’s what makes this life worth it.
Favorite Character: Harry
Summary:
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, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her.
[Taken from the front flap of the book]
Review:
I really don’t know what to make of this book. I was not expecting the zombie [aka Unconsecrated] filled novel full of questions about whether God exists and setting off on a huge quest in order to find the ocean.
So. The concept was great-a dystopia where an infection has spread, turning people into zombies if they are bitten by the carriers-the Unconsecrated. I’ve never actually read a book about zombies, only ever seen scary movies with them included, so this book was a refreshing break from the pack.
Let me warn you that the author resists every urge to turn this into a gushy love story. The zombies and their attacks are described in full detail-blood included, free of charge.
Mary annoyed me most of the time. I liked how she was independent and adventerous, but her indecisiveness and her ability to forgive and forget so easily made me dislike her greatly.
Mary is in love with Travis from before the novel starts, and I just don’t see what makes him more appealing than any other guy.
And this book happened to jump around a lot-sometimes I would turn back a few pages to see if I missed something, figure out that I didn’t, and then continue to be puzzled.
The last few pages of the book were great, I think. The best ones of the book. And I mean that truthfully, no sarcasm included.
Because there is a sequel, and a third book, I’m trying to figure out if they’re worth reading. I’d really like to see what happens, but I don’t want to struggle through it. Then again, the characters and plot might be more defined…
Oh, well. “The Forest of Hands and Teeth” gets 2/5 stars. Not the worst I’ve seen.
Have you read/want to read this book? Think that I should give the second one a shot? Comment below!
11 responses to ““The Forest of Hands and Teeth” by Carrie Ryan”
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Totally agree with your review. Lots of people love this book, but I ultimately couldn’t get past how irritating Mary was. You might like my review on YouTube, where I basically say what you said. 🙂
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Yes, Mary was very irritating. I don’t know how people can like a book with a girl like that as the main character. And I’ll look for your review, then. 😉
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[…] have a sort of love/hate relationship when it comes to dystopian novels. There’s The Forest of Hands and Teeth, which I didn’t like at all, and The Maze Runner, which I quickly fell in love with. [Can't […]
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I was really dissapointed when I found out that the next two books are about different girls. I thought the ending was cheap honestly because Mary just switches over to that random guy she meets after Trevor dies.
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The other books are about different girls? I didn’t know that. Well, that leaves me even less inclined to read them. I don’t really remember what I liked about the end, honestly, but maybe I just liked it because it wasn’t focused on Mary anymore, horrible as that sounds.
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[…] Alaya Dawn Johnson, Maureen Johnson, Carrie Ryan [also wrote The Forest of Hands and Teeth], Scott Westerfeld [also wrote Leviathan], Meg Cabot [also wrote Avalon High], Garth Nix, Kathleen […]
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The characters in all of the books are connecting it. I didn’t care for the first book but loved the second and especially the third. I hope you guys didn’t give up on them! They get better!
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*All the characters are connected. Not sure what happened there!
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Thanks for letting me know Hope! I’m now definitely planning on reading at least the next book. Knowing that that is better makes me want to read it even more. 😀
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[…] The Forest of Hands and Teeth Book 2 Book 1: The Forest of Hands and Teeth […]
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