The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Bad things have happened, the world is changed. The dead walk amongst the living and the only thing separating them is the fence. A fence to keep the dead out, a fence to keep the living in.

Life in the village is about maintaining the fences, and maintaining the population. Love is a luxury not known to many, and dreams are stomped out as dangerous. Despite this Mary loves, she dreams.

Mary's life is filled with loss and sorrow, and as her world is turned to hell she starts to wonder if it is not because she refused to let go of love, and declined to give up her dreams. In a world surrounded by so much death, that forces you to kill the ones you love in order to survive, is it so wrong to love, to dream?

This stunning novel is at the same time both heart breaking and hopeful. There are dark and tender moments as it takes you on a rollercoaster ride of excitement, danger, intrigue and love. Beautifully written, you are not able to put this story down, haunting you till the last page.

Ultimately it is a story about a girl following her heart and her dreams, in a world consumed by death, even if it means leaving everything she has ever known behind. You almost forget it's a zombie book. With its perfect balance of horror and romance, this is a story everyone should read, wether your passion is horror, romance, fantasy or fiction.

The most accurate way I can describe this book is the movie The Village meets 28 Days later. Sounds intense right? It definitely is.
The driving force in this book is fierce determination, faith and a girl named Mary who's biggest dream is to see the elusive ocean her mother told her stories about as a kid. Add a beautiful love story that's the most selfless I've yet to read about and the looming of death that you aren't just aware of, it's something you see, hear, smell and can physically touch since anyone can remember. You're left with a book you can not put down and thrusts every imaginable emotion on you.
That is literally all you need to know. Read this book, you won't regret it.

Carrie Ryan's, The Forest of Hands and Teeth is an extraordinary debut, written with such beauty that I have no doubt that it will someday become a "classic".

I loved this book from the first to last word for so many reasons that it will be hard to distinguish what is important to put on this review. The plot was brilliant, who couldn't go crazy over a book where The Village meets Dawn of the Dead?

The characters in this brilliant paranormal romance are what really drives the novel in the perfect direction. Even with the constant presence of zombies, the characters are what really keep you reading from start to finish.

Now that it is available in paperback, you have no excuses for not going and buying this book immediately. That means now!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan is a dystopian novel about a girl named Mary and her fight against love, society, and the unconsecrated (zombies). I've rated this book 3 out of 5 stars, because it was okay. It wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't very good either. It was easily put down, and a lot of times hard to stay interested in what was happening. It included a lot of detail, but those details weren't very necessary to the plot and story itself. I noticed that I had many questions throughout, expecting that they would be answered at the end or that there were some foreshadowing element in those questions. But I found that those questions weren't answered, and it was annoying because I wanted to know the answers! The ending was random and kind of disappointing. I personally wouldn't recommend this book.

The Goods: Beautiful writing. Ryan draws you into her world with the way she writes which grabs you from the first page and makes you jealous until pretty much the end. I kept pointing out words that I'd love to use in my own books. As for the plot, I was intrigued by the love story, it's so subtle and beautiful that you're on edge for it. Also, the town and the rules made for a lot of tension. This book was basically beautiful, mysterious and gripping.

The Not So Goods: Slow moving plot, uncertainty about where everything was going. I thought they spent too long in the Village. I also hated the Sisterhood and thought there was too much time spent praying. I'm a pagan so often when there's a lot of religion it bothers me.

[...]

I didn't really like Mary-she's pretty selfish and boring. I was interested in her desire to see the oceans. After the Return, everyone was confined to the village and never could see anything outside so the idea of an ocean could be very compelling. She was interested in Travis although I could never tell why-it seemed to be more of a physical thing.

Throughout there are many questions, a few of which are answered but most are left unresolved, presumably to be answered in the sequel coming out next year. I don't know yet if I'll want to read it; I may just look for spoilers online. It seems like Mary is something special as she is able to fight off the zombies especially well even without the training of her male peers. The Sisters and Guardians are the religious and military figures of the village and there are still mysteries revolving around them which will hopefully be explored more.

Overall: I have to say that I've never been very interested in zombies, vampires, werewolves, faeries, etc; basically the only supernatural stuff I like is wizards/sorcerers so that may influence my opinion. If you are interested in apocalyptic stuff/zombies, you'll probably enjoy this, but I have to go with a 3.5/5.

Ms. Ryan's FOHAT is my first - gasp - step into Zombie fiction.

I was prepared NOT to love this book and read it because another author suggested it to me.

I was not only surprised, but very 'hooked' by Ms. Ryan's storytelling. This is an interesting spin on zombies and how they are viewed, feared, dealt with in a world surrounded by death. I love that the main character wants more and is thrust into a position of not having a real choice but to strive for more.

I felt the emotions inherent in the characters and cringed along with them. Goosebumps? Yep. Had them. Ick.

No spoilers here. A good, moderatly faat-paced read, and looking forward to the next installment. I read this in one night, much to my husband's chagrin. :)

(I've read the next two, but haven't had time to post reviews as yet.)

Candi Wall

I had always heard good things about Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and when I saw that the sequel was to be released soon, I decided to pick up the audiobook from the library.

The premise is right up my alley - about 100 years after a zombie apocalypse, a young woman lives in a solitary village surrounded by high fences, which separate them from apparently endless forest infested with hordes of undead. With the positive reviews I'd seen, I had high hopes that I'd really enjoy it. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.

I had heard it had some love story elements, but I thought it was primarily a post-apocalyptic zombie story. Nope, it's a teenage love story, with all the irrationality that entails, with some zombies thrown in. Mary loves Travis, but Travis is betrothed to Mary's best friend Cass, but Cass loves Travis' brother Harry, but Harry loves, you guessed it, Mary.

There's definitely a lot of action, death, and decapitations of walking dead, but there are even more passages like this:
"Mary, I wanted you too much. And that day on the hill, it was everything. It showed me what life could be--what hope could be. I wanted to believe we could be together. I wanted to believe we could break our vows and that somehow everything would still be okay. I was going to come for you, Mary. Even though I knew I could never be the type of husband that Harry could be. Even though I was a broken man I was going to come for you. I was going to let my passion overwhelm my common sense. But then seeing Gabrielle changed everything. I saw what happened to those who strayed from the Sisters' path. I saw what would happen to us--to you. And I couldn't bear it."

But I could have put up with all the teen romance, if the story delivered on the promise of the premise, but we never find out who built the fences or founded the villages or why. There are tantalizing tidbits, old newspapers with headlines like "Infection Spreads Through Central States - Citizens Urged to Head North" and "Last Stand at Rockies Fails", but we never get any answers about the basic mythology of the universe.

I found this review on the store, which I think sums it up nicely - "The Carrie Ryan books were amazing! If you don't cry, U R emotionally constipated and need a laxative!"

Heh, maybe I am, and maybe I do, but in the meantime I think I'll stick with more standard post-apocalyptic or zombie fare.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" - from the title, the opening sentence, to the ending - even it if did leave you hanging and wanting more. I wanted to find out what happened, but I also didn't want the book to end, so I'm glad to know that two more books are in the works.

I like the mysteries in the story, that not everything is explained, and that there are unanswered questions. Let's face it - that's the way life is. ... and we certainly don't understand how things really were in the generations previous to ours, just as Mary and the other villagers don't really know what life was like before the Return. I really liked that the author didn't spell out that it's a zombie book - you figure it out along the way, but it doesn't scream "zombies".

I agree with the other reviewers that the main character, Mary, is selfish and annoying, and I also didn't quite understand why the two brothers loved her more than her friend Cassandra, who seemed to be a much more likeable character (what little we saw of her). But I also understand that Mary is a teenager... and teenagers typically question everything, and her way of dealing with the loss of her family and her life is to yearn - with a single-minded determination - for something that may or may not exist.

This is a great first novel, and I expect the future novels to be even better.

my daughter read all three books in this series and just fell in love, not just with the story but with the characters also. she is not an avid reader and was pretty reluctant to read this book but once she got into it she couldn't put the book down. the child lost her mind when she finished the last book, she was literally upset that there wasn't another 100 books in the series. so for me as a parent i want to say thank you to the author ... you definitely lit the spark under her reading fire !!!

I really wanted to give this a 3.5 but since that is not possible I opted for a 3. I really liked the concept of this book. It was different from the zombie books that I have heard about lately. It's more of a post-apocalyptic story of how people move on and live their lives after the initial wave of zombies. It doesn't surprise me that in Mary's town a religious group has pretty much taken power and steered how life would carry on. The main reason I did not rate this book higher is that I really could not stand Mary as the main character and found following her story irritating. I'm not saying you should not read it because the story is written well but there were some things that bothered me. Stop here if you do not want any spoilers.

Although at some points it seems like it's breaking through to her I don't know if Mary ever truly comprehends just how selfish she is. I can't imagine living a life like she has but she basically ruins the life of Harry, Travis and her brother, Jed, due to her caring only for her own desires. Initially Jed comes across as a big jerk but in the end he probably dies trying to help Mary fulfill her dream. Travis gives up his life trying to protect her, hoping he will be enough to keep her happy and Harry was so in love with her he did not realize what he had in Cass, who loves him. It almost seems unfair that in the end Mary does achieve her dream and apparently can go on to live a happy life while her brother is most likely dead and her best friend, Cass, Harry and the young boy they save are stranded in the forest with the zombies.

Forest of Hands and Teeth was the only book that I've ever read that made me angry. Almost every character was completely unlikable and I wanted the zombies to win the entire time I read the book. The writing is also boring and doesn't make me want to keep reading. Most of the book is traveling through the forest and fighting each other because they're mad that their spouses are cheating on each other. Overall this book had no surprises and nothing to keep it interesting, none of the characters were likable, and the overall story was nothing new to the genre.

Don't be scared off by the zombies. This is a not a B-movie in book form. This is a book that asks what makes us the people we are. Is there something about us that remains unaltered in adversity? Can we trust authority? Is ignorance safety? Is knowledge power? What is courage? What is love? What is the value of a dream realized? OK, and also, how does a living person get turned into a zombie?

Even if you are not a devotee of horror and the supernatural, this is a book you have to read. The zombie scenes are vivid, but not gratuitous. The village is drawn with just enough detail to take you there without conflicting with the pictures you paint in your mind. The characters will remind you of people you know, and the heros of the story will be what you wish you could be, in one form or another. This is one of those books that leaves you guessing until the last page about what will ultimately happen.

Teachers, shelve freely for grades 8-12 (probably fine in 7th, too.) Kids who read The Giver series will be wild for this. A group of my 8th graders have been making their plans for who gets first, second, third dibs on the sequel which will be out soon.

"The Forest of Hands and Teeth" is not the type of book that I would have normally read. Generally, I'm not into zombies and the like, but Carrie Ryan's Unconsecrated in this dystopian tale are creepy, not campy, and they come across as very plausible, making the reader want to look out the window to be sure the undead are not upon them. Mary, the lead character, is not your typical lead female, and Carrie Ryan's handling of this character ensures that male and female readers alike will read on, curiosity spurning them on. This book is not scary, but rather it is eerie and intense, the combination of which makes for a page turner that readers will not soon forget. (A good read for upper middle school and older.)

A long overdue review... why didn't I post my thoughts earlier? Frankly, I thought this book was so original and strongly written that it would do just fine without me gushing over it. But, of course, it takes each one of the reviews out there to build up word-of-mouth buzz.

That said, these were my initial reactions while reading THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH: (1) Cool. Dystopian world where people have reverted back to almost-medieval technology. Wonder when they'll figure out what happened to their society? (2) Hey, I like Mary. She's tough and independent, yet sensitive in a non-wimpy way. (3) Zombies! (Okay, okay, Unconsecrated.) Hope they're scary enough for my tastes. (4) This is starting to get creepy... especially those Sisters who control everybody in the village. (5) Mmmm, some romance. And it's quite sexy. (6) Eeeee! Eeeee! Get away from the zombies! Don't touch it! It's not alive anymore! (7) Okay, whew. Lull in the storm. Character growth. (sniff) I feel sad for Mary. (8) DON'T TOUCH THE ZOMBIE BABY! PUT IT DOWN BEFORE IT BITES YOU! (9) Runrunrun! Oh, man, you've got to escape. ZOMBIES. (10) (Then I read the rest of the book feverishly.)

Ahem. I managed to read 300+ pages straight of this book before someone knocked on my door and I jumped out of bed, adrenaline rushing at the thought of a zombie outside my apartment. That snapped me out of it for awhile, though I kept muttering about zombies until I got back and finished THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH that evening.

Disclaimer: these are just my reader reactions. THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH is a lot more rich and subtle than my tongue-in-cheek review. A large part of the story focuses on the ethical dilemma of doing things for yourself versus sacrificing for those you love. I do, however, want to keep any spoilers to myself, since the twists and turns of the plot build most of the nail-biting suspense. You'll have to read it for yourself, and I recommend you do.

It started off good enough. After the first few chapters it just got frustrating. I mean, where is the good guy in all this? I'm not saying there has to be one, but this story has no point.
Here, I will sum it up.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Little town/ Ran by mysterious nuns/ Surrounded by zombies/ No women's rights whatsoever. Town is surrounded by a forest full of zombies, which have hands and teeth.

Main character of story is a girl whose all alone due to no fault of her own. Nobody wants her, or so she thinks. Girl's mom told her of a time before zombies when there was actual civilization, complete with an ocean.

The boy she loves is going to marry her best friend and the boy she doesn't want is going to marry her. She is being forced and wants no part of it, but goes along because being a nun sucks if you don't believe in God.

Girl finds out nuns are possibly bad and BAM, zombies take over the town. They flee and most of the people who flee die.

Girl finds a new village, complete with zombies, and the ocean (which also has zombies).

The end???

I picked this book up with relatively high expections, mostly from the praise Scott Westerfeld has been giving out because I like his Uglies Trilogy.
The Novel starts with the main character Mary thinking about the stories her mother has told her and I have to be honest here: that did not catch my attention at all. I was seriously tempted to just skip the pages. I don't like to be told things, I want things to be shown to me. This is actually an "issue" that is prominent in the entire novel. Don't expect Mary to say much because most of the time she's just thinking.
Anyhow, the story continues with the breach in the fence, that is already mentioned in the synopsis and leaves her mother infected by a disease. Through several coincidences or accidents, a while later in time (about 6 months I'd guess) Mary and a few of her friends manage to escape and from then on that's nearly all there is. Escape.
Don't get me wrong, I liked reading it (after all, I read it in one sitting) but I kept thinking that something was going to happen to make them run away again and then a couple of pages later it did.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first installment in the series and it's hard not to notice that because of all the things that are mentioned and never concluded - which leaves me wanting to read the other books. However, since I find Mary to be more than slightly annoying with all of her selfish notions, I'm not sure whether I'm actually going to read them.
Still, the book is not all bad. It's a good dystopia and leaves me wondering what the hell happened to the culture as we know it. I'm thinking the ancestors of the Sisterhood might be at least partly at fault, but who knows (well, everyone who's read the final installment, I suppose and hope).
I also found Mary's luck rather ... lucky. People like her mother get infected in a mere minutes and Mary is able to escape several close fiths, but that's what makes a heroine the heroine I suppose.
I liked the overall writing, though. It didn't make me jump in my seat with excitment but it got the point across and if I can get my hands on the sequels at my library, I'll definitely read them. However, I'm not going to buy them.

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Be advised: this is a book with zombies. Expect gore and death. This one isn't too gross, though. I would let my 14 year-old read it.

Despite publishers' attempts to give stories wide appeal, not every novel is for every person. The following are circumstances in which I would not recommend this book to you:

- you hate sad stories/unhappy endings

- you hate messy relationships

- you hate flawed protagonists

- you hate novels in which things are not cut-and-dry

- you hate books (even well-crafted ones) in which not every question is resolved

- you want to read a book solely for its shine, and don't care to appreciate anything that isn't obviously beautiful

I feel a lot of empathy for that last one, but there are a lot of reasons why I loved this book. Here are some.

- It was real. To me, the characters and their relationships were so real. They practically jumped off the page. These aren't the kind of characters you find in fairy tales. These are the kind of people that remind you of that relationship you once had and never understood why it failed but eventually came to accept it as an eventuality of life.

- The writing had this like perfect kind of writing that I aspire to emulate above all others. It's like this quiet, simple style that at the same time is lyrical and literary and genuine, and somehow thematic while still being subtle. I loved the writing style of The Hunger Games too, but I felt a little too in-your-face with the themes and allusions to the ills of my own society. This one had very similar themes, but I didn't feel like I was hit over the head with them. And for all this complexity, whenever I started to get to the point were my brain was saying, "too much, too much," we moved on. It's paced wonderfully.

- Because of the two points above, this world was very tangible and believable while still being creative and extraordinary. It had some weird juxtaposition--I don't think chain link fences and crossbows are historically compatible-- but It made me view things (like said chain-link fences) in a completely different way.

I read a lot of reviews before I read this book, and many of the negative ones did a good job in deterring me (I read the sample for this book last year bt only just got the whole thing a few days ago). But I'm sad that they got me down, and now that I'm done with the book, I feel some of the negative points mentioned require some rebuttals.

- One of the biggest complaints I read from reviewers was problems with Mary. People didn't like her, didn't relate to her, thought she was selfish, etc. I happened to completely connect with Mary. Yes, she wasn't the most self-sacrificing of people, but she rarely made people follow her ideas, and to be honest, the opposing view was usually proven wrong. I completely related to her from the minute she took one simple respite from her demanding life and paid dearly for it.

- A lot of reviewers said that they didn't "get" this romance, but I systematically disagree. I completely understood the love triangle, and I thought it very true to what normal love is....messy and complicated and often unresolved. As to what exactly was it about the female that made her so attractive to two males (a question I often find myself wondering in love-triangle romances), there are several things. First, there's all the stuff I mentioned above. it seems there are very few girls for these boys to choose from. Perhaps only two. So she already had a 50/50 shot with both boys. Them's high odds. Also, Mary seemed much more substantive than Cass.

This was a good, though different zombie story. Think M. Knight Shamalamadingdong's The Village. Very similar in concept, though there are no zombies in The Village. I agree with many other reviewers that Our Heroine is just NOT a likeable person. There is no personal growth for her at the end of the story. While I admire her desire to not just accept what "is" and to want something more, she is petty, spoiled and childish, and very, very self indulgent. The love square (not love triangle - there are 4 people involved) is just wierd because it would have been so easy to fix, but "honor" and "duty" kept the four of them in this love square.

It ends abruptly and with not a lot of conclusions, but all in all, was an enjoyable read.

Usually horror stories aren't my thing. This novel, however, is well-written and does a great job conveying the terror, ugliness and horror of a world destroyed in a zombie apocalypse without wallowing in gore. The author concentrates on how people continue with their lives amongst the new restrictive and tenuous reality, where the undead are constant enough to be simple background noise most of the time. Until the unthinkable happens to the village. Ms. Ryan presents a very believable scenario.

I would've appreciated a little more backstory or even a wider crack in the secrets of the Sisterhood, but like all really good zombie movies, these questions are left unanswered. (There's certainly room for a prequel or two...) The touch about the mezuzot of the heroine's village was an especially nice touch. There could have been a bit more about the free will of humanity vs. those who would say that everything is pre-determined. I come down firmly in the camp that thinks G*d likes to be suprised by humanity's choices.

Great first novel! Great choice for the 14 and over crowd.

My Thoughts: Honestly, I did not know what to expect when I opened this book. I'm more into vampires and the new-age than zombies and small based community living. I liked the character of Mary and she had a special vibe about her. She did not have things go her way all the time, and she felt trapped. She did not want to fall in with everyone else, she wanted to be her own person. Like me, she was very stubborn. She didn't want to be promised to anyone, because she loved another. I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending. Towards the ending of the book, it had me almost crying because I didn't like that she had been through so much but yet still could not be with the one she loved. It was a better book than I thought it would be, and I will definitely be reading The Dead Tossed Waves. Overall, it was quite promising and I enjoyed reading it.

Overall: A little longer that I would have liked, the story was very detailed, not a bad thing, just felt myself skimming through a little of it.

Cover: I like the way her hair is blowing, and its about zombies, the dark colors fit! (Reviewed by Princess Bookie)

The Forrest of Hands and Teeth grabbed me from the first page and kept me enthralled to the last. A compellingly done zombie romance, it was kind of a mixture of The Village and Resident Evil with a twist of romance. The story takes place centuries from today in a small village that has been fenced off for the protection and survival of the citizens within. Surrounding these fences are the Unconsecrated, the unfortunate beings that have been infected with the zombie virus. For hundreds of years the people of the village have been protected by the Guardians, and been taught and ruled by the Sisterhood, a strange group of nuns that control everyone in the village as they keep their many secrets. The four main characters are 2 girls who have grown up as best friends, and the 2 brothers they have come to love. Those within have been told by the Sisterhood that they are the last of humanity to survive the virus, but our 4 main characters will begin to learn the truth as an outsider is seen hidden by the Sisterhood. Soon the lies of the Sisterhood will become too much for them to bear.

It seems unfair to give this three stars, but it's the best solution I can find for my conflicted response to this book. I'd like to give the author high marks for creating such a well constructed world for her characters. Though we only see pieces of it, the universe she created was well thought out, well defined and unique. She also gave abundant thought to the challenges and emotional conflicts that such a world would create in people, especially people the ages of her protagonists.

That said, I didn't enjoy this book. The characters are uniformly selfish; there are few true friendships or solid loyalties. The pages teem with angst. There are pieces of the characters' spirits that you want to support or relate to, but overall it's impossible to really connect with them or root whole-heartedly for their success. Mary is so unhappy all the time and never learns to appreciate or grow the beautiful, positive things in her life that anything she strives for or tries to accomplish feels ultimately shallow and pointless. There's no faith that anything will make her happy, so why invest yourself emotionally in her battles?

I read this mostly to see what everyone else was talking about, and I'm not sorry I did, but I won't be recommending it to others myself.

I've really enjoyed the entire zombie apocalypse idea after watching the film 28 days later. I've read many zombie-related books hoping to recapture the feeling I had when I saw that film, and I've encountered a lot of duds on the way. This book, however, was very incredible and moving. I was truly sad when I finished it. It seemed to get mixed reviews on this site, but it's truly a five star book...and I'm educated and picky. If you like a book like the Hunger Games or Uglies you'll probably like this too...it's for young adults but that doesn't mean it isn't deep and meaningful. The female character who is the central focus is mature and strong, a far cry from the brat at the center of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. This book also reminded me a bit of the Village and the Handmaid's Tale.

Read it! You'll enjoy it. It was flawless!

I could not put this book down. It is so much more than just a zombie story. It's about faith and dreams. About love, family and friendship but most of all, it's about survival. The desperate cling to dare to believe in hope to survive.

Definitely a 5 star book for me.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a novel with zombies in it; call them "the Unconsecrated," "the speechless," whatever... it's the Romero undead.

That said, to call this just "a zombie novel" would do a great injustice to the freshness of the presentation, the vitality of the emotions and characters, and the atmosphere Ms. Ryan creates. She utterly avoids cliche (with the possible exception of the religious "Sisterhood," but even this is turned on its head and not used as a cudgel to beat down organized religion as in so many lesser works.) Mary feels real, and so we care about her. We care about her romance, her despair, her survival.

It seems that good, unpretentious novels get labeled "Young Adult" for some reason, but this is a fantastic read for any age, for anyone looking for suspense, real emotion, and a meditation on what life and death really mean.

Read this book. It is worth every penny and every second you spend for it and with it.

After reading the so called "hit series" and I use that term lightly of the Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer, it kinda left a bad taste in my mouth regarding fantasy type novels, but I heard many good things about this book and finally decided to give fantasy another try and boy am I happy that I did. This book was outstanding, not only did it have a really strong plot but the story was intense and the characters relatable. I felt like I was right there with them, due to the strong and powerful writing, and it left me not wanting to put the book down. I can't wait to get my hands on the companion novel for this which is "The Dead Tossed Waves

I'll buy pretty much any book if it has a Westerfeld recommendation, and seeing him raving about it and the first few chapters I became confident I would see a book that was a knockout. I was also bewitched by the girl on the cover's resemblance to River Tam of Firefly fame, and I'm curious to know if this was a manip of an actual photo of Summer Glau.

I'll be honest, I did in fact like this book, or at least I think I did. That is what is confusing me most about this book, I am left not even knowing if I liked it or not. My review might seem nitpicky, but that's because I'm trying to figure out exactly what went wrong.

Characters who have their everything taken away, and have to deal with this new world they are facing are a staple of good post-apocalypse fiction, and one of my favorite parts of these books. The author had her own spin on this, and we end up receiving a cast of characters who have their own individual reactions, each showing the own struggles with accepting what has happened, and their proximity to the limits of sanity. Now we should leave this trip the book has taken us on knowing who these characters are, and feeling for each of them individually.

Except, no.

Characters kept having complexity gradually added, but it didn't work. If you're going to vary between hinting at a person's motivations and them giving them a chance to explain different motivations they feel, you need to end up with a complete portrait of a person. These bare details need to sync. I saw no syncing. And I was left with a strong dislike for some of them based on their actions which where inspired by the stress of the situation they found themselves in.

It was the first few chapters that confuse me the most, they are where the premise has just presented itself, characters are still in their "shiny" stage, and we don't know exactly where the plot will take us, but we desperately want to find out. Reading those, I became confident that this would be an excellent book, and looking back they leave me disappointed that what follows doesn't live up to its ambitions.

The plot never fully took off; it was like she tried to make a complete plot out of nothing but the foundation.

Now I can understand on one level what she was trying to do, our main character has no real clue what's going on beyond her village life, and to her that merits all of her attention. Mary lives an isolated life, where it's the small things that make her world tick and it's the small problems that torment her. What might very well seem like, and probably is a legitimate worry to her ends up feeling rather trivial to us.

Also another thing that annoyed me was that we didn't get the story of the world's reaction. Several hundred years gone from this event but some explanation would have been appreciated of how the world essentially ended.

The only real remnants of our world are a story of an ocean and some ancient newspaper clippings at the end, and really that is all we know.

Mary doesn't really know what's going on with the world and her leaders connection to it, and really didn't have a way of finding out. And I think it works for her to be in the dark of what happened. But we, the readers are not her, and I felt she should have been told, or at least gotten an explanation that Mary missed but we understand.

There is this one scene; I am trying to be vague enough to not spoil anything, where she finds a book that is written by the Sisterhood. On the one page she reads, there are some very disturbing implications of actions, but that's all she reads when she has to flee. She makes the decision to not take the book with her, and that was where I think the book made its first major wrong turn. This book would have illuminated so much for us, and we only get teased of its existence.

The author is the one who ended up suffering the most of these issues, she probably built this beautiful world, it's just we never get a chance to see it. She keeps so much of it hidden away. I'll be frank, if you're going to do a post-apocalyptic zombie novel, you really, really need to set up how it became post-apocalyptic.

I'm still trying to figure out if she was trying to go for some deep philosophical interpretation, amongst Mary's journey of both the physical and emotional. I can't tell because of how disjointed the book ended up being. I can't tell, and that is one of those things, which ended up bothering me the most. I can't tell what the author's world is, I can't tell how believable it is, and I can't tell at the very end if I legitimately liked this book, or because I'm trying to add meaning to make it seem better when I just came out confused and wondering why Scott would recommend this book to me.

A story about young love, maybe first love, and adventure full of.. um, zombies. The love was very dramatic, and the scenario seemed very similar to the movie The Village directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

I feel like this novel was trying too hard to be different. They call zombies The Unconsecrated. That term bothered me a little bit every time it came up, which was THE WHOLE NOVEL. I wonder why the author thought it would be a good idea to avoid the word zombie? I mean, I get it, they are in a random little village where the word zombie might have never been known and everything but.. still.

Here is my brief summary:

Young girl called Mary is blindly in love with a boy called Travis. She wants to marry him but she is stuck in this weird four-people-love-triangle, involving Mary, Travis, Travis' brother, and Mary's best friend. There is a sisterhood that keeps control and harmony in the village. Caused by developing events in the book, Mary ends up being one of the sisters for a short period of time. There, she discovers secrets and meets a strange girl that gets her wondering if anything exists beyond the village and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Corny right? I agree.

This book deals with the struggles of friendship, marriage, and sibling relationships in a chaotic time.

I was very excited at the begging but was totally let down by the series of events, and the ending was not strong enough for my liking! I will definitely recommend this book for a younger YA audience, probably 14-18.

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This book left me with a lot of unanswered questions and conflicted feelings. There were many secrets within the walls of their small village but hardly any of the secrets were let out or explained. I feel like you couldn't easily connect with the characters because their emotions were scattered. But, there was a lot of romance and action which is why I read the book. Warning, it is not a happy ending, so if that's what you search for I would say move on. There are some books that would leave a place in your heart forever, but for me, this book was not one of them.

I got 60% of the way through this novel on my kindle before I decided to quit. I kept thinking just one more chapter until it get's better, but it never did. I was uninterested and unattached to every character and event. For a zombie novel, there was a very small amount of fighting zombies, and a whole lot of whining by the main character and dull romance scenes. I know that lots of people have really enjoyed this book, so obviously it's just not my thing.

Wow, I never thought I would call a book about Zombies beautiful, but The forest of Hands and Teeth, just grabs you from the start to the finish. It is a beautiful Haunting Dystopian Read, about a village that is kept safe from surrounding zombies by a large fence, the villagers are taught that the surrounding forest is all that is in the world, nothing else exists.

Mary is different to everyone else in the Village, she doesn't believe that the forest and their village is the only life left in the world, her family have passed down stories of oceans, that Mary becomes obsessed with.

After Mary's parents are killed she is sent to live in a convent type building run by the sisters, they are also in charge of the village, Mary starts to uncover that the Sisters may not be telling the truth and that there is life outside their walls. The village is thrown into chaos when the zombies, breach their walls leaving mary and a handful of others (including the boy who is supposed to marry Mary and his brother who Mary loves.) to wander the forest to find the ocean and any other surviving villages.

I loved this story and I am looking forward to reading the rest in the series.

I was so excited to read this book that I even had a pre-reading dream about my puppy turning into a zombie. My dream was awesome; this book was not.

Most of the other reviews here detail the one-dimensional nature of Mary and her cohorts, driven on by superficial desires and painfully emo-tragic "relationships." The most well-written character was Mary's mother and, without spoiling the big surprise, she's a creeper just like the narrator from The Yellow Wallpaper.

The most obvious flaw of this book in my eyes, however, was the extremely poor narrative style. This book was unplanned. Ryan has stated in interviews that she did not outline the plot and that she wrote the book in a matter of months (three, maybe?) and those points are very, very obvious. That is why the story wanders like the Unconsecrated within it, drifting around without purpose until it smells blood and seeks it out with mindless vengeance. The "blood" in this case is the ocean, some stranger-girl, boys boys boys, paths in the wilderness, and crazy adults. If even a hint of one of these bloodlines is present, the narrative pursues it until it is completely exhausted, infecting the theme with the same disease that Ryan portrays throughout. Each plot becomes its own little zombie, mindless, benign on the page, and to be avoided.

Given that, Ryan does show potential. If she could learn to outline, or even just to have a feasible plan, I believe that she could come up with some great stuff. It's tragic to take a premise this interesting and kill it by publishing the rough draft.

Two stars for Ryan's potential only. To Ryan's publisher or agent, if you are reading this... force her to plan her stories. A pre-writing plot outline could be worth a million bucks in sales from this lady. To readers, don't waste your time or money on the book.

This was recommended to me because I enjoyed the Mockingjay series. There are similiarities: young girl in dystopian world, 2 love interests, a shadowy/corrupt government confining both the people's location and their knowledge. There is no government sanctioned fight to the death here; instead Unconsecrated (zombies) have been kept at bay by fences for years and years.

In this book, the over-done teen angst made me want to cringe. Nearly every chapter ends with an overblown romantic. In Mockinjay, yes the romance plays a huge part also but it is not so...hand-to-the-forehead-oh-my-love-who-may-or-may-not-love-me...

Suffice it to say, while I recommended Mockingjay series to ALL ages, I think this title will only satisfy pre-teen/teen readers. It's too bad because, the premise was promising and very Margaret Atwood meets Suzanne Collins. It just didn't deliver. Maybe it it were a series and had more time to develop??

I really enjoyed this YA post-apocalyptic zombie novel with a strong young female protagonist who battles both zombies, and tradition throughout the book. The world that Carrie Ryan creates here is familiar but still captivating, and she has an interesting take on what a zombie infested future looks like for humanity long term. She also adds in an enjoyable romantic subplot to keep the stakes and the drama high throughout. An enjoyable read.

As other reviewers have noted, "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" is about Mary, a young woman who lives in an isolated village protected on all sides by fencing, designed to keep the Unconsecrated (zombies) out. The village is run by the mysterious Sisterhood; the novel starts off when Mary's mother is infected and Mary must join the Sisterhood. At the same time, she finds herself involved in a love triangle, complicated when zombie overrun the fortified village and she is forced to flee.

I really wanted to like this book: the idea sounds interesting and engaging. Zombies and romance? I'm sold. But the idea didn't really work. I guess you could say that it had great potential but really fell apart with the author's execution. The writing and editing were weak, the characters undeveloped and the story poorly paced.

First of all, my biggest problem with the story reminded by of my 10th grade journalism teacher's words: "Show it, don't say it." In essence, describe the action, the village, the setting and the characters. Don't just say that the village exists, describe what it looks it, how large it is, what it is made of. Without these descriptions, the book lacks grounding. The audience is told that Mary is our heroine, but we know little about her. Her age, appearance and personality are - for the most part - unexplored.

Secondly (and similarly), the author includes no descriptions of what life was like before her mother died - Mary spends much of the first half of the book longing for when her mother was alive - but the reader never fully engages in this. We don't know what it was like then, we just have to believe Mary when she says that it was better. The author lacks descriptions of the village too. What is its population? How large it is physically? How does it sustain itself? Is there a political system, an education system?

Finally, and really most notably, the novel lacks character development. The three main characters - Mary, Travis and Harry - were all flat and uninteresting. Halfway through the book I asked myself if I could list three adjectives for each of the characters involved in the underdeveloped love triangle. Mary is self-centered and Harry is a little obtuse. But that's really all. All three characters are flat, lacking development - it's very hard to engage with the characters when there is so little there to engage with. Clearly, the author wants the readers to see Mary as a strong, independent young woman with agency. But there is nothing in the text to support this. Mary's actions are dictated by her brother, the Sisterhood and her own misguided desire to see the ocean.

Even though an incredible amount of the book is spent in descriptions - really, there's almost no dialogue - the reader doesn't really get a sense for what life is like in the village, or even what life is like outside of the village when Mary and her friends/family run. Clearly, it's a forest. But what kind of trees are? How thick is foliage? Are there animals? Of course, this doesn't really matter. But as the forest clearly is supposed to almost be a character in the novel, this lack of descriptive development is representative of the book's main flaws.

One interesting aspect of the book which lent it some good qualities was the exploration of religion and god. Early on, Mary declares herself to no longer believe in god. Personally, I love when young adult books address atheism and agnosticism, so I at least was slightly engaged when the author addressed Mary's religious beliefs.

In conclusion, a cool - although not original - concept in theory, that utterly fails in execution. I wanted to like Mary, but found it impossible to without knowing anything about her and her life.

To premise, I would just like to say that I wanted to give this book four stars instead of five because I couldn't read it after dark. Having two kids under two, that is the only time I get to read so it was truly an accomplishment and a testament of how truly un-put-downable The Forest of Hands and Teeth is that I actually finished it. Yes, that is my fault. Yes, I am a total scaredy-cat. But after you read the book you will understand that with a forest just like the one on the cover right behind my house, it was hard not to cover my eyes and read this book through the slits of my fingers to keep myself from imagining the ultra-terrifying and realistic Gabrielle bounding through it and throwing herself mercilessly against my back window. For capturing (and repeatedly torturing) my imagination with double-headed axes I had to give Carrie Ryan's book five little stars.

Ryan's writing is so captivating and fluid that when you find our heroine, Mary, shivering in the dark at the top of a staircase, a terrified victim of her own imagination, you will be right there with her. You will see clearly in your mind the zombies (aka the Unconsecrated) shambling through the fog towards you. You will have to force yourself to keep from flipping to the back to see if there's a happy ending just so you can breath a little easier. Mary is a truly empathetic character. She runs a gambit of emotions going from mind-numbing fear of the zombies to feeling sorry for and sympathizing with one who could have been her if events had unfolded a little bit differently. You feel her heartbreaking loss but you also feel the heartbreaking love that balances out the chills and thrills in this book.

I do question the YA rating of this book, though. "YA" seems to be becoming increasingly more just "A" which means that being a 26 year-old woman, I have had no shame swapping books like Breaking Dawn and The Hunger Games with my 13 year-old sister-in-law. But while those other two books just flirt with the line of being "too much", The Forest of Hands and Teeth clearly crosses it, kisses the other side and doesn't look back. I'll let her read it when she can drive a car... maybe.

I'll be in line on the first day to buy The Un-Dead Waves. I can't wait to see how Ryan takes a character we already know the fate of and makes us see her in a new way. I have no doubt she can make the companion book just as compelling as the first.

I picked up this book at my online library for my kindle. I didn't actually know what it was about, only it was post-apocalypse. I got into the book immediately and finished it in one night. I've never been a zombie fan, I've never been into the books and shows that are popping up every where. But I really loved this book (and the rest of the series)!
Mary is a great character that I feel I could connect with. Ryan's writing is good and the story never seems to drag or run dry.
As a reader of many books (and i mean many!) I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to any of my friends.

So I read this whole book in like 4 hours, because it is incredibly intense. But for me the characters remain blurry and I dont really understand the obsession with the ocean. What will happen once you get there? No one is coming with you, so what will you do once you float around for a minute? I may be biased cause I dont care for the ocean now, but it wasnt freedom, cause she had that as much as she could in that world and there was no guarantee of freedom at the beach. As matter of that they told her how dangerous it was there without a fence. So why did she sacrifice everyone to get there? I also did not care about the love triangle, because I had no reason to care about Travis or Harry, and as another reader stated, everything that was set up at the beginning disappeared and it was just running and loss with no clear reason as to why. Mary was sort of stupid and her actions made no sense. She was intelligent enough to save them at times, but not intelligent enough to provide reasons for the rest of her actions. And then at the end just more death and loss. Just at the ocean this time. I definitely dont want to read the second one, but Im not sure the first one is not worth reading, just really left wondering after all of that emotion, what was the point?

Maybe the author, whose writing I like, could come up with a story that is better explained? Not that I need all the mysteries solved but at least my characters - especially if Im going to spend all my time in their head - could have some reason better than a story. Especially after you lose everything and refuse to hold on to what you do have.

Mary spends her days dreaming of escaping her town and one day finding the Ocean, where she is sure there is sanctuary from the Unconsecrated who relentlessly swarm the gates of their city and and make it impossible to enter the Forest of Hands and Teeth which encircles their town. But suddenly Mary's father has disappeared and not long after him her mother is bitten and turned Unconsecrated too. And now all hope Mary has is her brother Jed, who cold heartedly kicks her out of her home and sends her to live with the Sisterhood.

The Sisterhood has secrets through. And the longer Mary stays in the Cathedral the more she learns about the truth of the outside. And now she's convinced more than ever that there is life outside the Forest of Hands and Teeth, and that there must be a way to reach it.

And to complicate things even more...during Mary's stay at the Cathedral she spends much of her time nursing her old crush, Travis, back to health. Only she's falling more and more in love with him everyday and he's already betrothed to her best friend Cass.

But when the town becomes over run with Unconcecrated, Mary suddenly has to make some important decisions. Not just for her own life, but for her love ones too. And all the hope Mary has is to find the Ocean, and hope her mother's old tales were true.

This book was truly amazing. I never thought I'd read a book with zombies in it but I'm glad I did. The world created here is so believable and frightening. My only trouble with it was the ending, which turned out to be devastatingly sad. But I do believe that the author did the right thing for the story, it was true to the harsh world they lived in. I'm not sure I could read it again, for it upset me so much that I actually shed tears, but it definitely was worth reading. Be warned however, this book is NOT for the faint at heart. Violence and heartbreak are a plenty.

I was really disappointed in this book. It felt long, tedious, and plodding. Even when there was action, I was bored. So let down! I've been wanting to read the series for YEARS and own a paperback of The Dead-Tossed Waves from a Borders sale. So I am going to plod on and read it, since I already own it. I'm REALLY hoping it's going to get better!

This book has a lot going for it. Scott Westerfeld of Uglies fame is right when he calls it "elegantly written from title to last line." This is a very elegant book with strong characters that immediately pull you into the book. Mary is a teenage girl that immediately appeals to readers. She is trapped in her world--literally. She lives in a village that is caged away from the forest where zombies seek to destroy the living. She loves one boy, but she seems to have caught the attention of another, and in her society, marriage is about commitment instead of love. Love is seen as something dangerous--something that would send a woman walking too close to the fence searching for a zombie husband. I really love the way both sides of love are explored in complex situations.

However, there are parts of the book that I just can't recommend. First, the ending.... if you don't want spoilers, stop here. The ending hit all the wrong notes with me. While I am a big fan of the self-sacrifice in the end of a novel, this novel is just jarring. One character dies in what feels like an empty attempt to free Mary from a tangled love triangle. Another character is lost trying to follow Mary as she makes one last mad dash toward her dreams. Other characters are left behind in a maze that may or may not be compromised, left to be either eaten alive or turned into zombies. This isn't a case of a character sacrificing him or herself; this feels more like a character sacrificing others so she can stand on the beach and look at the ocean. And as I finished the last page, I couldn't help but think that if I were Mary, I would be psychology destroyed at the thought that so many people had died.

There are also so many hanging threads that I am left feeling unsatisfied. Maybe the author intends to answer the many questions in a future novel. How did the religious beliefs that have grown up around the village start? What started the Sisterhood? What secrets did they hold? We're told that the main character doesn't have the answer; therefore, we can't have the answers.

No matter how well written this story is, the end is so depressing and unsatisfying that I will not read the next book to find out if Ms. Ryan plans to answer these questions. And that makes me a little sad because the book is so well written and suspenseful that I really wanted to love it.

I can strongly say, that without a doubt, this has been one of my favourite books. I have concluded to this due to a few factors that really separate this novel from the other YA (young adult) novels.

The novel is about a young teen protagonist, Mary, who grows up with her mother and father along with stories about the past. When before the Unconsecrated, the living dead, had risen, there was something spectacular called the Ocean. Mary's parents would tell her all about the vast amounts of water and it would go as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately, one day, Mary's parents get bitten and soon infected by the Unconsecrated, resulting into them becoming one of the Unconsecrated. After this tragic event, Mary's brother, Jed, chooses to disown her as all Mary seems to be is a reminder of their parent's death. Mary was then forced to join the Sisterhood, a religious group of females who "ran" the village. However, Mary doesn't feel the honor of joining them, and she also finds something unusual about the Sisterhood. Whether it is the unclear origination of the Sisterhood or the secrets that she finds they are keeping, soon enough she gets tired of this and ventures off to the Forest of Hands and Teeth where the Unconsecrated are. This is so she could chase her dreams of being next to the ocean. Sure enough, at the end of the book, she finds herself there, however the Unconsecrated still "live" on.

In my opinion, description is a key factor to having a successful novel, and this novel in particular does not lack any of it. There are numerous parts within the book where description has allowed me to actually feel the tensity, creepy and scary mood that it brings to others that have read this. One of my favourite parts of the book is on page 59. "And so at first I don't realize that I am following in someone else's footsteps in the snow - not just one person's footsteps, but many. I pause. There is nothing behind me but the Forest, and my heart begins to pound. What if these are the tracks of the Unconsecrated? What if the fence is beached and there is no one to sound the alarm? Terror bolts through me, but I slip and slide in the snow as I scramble to follow the tracks back to their source." Within these lines show a great amount of description that is being used to have the reader, me, feel the tensity, creepy and scary feeling that Mary, the protagonist also feels. As i was reading these lines I was finding myself more engaged with this novel because I wanted to find out what had really brought these tracks among the village, and this is why I really like this part. It really draws me in as a reader.

Another part of the novel where I found description was strong, was on page 102-106. Within these pages, the description does a tremendous job of having the reader, me, feel the tensity and scary mood once again, that the protagonist is feeling. "The air is damp, moldy, and my own breath sounds like a windstorm to my ears. I strain to hear in the darkness beyond my weak candlelight, suddenly terrified that there might be someone or something else down here... My entire body shakes now, whether from fear or the sweat soaking my thin gown I don't really know. I wish Travis were by my side, someone to hold my hand, to keep at bay the terror at the edges of my imagination." These are just a few quotes that I pulled out consisting of these pages which I found the most intriguing and realistic. I really like books that make me feel that I'm actually feeling and seeing the character so I can have the engaging experience of reading this novel, and this novel does not disappoint.

One last thing that I found the most favourable within the book is the Protagonist, Mary. The reason why I really like Mary is mainly because of how her character is built. The attributes, characteristics, and traits of a character is really important within a novel because without them, they would not have a strong personality which would make the story suffer. In this case, the things that I like about Mary is her perseverance. In the beginning of the novel, Mary had grown up with stories about the Ocean so it was always her dream to get there, and away from this post apocalyptic village. However, she is surrounded by the Forest and many other obstacles that arise, such as her mother's death. Resulting into her joining the Sisterhood. As being part of this, she had to eliminate all her so called "nonsense" about the Ocean or she would be punished and put into the Forest for spreading lies. Going to the Ocean meant everything to her so she stayed persistent. Even though she was warned by the Sisters, Mary eventually had enough. She risked her life to venture out into the Forest, risking being bitten and infected to hopefully find the Ocean, which at times, she had doubts of it even existing. And in the end, she did find herself along the Ocean.

There is not really anything that I can criticize for this book as I found the novel very thought-out and also very engaging. This is hands down one of the best novels I have read, placing right next to the well-known Hunger Games. I would recommend this book to each and every YA that loves to read thriller/horror books and I will ensure you an unforgettable reading experience! I can't even wait to read the next books within the trilogy as I feel it would be an equally enjoyable reading experience.

Rife with beautiful imagery and metaphor, but many of the characters, including Mary, stuck me as shortsighted. The plot felt a little forced at times, particularly the romance, and the later deaths, one more than the other, felt random; they didn't have the sense of finality, perhaps due to a lack of foreshadowing. Lastly, though I wouldn't say the pacing was bad, at times in the story, days or months would pass, but the pacing didn't seem to reflect that.

Mary finds herself out of options in her small village that is surrounded by a forest filled with zombies. She is forced to join the Sisterhood, and learns that they are keeping many secrets. After a traumatic event though, Mary and her friends are forced to leave the safety of their village and venture into the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
The book was alright, except that it left a lot of plot holes and left you with questions about what was going. It had a good beginning but after that was just boring. The beginning and end almost felt like two totally different books, both left unresolved.

In "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" Mary lives in an isolated village protected by a wall from the forest which is filled with zombies. The village is protected by the Guardians and governed by the Sisterhood. This is all that Mary knows and she longs to see the ocean (a story her mother told her all her life). When the village is overrun by the zombies, Mary, her brother and others take off to try and find a new life for themselves. Carrie Ryan had written an intense story of teenage angst in this world of post-apocalyptic zombies. It was an uncomplicated read and the story was compelling.

This book reminded me somewhat of the movie "The Village" . There were many harrowing near misses and if you like survival horror you will like this book. The main character is very strong even though circumstances around her continued to change she was resilient.
I was kind of disappointed by some of the things that happened near the end but will read the second book in a few days.Aside from the zombie/mudo action/violence it is a clean read.There was not any profanity that I remember or sex .

I'm not really a fan of "Gothic" or "horror" books, but this book was different.
The world that Mary lived in felt completely real and scary.
I thought the book had a lot of great action scenes and intense moments without being too over the top.
All the characters felt real, even the unconsecrated. Like "the fast one." The way that Ryan described her was amazing. How she never gave up and how you'd see a flash of red every time she came near. It was totally awesome.
While I was reading the novel at times I felt nervous and worried for the Characters. It was better than watching "Dawn of the dead." and "28 weeks later." The book {unlike those films} stayed true to reality and I thought that was spot on.
I thought the ending was PERFECT. I know some people are a little bothered that you don't get to find out every single little detail about how everything happened and all the secrets. But that's why I loved the ending so much. It wasn't ridiculous. They were too busy trying to stay alive than to find out all these secrets. It was a logical ending and I liked that a lot.

A few things that bothered me.
I thought Mary was very selfish. I'm not sure if the Author meant for her to come off that way but that's just what i kept thinking while I was reading this book.
I also thought the writing style was a little bit off. one page she's writing like its olden times and the next she's writing like its the 2000's. So that confused me a little bit. She had some iffy tags that stuck out but nothing like the ridiculuos ones Stephenie Meyer puts in her "novels" {if you could call them that.}
And the last thing that kind of got to me was the relationship she had {or didn't have a guess I should say} with Harry. Like on some page she missed him and on others she hated him. it confused me a bit but eh. nothing is perfect.

overall I really liked the book a lot. It was intense, graphic, exciting and different.

I'm pretty sure this book will win some awards. :)

I listened to the audiobook, so your mileage may vary on the written word, but this book is just awful. However, it deserves the 3-star rating I gave it because its cheesy dialogue, selfish, foolish, immature narrator had be chuckling a ton of times. I kept listening to see what would happen with Mary, (cue impassioned voice) Travis, and the other--unlikely, though obvious--companions. Somehow I got recommended to this because I loved The Hunger Games. Yes, it has a dystopian future, but it is *NOTHING* like The Hunger Games. Mary is an idiot, and if you enjoy laughing at idiots, give this a try. It's the novel equivalent of a cult B movie.

This book was intense. I am not a YA, but I still found it dark. It was well written amd engrossing. Our heroine was at times annoying with her fixation on finding the ocean, and her cavalier attitude towards the two young men who loved her.

Despite the above, I could not put the book down once I started reading it. The story was gripping. The ending was a little anti-climactic and I wonder if there is meant to be sequel.

Given the darkness of this tale, I would defintely recommend it for older teens. Also I think fans of other dark YA fantasy such as The Hunger Games,Bones of Faerie and Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale will enjoy this tale.

Spoiler ahead:
FYI the romance in this book does not end on a happy note.

The forest of hands and teeth is a good book overall. I read it for my 10th grade English class. I don't believe in a perfect book (though some have been close) while this one isn't perfect it is still very fun and gripping at times. While i felt after the first chapter it did slow down until the middle of the book after that it was very gripping and i couldn't put it down.

I love zombie and post-apocalyptic books. and I really wanted to love The Forest of Hands and Teeth. But it was underwhelming, and nothing special in the sea of YA dystopian/apocalyptic books. It was fast-faced, but I found it lacking in detail. I wanted to know more, more and more, about...well everything. I'm not a fan of first person present because it distances the reader too much from the character sometimes and doesn't provide enough development for the other characters. This book was no exception. The main character was selfish and had one simple goal to get to the ocean, which she droned on and on about, which made her a little too one-dimensional. I give it three stars because it did have some redeeming qualities. Mary's descent into madness is skillful and she did make for a sympathetic character at times. The story idea was unique, even though it could have been better fleshed-out. I kept waiting for something to happen that didn't, but it was suspenseful nonetheless. The ending was a major disappointment, my biggest complaint. When Mary struggled through to reach her destination...

Yep, that's how I felt at the ending. I so wanted to love this novel, but not enough to read the sequels.

A creepy setting, difficult choices and an eerie scenario make Carrie Ryan's THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH unforgettable.

It's a rare gem: a zombie novel in which the Z-word is never mentioned, and doesn't resort to shlock. Indeed, this is one of the most elegantly-written novels I've read; with characters to care about, a unique and disturbing setting, life or death decisions, and plenty of opportunity for social commentary. If you were hoping this was an escapist read, you may be surprised by how much you can relate to or at least sympathise with.

This book drug on forever, with really no point to it. The Zombie thing was discussed over and over in the book, and while I understand it was a major part of the theme, it got old hearing about how the "Unconsecrated" were falling apart in graphic detail. I thought Mary's character was very shallow and the decisions she made had little or no basis. The rest of the characters just plugged along, with really no mind of their own. I thought the book took turns that didn't make any sense, and the characters really had no depth to them.
I finished this book, because I wanted to see if the ending had any point. It didn't. So I was left irritated that I wasted my time on this poorly written book.
I wouldn't suggest reading it, unless you really just want something to kill time, and even then I would recommend a different book.

This amazing debut takes place in a world that is four generations removed from the initial zombie outbreak. Mary lives in a village completely enclosed by a fence that protects it from the hordes of Unconsecrated outside. The Guardians ensure that the fence holds while the Sisters are responsible for the teaching and morality of the town. Mary has always wondered what lies on the other side of the fence and if, as the Sisters say, they truly are the last remaining humans. When their town is overrun, Mary and a few others must flee. This is the first time any of them have ever set foot outside the village. Will they find salvation or certain death?

I love this book. It's absolutely fantastic! I think it has great appeal for both teen and adult audiences.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is filled with mystery, suspense, fright, hope, love, loss, desperation and all the other ingredients needed to produce a first class novel guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. The story revolves around a young woman named Mary who finds hope in her mother's stories of the ocean; while fraught with despair, struggling through an oppressive life in a small village walled off from a zombie filled apocalyptic world. Before and after the walls come down, Mary's life is filled with struggles that not only take the reader along on her frightening journey, but also dig deep into the heart with gut-wrenching moments that can't help but leave you shocked. Once you pick this book up, it's hard to put it back down until the last page is turned.

Well first off I will say that this author did a great job with writing this story. She really has a eye for detail. With all the great reviews on this book, I wont go into the story line but I will say that the religious tones of the sisterhood reminded me of that crazy movie, Silent hill, they were so into religion that it was creepy and that is what made Mary turn away in the first place. It was the sisterhood who ultimately destroyed the world they created by not actually being Godly but instead just crazy religious. While this book is not based on religion or anything it just shows how one can be bound by it. After Mary lost both her parents and was turned away by her brother and was to join the sisterhood by having no other options she just became more thirsty for what she had been told by her mother about what was beyond their world. This book is a perfect example of why knowlegde is power. Mary had a awesome hope and when she had the option of just giving up, the people around her who cared for her, although they didnt always believe in what Mary did, they were willing to die because of her hope and that is what was amazing about this book. I wish such sacrifices didnt have to happen but I understand that if this was a reality then what other choices would anyone have? It wasnt that Mary herself was soooo amazing, it was her belief and desire that made her different. I was a little saddened by how her friends and family had to die though. I was throughly creeped out and was refreshed because this wasn't a typical teen read, I will be reading this entire series.

This book was overall pretty intriguing. I'm more of a "Young Adult Paranormal Romance" reader, so I was not so used to such a somber yet gruesome tale. For my first zombie read, though, I have to say that I liked it. Am I going to ramble about the pro/cons? Absolutely.

Pros:
1) The carnage scenes in this book are awesomely vivid; I did not expect so much out of this type of book.
2) Carrie Ryan's style of writing is extremely soft, and almost poetic. I'v enjoyed reading such a well-written book.
3) The book is one big adventure and leaves you wanting to know the outcome. A very good thing.
4) Somehow, Ryan's excellent story telling made me unknowingly connected to the characters. I found myself tearing up close to the end of the book when you-know-who dies.
5) FREAKING AWESOME TITLE!!!

Cons:
1) I have to admit, this book gets a little boring in some places. I was pretty disappointed to wanting to skip some parts that were running way too slowly. I understand that in a book, there must be some places that do not have as much action going on, but when there are extended places like this, it gets to the point where you want to skip them.
2) Some parts offer way too much description. This trait is needed for the parts where action is occurring, but do you remember the dry spells that I mentioned in number 1? Well, the over-description happens in those parts. Not. So. Fun.
3) Toward the end of the book, things started to become so evident that you could guess what would happen next. It became so that I aimed to finish the book just so I could know the outcome.

To sum this up, the book was pretty good. I repeat pretty good . I would recommend this book to others who enjoy a nice sad, somber, adventurous story. I admit that once I finish some other books that I've been waiting for, I will probably read the sequel ^_^

3.5 stars!

This book was intense. I am not a YA, but I still found it dark. It was well written amd engrossing. Our heroine was at times annoying with her fixation on finding the ocean, and her cavalier attitude towards the two young men who loved her.

Despite the above, I could not put the book down once I started reading it. The story was gripping. The ending was a little anti-climactic and I wonder if there is meant to be sequel.

Given the darkness of this tale, I would defintely recommend it for older teens. Also I think fans of other dark YA fantasy such as The Hunger Games,Bones of Faerie and Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale will enjoy this tale.

Spoiler ahead:
FYI the romance in this book does not end on a happy note.

The forest of hands and teeth is a good book overall. I read it for my 10th grade English class. I don't believe in a perfect book (though some have been close) while this one isn't perfect it is still very fun and gripping at times. While i felt after the first chapter it did slow down until the middle of the book after that it was very gripping and i couldn't put it down.

I love zombie and post-apocalyptic books. and I really wanted to love The Forest of Hands and Teeth. But it was underwhelming, and nothing special in the sea of YA dystopian/apocalyptic books. It was fast-faced, but I found it lacking in detail. I wanted to know more, more and more, about...well everything. I'm not a fan of first person present because it distances the reader too much from the character sometimes and doesn't provide enough development for the other characters. This book was no exception. The main character was selfish and had one simple goal to get to the ocean, which she droned on and on about, which made her a little too one-dimensional. I give it three stars because it did have some redeeming qualities. Mary's descent into madness is skillful and she did make for a sympathetic character at times. The story idea was unique, even though it could have been better fleshed-out. I kept waiting for something to happen that didn't, but it was suspenseful nonetheless. The ending was a major disappointment, my biggest complaint. When Mary struggled through to reach her destination...

Yep, that's how I felt at the ending. I so wanted to love this novel, but not enough to read the sequels.

A creepy setting, difficult choices and an eerie scenario make Carrie Ryan's THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH unforgettable.

It's a rare gem: a zombie novel in which the Z-word is never mentioned, and doesn't resort to shlock. Indeed, this is one of the most elegantly-written novels I've read; with characters to care about, a unique and disturbing setting, life or death decisions, and plenty of opportunity for social commentary. If you were hoping this was an escapist read, you may be surprised by how much you can relate to or at least sympathise with.

This book drug on forever, with really no point to it. The Zombie thing was discussed over and over in the book, and while I understand it was a major part of the theme, it got old hearing about how the "Unconsecrated" were falling apart in graphic detail. I thought Mary's character was very shallow and the decisions she made had little or no basis. The rest of the characters just plugged along, with really no mind of their own. I thought the book took turns that didn't make any sense, and the characters really had no depth to them.
I finished this book, because I wanted to see if the ending had any point. It didn't. So I was left irritated that I wasted my time on this poorly written book.
I wouldn't suggest reading it, unless you really just want something to kill time, and even then I would recommend a different book.

This amazing debut takes place in a world that is four generations removed from the initial zombie outbreak. Mary lives in a village completely enclosed by a fence that protects it from the hordes of Unconsecrated outside. The Guardians ensure that the fence holds while the Sisters are responsible for the teaching and morality of the town. Mary has always wondered what lies on the other side of the fence and if, as the Sisters say, they truly are the last remaining humans. When their town is overrun, Mary and a few others must flee. This is the first time any of them have ever set foot outside the village. Will they find salvation or certain death?

I love this book. It's absolutely fantastic! I think it has great appeal for both teen and adult audiences.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is filled with mystery, suspense, fright, hope, love, loss, desperation and all the other ingredients needed to produce a first class novel guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. The story revolves around a young woman named Mary who finds hope in her mother's stories of the ocean; while fraught with despair, struggling through an oppressive life in a small village walled off from a zombie filled apocalyptic world. Before and after the walls come down, Mary's life is filled with struggles that not only take the reader along on her frightening journey, but also dig deep into the heart with gut-wrenching moments that can't help but leave you shocked. Once you pick this book up, it's hard to put it back down until the last page is turned.

Well first off I will say that this author did a great job with writing this story. She really has a eye for detail. With all the great reviews on this book, I wont go into the story line but I will say that the religious tones of the sisterhood reminded me of that crazy movie, Silent hill, they were so into religion that it was creepy and that is what made Mary turn away in the first place. It was the sisterhood who ultimately destroyed the world they created by not actually being Godly but instead just crazy religious. While this book is not based on religion or anything it just shows how one can be bound by it. After Mary lost both her parents and was turned away by her brother and was to join the sisterhood by having no other options she just became more thirsty for what she had been told by her mother about what was beyond their world. This book is a perfect example of why knowlegde is power. Mary had a awesome hope and when she had the option of just giving up, the people around her who cared for her, although they didnt always believe in what Mary did, they were willing to die because of her hope and that is what was amazing about this book. I wish such sacrifices didnt have to happen but I understand that if this was a reality then what other choices would anyone have? It wasnt that Mary herself was soooo amazing, it was her belief and desire that made her different. I was a little saddened by how her friends and family had to die though. I was throughly creeped out and was refreshed because this wasn't a typical teen read, I will be reading this entire series.

This book was overall pretty intriguing. I'm more of a "Young Adult Paranormal Romance" reader, so I was not so used to such a somber yet gruesome tale. For my first zombie read, though, I have to say that I liked it. Am I going to ramble about the pro/cons? Absolutely.

Pros:
1) The carnage scenes in this book are awesomely vivid; I did not expect so much out of this type of book.
2) Carrie Ryan's style of writing is extremely soft, and almost poetic. I'v enjoyed reading such a well-written book.
3) The book is one big adventure and leaves you wanting to know the outcome. A very good thing.
4) Somehow, Ryan's excellent story telling made me unknowingly connected to the characters. I found myself tearing up close to the end of the book when you-know-who dies.
5) FREAKING AWESOME TITLE!!!

Cons:
1) I have to admit, this book gets a little boring in some places. I was pretty disappointed to wanting to skip some parts that were running way too slowly. I understand that in a book, there must be some places that do not have as much action going on, but when there are extended places like this, it gets to the point where you want to skip them.
2) Some parts offer way too much description. This trait is needed for the parts where action is occurring, but do you remember the dry spells that I mentioned in number 1? Well, the over-description happens in those parts. Not. So. Fun.
3) Toward the end of the book, things started to become so evident that you could guess what would happen next. It became so that I aimed to finish the book just so I could know the outcome.

To sum this up, the book was pretty good. I repeat pretty good . I would recommend this book to others who enjoy a nice sad, somber, adventurous story. I admit that once I finish some other books that I've been waiting for, I will probably read the sequel ^_^

3.5 stars!

Mary is a young woman raised in the confines of a small village. Her sense of isolation stems from the post-apocalyptic zombie filled forest, beyond which she is forbidden to venture. The village is controlled by "The Sisters" who enforce ignorance and conformity, which they feel is the only way to survive. Any questioning of the belief system is quickly squelched, so that the fine balance between survival and total destruction is maintained.

This is a story of Mary's internal struggle against everything she is raised to believe and for a dream of something more than living in fear. Ryan writes her protagonist as strong willed and determined, and the fact that she is on the verge of adulthood adds complexity to the character. Her blossoming attraction to two similarly aged brothers in the village, contrasted with her need to explore the world beyond (symbolized by her mother's stories of the ocean, which others believe to be a myth) adds to the push and pull of the character's desires.

The writing is elegant and the characters well developed. This is a terrific read for young adult and adult readers alike. If you are a fan of fantasy and post-apocalyptic fiction, as I am, this is one of the better novels in that genre.

This book reminded me a lot of the movie The Village, which I really enjoyed. It was the first thing that came to mind a few chapters in. The main difference being this was based on zombies filling the forests and not some other monster.

The story itself was rather depressing, but very well written. Mary, the lead character, is always filled with so much hope. Here she is trapped inside a fenced village keeping the Unconsecrated out and keeping her trapped inside, but she holds out hope for all that is beyond the forest. Hope for goods things to happen in her life and for there to be some sort of world outside this village that she is stuck in. Also to find the ocean that her mother was always telling her about. As much as Mary annoyed me at times, I really felt for her character. She had so much pain inside her. It was hard not to hope that things worked out for her.

As weird as this may sound, what I loved the most about the book was also part of what I didn't like. There was an unbelievable amount of description. I loved it because I actually felt as though I could visualize everything around them, at times though the details were just a little too much. I am not sure if that makes sense or not!

I was a little disappointed with the ending, but perhaps it was because it seemed so abrupt. It sort of just ended. It kind of felt like there was more to tell and many questions left unanswered. I know there is a sequel though so hopefully I get some of my questions answered in that one!

Overall I would say it was a pretty good read. Although I had some issues with it they were just minors ones that I could overlook. I think anyone that has an interest in zombie books would really like this one.

So I read this book a while ago and really liked it! Which surprised me, because I am not usually a zombie person, but the world this was set in was luscious. Some reviewers have criticized Mary's dramatics, but really, she is a teenager, and she is exposed to a world that she had never been aware of before....the ending was a bit disappointing and sad but I thought it was appropriate. Even so long after reading it the atmosphere, so dark and brooding, sticks with me. That's pretty good I'd say.

I didn't really enjoy this book until the last few chapters. Most of the time I was glad that it was fairly short so that I could finish it and move on to something better. BUT they got with the last few chapters and I guess I'm intrigued enough to read the second part The Dead Tossed Waves. It reminded me of a journal while I was reading it. It was very much the wandering thoughts of the main character. She was very repetitive. Wondering the same thoughts over and over. There was rarely dialog between characters. I wasn't into that style. I'm hoping the second part won't be written the same way. It wasn't so bad that I didn't finish it, but not great.

Let me start by saying I HATE ANYTHING Zombie, yet could not stop reading!!! I read this book when it first came out but have not written a review because I truthfully didn't know where to start. I have this ridiculous fear that if zombies acutally came to fruition we would all die (yet I LOVED this book). This book made me cry, laugh, and actually feel emotion unlike most humdrum YA books (I read A LOT of YA books). The raw emotion and humanity of Mary while trying to survive and live utterly demands attention. I connected with her plight, strength, and grit throughout the entire book. It has been a long time since I have read a book that actually made me throw it across the room with such raw emotion. Ms. Ryan is an amazing author that connects on every level with her audience. I have given this book to my husband, mother, father, and friends who do not generally read anything from this genre. This book and the following two are such wonderfully written and gritty tales of what one will do to not only survive but fight and live for something more than the every day notion.

It is difficult to say whether I liked The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I want to say that I am teetering between okay and liked it. I was completely bewitched by Mary, her story, and the engrossing world that Carrie Ryan has created in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Not all readers will be as enamored with Mary as I was. She was incredibly self-absorbed, rarely said the right thing, and very frequently needed someone to prop her up during a fight. I can see where she might be a disappointing female protagonist for some, particularly fans of ass-kicking alpha heroines. For a zombie story though, I thought Mary made a refreshingly real protagonist.

Zombie stories are about so much more than zombies. Unlike your other horror baddies, zombies do not think or feel. They are not hindered by fight or flight instincts. They need no rest or sustenance. They are driven only by their insatiable hunger for human life. In great enough numbers, there is no stopping them. Zombie stories are about more than survival, they're about the human spirit. They're about hope.

Like Mary I have wrestled with the guilt that comes from having to choose between the life you're expected to live and the life you want to live. I have felt the urge to escape the smallness of my surroundings. I have dreamed of things that, to others, were so impossible. Mary was so easy for me to empathize with that I found myself trying to imagine what I would do if I were in her place. It was that empathy that really drove me to read on. I had to know how Mary's story ended.

I can't give Carrie Ryan as much credit for the rest of the characters though. Perhaps that is because much of the development of those characters was dependent on dialog and the dialog seemed so unnatural in some places that it stalled the story. The ending was also a disappointment for me. Part of the appeal of The Forest of Hands and Teeth is in the mystery. In the beginning you are set up to believe there may be greater forces at work in regards to the undead and their place in the world. As the story develops more questions arise like what is up with The Sisterhood? And Gabrielle? How do all these pieces fit together? The story pulls you along down this path (figuratively and literally) where you hope these questions will be answered but, rather frustratingly, they are not. And just when you think Mary is going to get her long awaited moment of redemption, it ends with a series of flat responses to a climactic situation that felt rushed and unprepared.

Even feeling a I do about this book, I would still recommend it. Carrie Ryan's ability to pull you into the story so effortlessly makes the investment worthwhile and entices you to continue the series.

This is an odd entry in the genre, evidently aimed at the YA market and perhaps a first or early effort by the author. The writing style takes some getting used to, though given the unfamiliar setting, it's actually rather appropriate. The story is gripping and the characters engaging, and the author was ruthless in establishing sympathy and then revealing disaster. While it's not a perfect book, it is a great read.

"You think you want love, Mary. You think it is this beautiful gift that does nothing but fill you and make you whole. But you are wrong. Love can be cruel and ugly. It can become dark and cause the deepest pain."

Young Adult Literature gets a bad rap. It is generally believed to be fluff and pointless. However, there are times when a Young Adult novel can step above this, and have a message deeper then peer pressure, or first love. This is one of those stories.

If read with care, and taken for what is being said and not for what is being done, then this story has as much content as Shakespeare, Dickins, and other literary greats. Why? Because it asks the same questions:

What do you do when everything seems to have fallen apart?

What becomes important, what matters, and what do you hold on to?

When should you stop dreaming and how can you fight the passage of time, when your dreams and prayers go unanswered?

What happens after death and are the dead better off than the living?

Nothing is tied up in this story because that is not how life works. Nothing is for certain in this story, and nothing is for certain in life. This book is as horrible, disturbing, painful, beautiful, and hopeful as life.

"I realize that sometimes death comes before you expect it. That while we are rarely prepared for our friends, family and loved ones to die, we are never prepared for our own deaths. Never prepared to reconcile our own regrets."

OK..I am a 41 year old white man. Not a teen girl.
It kinda makes me sad that this book is just stereotyped for teenage little people. As for myself i loved it. It was super creepy and very sad.
I really didn't care for the desperation the novels made me feel like while reading. But that's what a good story does. It makes you feel and become part of It, good, bad, funny or sad. You become part of the story while you read.
This is not a happy story and at no time that i can remember where i laughed while reading it. But I did feel it and was very much taken and moved by the story.
This is a new kinda of "Zombie" Story. G Romero was great and made you laugh at times. C Ryan throws it in your face and makes you feel that to survive you must keep reading.

Good Job Ma'am...

I love zombie movies and books. However, I was a disappointed by this book. The main character is undeveloped and you never really become attached to her. In fact, she really comes across as whiney and annoying. The story line has a lot of potential but I was so turned off by the main character that I had zero desire to buy the rest of the series. I don't recommend this book series for teens or adults.

The title immediately suggests a certain amount of creepiness, and the back cover copy allows for even more. But I was really blown away by Carrie Ryan's debut fantasy novel. Even now, I don't know whether to call it a fantasy novel or a horror novel.

Ryan evokes both elements in this novel, and perhaps it would be safer to call it a dark fantasy. She has an amazing skill to bring images, characters, and atmosphere to life and unlife. I wouldn't suggest this novel for young readers who sometimes have trouble separating fiction from real life (or for older readers either) but for someone looking for a decidedly different read, THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH is awesome. I can't wait to see what comes next.

Okay, I picked up the book because the title was interesting. But, towards the end I found myself muttering "What?!?!?!?" out loud a lot.
I felt for the characters and their tormented existence surrounded by zombies and pious nuns. I wanted them to survive and find a new world or have some momentary respite and happiness. I really felt their anguish with the constant zombie presence at their village fence Yet, like all novels set in a dystopic society, happiness is not in their dictionary and I should know better.
But, dear god, why did the author leave so many loose ends? It almost made me think that even she didn't know the answers. What did the nuns do to the girl who arrived in their village from the outside? Why was she different from the other zombies? How did the nuns become so powerful? Why did Jacob keep saying "I'm sorry" after the fire? Did he start it? Why on earth were 3 characters abandoned so abruptly towards the end?
In a span of 2 pages, the protagonist went from calling Trevor her one true love to shunning his attentions. Also, if I heard about the ocean one more time I was going to scream.
I know the book was YA, but so are "The Hunger Games" or even "Harry Potter" and they were never this frustrating.

So I had heard this book was a bit scary and the blurb made me think instantly of the movie, The Village. I was beyond excited to read it and try something a little bit different for me. It started out great, I loved the writing and the simpleness of the town, a town that was full of secrets I couldn't wait to learn. I loved the hushed whispering of the Sisters and the romantic encounters between two of the characters and the path... the path that's off limits. I had to know where it was all going.

And then there was a lot of waiting and sitting around and I started to get kind of bored. I don't know if I was desensitized because of the connection I made to the Village and having seeing a funny zombie movie, Shaun of the Dead. But it just wasn't really to scary to me, slightly creepy I guess but that faded quickly. I did like the idea that this village is surrounded my Unconsecrated (zombies) at all times, they are just kind of there. But it just wasn't happening for me.

Originally I liked how simple the story was and the characters were, it was about their survival and love for each other and then after Mary talked about the ocean for the 100th time I realized that was all she was going to talk about, that and her love for Travis.

I think this book just might not have been for me. I did hear there were more books to come though and I do look forward to them, I think the next book might be of more interest to me.All in all, for me, a great beginning that kind of dropped off from there. Maybe this will be your cup of tea, it just wasn't mind.

A well written book and intense book, I thought it would be like the Hunger Games. Mary lives in a world where water is sacred her village is said to be the only one with humans left. Outside of her village are zombie-like creatures who hunt down humans. Mary believes there is another place filled with water and free from the zombies. She convinces her friends and boyfriends to go with her on this quest, and while the deaths are gruesome here even shocking, the book is engrossing and will keep edgy readers reading.

I borrowed this from the library on recommendation from a friend. It's the first "Zombie" fiction I've ever read. I think it will probably be the last. It wasn't poorly written. I just don't think I got the point of the story, unfortunately. There were zombies...and a girl...and the zombies chased the girl...and I won't give away how it ends. The girl's character really didn't change much over the course of the story. There were some really intriguing plot points thrown out in the beginning 1/3 of the book. I was looking very much forward to seeing them develop as the story progressed. I wanted to find out more about all of the mysteries. But then....nothing. The main characters and action move on and you don't find out anything about what was hinted out. That was very frustrating to me. Like I said, the writing is not bad, other than what I mentioned. So if you're into Zombie fiction you'll probably like this book okay though.

Its been a long time since I have found a book that was unique and actually didn't blend in with all the other zombie novels out there. This is a really good book and the author does a great job of making you like and understand the characters. Can't wait to read the next book by this author.

Actually I finished reading this several days ago and I waited to write my review, taking some extra time to think about it.

I'm finding I didn't like this as much as some other readers did. The story started out as a real page-turner...there was a mystery here and I wanted to know what was going on. Towards the middle, the story started to drag...and then it ended (I thought) much too abruptly, leaving an awful lot of threads hanging.

Other reviewers have described the plot very well. Mary, the main character, is forced against her will to join her village's Sisterhood, the religious order whose decisions governs every phase of the villagers' lives. I wondered why they would take her, since it was clear she was unsuited and because the problem that forced her to join could have been fixed so very easily.

The larger world problem is a zombie invasion (though the word 'zombie' is never used, it's clear that's what they are). The world is ending and it's not at all clear that the humans will win. Don't expect the author to give you the answer, either...Mary takes a long journey in search of answers and the story ends before WE get them.

It's not a bad book really, the premise was really well thought out. Some reviewers have talked about the 'hope' in this story and frankly I didn't see much hope. I found it pretty depressing. But I guess zombies are kind of a downer, eh?

Ryan is ambitious with what she tries to accomplish in such a short book, hitting on aspects of horror and suspense, speculative fiction, feminist allusions, and teen melodrama. While she doesn't quite hit the mark on all of them, The Forest of Hands and Teeth does bring an original perspective to a traditional genre and explores some hefty themes in appropriate ways for a teen audience. The book would benefit from additional length or tidied plotlines, but it is still an impactful and provoking debut novel.

Well, setting up that premise was the good part.

Then the author has to create characters and a plot, which really didn't happen. Just hordes of zombies, over, and over, and over again. And then nothing gets resolved. If it did, what would the writer do for a sequel?

In post-apocalyptic fiction, the survivers need to be problem solvers. These people aren't. When thwarted lovers Mary and Travis finally reach a fortified house which seems like a perfect haven, they sit around and do nothing (for weeks?). Don't even talk to each other. Can't reach their friends who are just over in the next tree. Then, when the zombies are busting down the door, they effect an escape plan in the last 10 minutes. Then they get to hang with their friens some more.

This series kept me up at night and not always was that a good thing. But I couldn't stop reading and it's funny that it's 3 yrs later and shows like the Walking Dead and others are so popular. I will always think of zombies and this series together.
Totally captivating.

I hate to not finish a book I've read more than a couple of chapters of so I just *had* to make myself finish this book. I have to say, it became painful to read. I love dystopian stories, and I kept hoping this book would have some payoff, but there was none. The story became dull, the characters I began to truly hate for their stupid choices, and the overly florid style of writing of the author drove me crazy. She would spend 50 words describing some self involved emotion the POV character had, when 5 would suffice. But, sadly, other than the utterly selfish feelings of the main character, too few descriptions are made of the world they live in or it's history -which could have been interesting.

This was a deliciously terrifying book about an odd future in which people have mutated into ravenous zombies. Sounds ridiculous, but the poetic writing and great characterization made this impossible to put down.

I could totally imagine everything in this world, yet the story was never bogged down by too much detail or description. I can't imagine how the story could have been more compelling or enjoyable - the pacing was spot-on, I sympathized with all the characters and liked them, and the whole thing was just beautifully done.

I'm a fan of paranormal YA fiction, and this is among the best I've read - yeah, including Twilight. Definitely pick this one up.

This book gets you turning the pages. The book is about a village that is surrounded by a fence because outside the fences are zombies. Mary, one of the main characters, wants to know what is beyond the forest that surrounds the village. This book is fantasy and has romance. I would recommend this book to teens and adults. I would give this book five stars. It's a really good book, and very interesting.

By Maria

This book reminded me of a spooky movie I saw a few years ago called The Village.
The author created a believable world and built a strong feeling of tension throughout. I didn't find it scary but it was gruesome and sad. I found it compelling and enjoyable but I'm not sure whether I'll read the sequel or not.
I would give this book 3 1/2 stars, but I'm rounding down because I'm really tired of the love triangle element that seems to be a part of every ya novel these days.

Romance with teeth. This zombie novel is young adult, but one that crosses over into the world of adults. While the protagonists are young, I did consider them adults and deal with very adult issues.

When I first started it I cringed a little worried it was going to be a saccharine bittersweet love story, but as it progressed I realized that while love is involved, survival and the dream of a better world is at the heart of this tale.

Great action. Some very visual and disturbing scenes.

I was excited about this book, which was well reviewed by most readers, when I came across it in a search for something similar to the Hunger Games, but I found myself quite disappointed. The story is based on an interesting premise, but the heroine, Mary, unfortunately comes across as unappealingly self-absorbed. Midway through the novel, I began wishing that she would be the one to meet an untimely end, instead of the other characters who die. I gather that she is supposed to come across as spirited, brave, and adventurous, as someone who has a dream that she feels that she must relentlessly pursue, but ultimately she seems like a selfish brat...

Also there are things that just don't make sense - how did she learn to swim, when she lives in the middle of the forest? why did she wait until the last minute when they're about to die and then run around pulling things out of the trunks and scattering pictures everywhere instead of looking through them earlier?

On another note, I listened to the audio version and was unimpressed by the voice of the reader who, compared to many other readers I've heard, had very little range.

The concept for this book is very, very cool with an isolated village fenced off from the Unconsecrated, but the author relies too heavily on the reader being able to envision the setting, so the village and the Cathedral lack being really brought to life. Neither are even fully described. The characters are wooden stereotypes: the rebellious main character, the two good-hearted brothers who both love her, the girl who is both the protagonist's best friend and her competition for her brother of choice. The author also relies on the reader knowing what zombies look like and misses her chance to invoke true horror and display them as vividly for her readers as she should. I was so excited to read this book, but have to admit being more disappointed than thrilled with it.

This is an excellent book. The story is just fantastic, the characters, the descriptions some of the best I have read in a long time. I read this book in one day. I am glad I purchased it on a the advise of a friend and I will be keeping it for my collection of favorites. I enjoyed it so much I immediatly searched out the author to find out when the next book would be released. You will enjoy this book BUT do remember you are reading a young adult book and have a little fun with your imagination.

If you like zombie stories or post-apocalyptic novels, you'll probably like this book. I'm not a huge fan.

The writing is fairly solid, and the story is interesting. I had a few issues with the pacing (it's slow in spots) and with the very abrupt ending that left way too many questions unanswered (forcing us to read the sequel if we want those answers).

All in all, it wasn't bad... but it wasn't great, either. I'd probably only recommend this one to fans of the genre.

Lately I've been on a teenage romantic, happy ending binge, and so when I picked The Forest of Hands and Teeth I wasn't really thinking about how polar opposite it is to what I had been reading. I would say it's a cross between I am Legend, The Village, and (for a more remote reference) the Scifi channel's Roanoke Colony movie.

The story is of the girl Mary, and how she's growing up in a post-apocalyptic society. The world has been over run by the unconsecrated, or you could just call them zombies. (Spoilers ahead) Her society is governed by a group called The Sisterhood, who are dedicated to God and his work. The village is inside an enclosed area, surrounded by a fence to keep them out, but one day they breech the fence and life as she knows it is over. Mary, her brother, her best friend, and two boys from the village leave on a trail to find help, or other living human beings. The novel follows them through their journey, and hard choices they have to make.

I became attached to Mary very quickly, though I still feel that I wasn't completely allowed in to know her as well as I have other fictional characters. Her love interest, Travis, is an interesting twist, especially because the village does not promote love so much as survival of their species, so many get married for the sake of creation (as hinted by the Sisterhood at some parts, it felt very 1984 in that way).

If you're interested in post-apocalyptic books I'd say this is a good one for you. It's very interesting, and I couldn't wait to see what happens. My only complaint is that there is a stretch in the middle where it gets slow and slightly boring, but it's necessary to understand all the characters better. But, if you don't enjoy books that don't have a concrete ending... this may not be the one for you.

I don't DNR books often but this book made me more angry than scared. I have not been this mad at a main character in a long LONG time. I kept wanting the zombies to eat her and put me out of my misery. She's so whiny and an all around bad person. Please don't read this book.

This book seems to just be a patchwork of literary (and film) concepts that have made other works successful. What the reader ends up with is a sappy, Twilight-esque hybrid of Hunger Games and The Walking Dead... yet this book doesn't fully commit to any of those themes, prefering instead to sample them all. Nothing really unique or inspired here; skip it.

Carrie Ryan has created what I believe to be the best recent zombie literature. This novel, the first in a trilogy, centers on a young woman in one of the last surviving colony-like towns that made it past the zombie apocalypse. It would have been easy to write just another zombie apocalypse story. While it is possible, no matter how many novels there are on any subject, to write something completely original, it is difficult to be unique while at the same time becoming an author so successful one can actually say they have an income from writing. Ryan, immensely talented, does this and more.

I have never heard of Carrie Ryan before, so I am going to assume she is a new author. This book was alternately enjoyable and boring, with dull moments that were hard to get passed to the good parts. The main heroine was one that I truly wanted to just throw into the infamous forest, because she didn't see what she had right in front of her. She was resourceful and had a good bit of spine, but that didn't make up for her lack of compassion or restraint. However, with regards to the story, it got wrapped up nicely, but left room for a sequel if the author has a mind to continue. The characters, if the reader got over their flaws, were well-written and developed to the point where you were surprised but not jolted. If that is your style of novel, by all means pick up this book.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth follows protagonist, Mary as she struggles with family obligations, the impending question of marriage, and the oppressive Sisterhood that rules her town. Along with many other readers, I immediately drew parallels between this novel and the movie The Village as well as Cormac McCarthy's The Road.

However, I found the the relationships between Mary, her brother, Jed, and the brothers, Travis and Harry kept the story vivid and moving when it could have easily turned into a cliched version of other post apocalypse tales. A good mix of solid action made relevant by deep relationships between the characters kept The Forest of Hands and Teeth moving for me.

Some readers may be concerned with several parts of the plot that were not fully explained. I was so entranced by the constant action that I managed to ignore some of the plot issues, but other readers may be upset by this.

Also, this novel is best enjoyed as a fast read, to be finished late at night when the wind is making the house creak.

I have to say that I hesitated before buying this book as I am let's just say older than the usual person to read this type of book. Okay now once I started reading I could not stop and when I say this I mean it. It has been a while since a book has grabbed my attention as this one did. I stayed up till three in the morning reading it and rushed out to the store to buy the other two books in the series. It is refreshing to read a book for young adults that is meant for pre-teen and teenagers. What I meant by that is it is a clean read, nothing that a young adult should not read. I finished all three books faster than I would have liked as now I want more. Carrie Ryan, can we have more please.The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Mary is living in an isolated village surrounded by a forest filled with the unconsecrated. She dreams of visiting the ocean. She must choose between staying, leaving, and choose who she really loves. The Forest of Hands and Teeth had some thrilling, action packed parts. Although parts of the story were disappointing and vague, it was overall a pretty good book. It's definitely a real page turner. I'm not jumping to read the second book, but i would if I had the chance.

First let me rant: There is no way the characters making up the backstory of this book could actually be catagorized as "survivors". Let me see, they have a fence and guards to watch for breaches, but they just let these threatening zombies roam and clamor against the fence and not take any of them out. And as if that's not completely implausible -they actually add to the zombie population. Hmmm...there's this major threat to survival that continues to outnumber us, but let's give the newly infected a choice to join the threatening ranks against us. Really? Does that sound like something a sane person would do? I almost threw the book against the wall when Harry was shooting those arrows from the tree to the house in order to send a letter to Mary. Who would waste all those arrows to send a note that says nothing but "what now"? Why not take out twenty zombies, instead of wasting twenty arrows? These idiots were dumber than the zombies.

Okay. I feel better now. Honestly I didn't enjoy the writing. The premise was grabbing and from reading the above interview I guess perhaps my expectations may have been a little high, but the story failed me. I couldn't grasp at the beginning why Mary's mom would have made the choice that she made, but halfway through the book I could empathize. Either she felt the same way about Mary as I did (little to no emotional attachent) or she was just as wishy-washy as Mary was. I could not get attached to any of the characters. Plus the repetitive, choppy sentence fragments. The kind that repeat. The ones that go on and on. Those sentences that stop. And break up the flow. But really say nothing. Except, I assume, try to emphasize the importance of whatever thought or emotion Mary is grappling with at that moment. The repetition just made me think she was trying to convince herself of something, that it wasn't actually being used to convey her feelings.

I am glad a lot of people did enjoy this book, but it just wasn't for me. I have yet to start a series and not finish it (and I have read quite a few -on average 3 books a week) so sadly this will be a first. But I'm taking DEAD TOSSED WAVES off of my wish list. Happy reading to all!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a warmhearted story about a girl named Mary(who is late teens.) She's lived in her small village all of her life. The Sisters in the villiage convince everyone that there is nothing behond the Unconsacrated fence. Everyone believes them, but Mary is certain that there is an ocean, like in the stories her mother used to tell her.
After the fence is breached, Unconsacrated roam the small villiage, looking for people to bite(if they bite you, then you become one of them.) But Mary, her fiance, her brother and his wife, her fiance's brother, Mary's best friend and a little boy run passed the gates, before any Unconsacrated could get them. Almost everyone thinks that there is not an ocean, but Mary still believes. Will somehow Mary find the ocean that may not exist?

This story is a story about survival and this story will leave you wondering: "When can I read the second book?"

I can't believe so many people love this book.

Why would those living within the fence in constant danger of a breach, not systemmatically take these slow moving zombies out one by one? Not only do they not thin the population of zombies out, they add to it by releasing those killed by the zombies back into the forest? Also if they run out of steam and tear themselves apart after a short time, where are the constant flow of new zombies coming from? Even if you buy the premise of zombies, the story seems to go against human nature in that all the humans do is build a fence and don't try to do anything to eliminate the threat.

I thought this book was very good and enjoyed reading it. Yes, the main character was selfish, reckless, and fickle like a lot of us are at that age. The descriptions of the state of the world bring a visual picture to mind and almost take you there. The ending was a little disappointing and very sad although, you do find out more of what happened to the characters who lived in the 2nd book... It is definitely not written in the style of a romance with everything working out in the end, characters being together, etc.

The writing is really great in this novel, Carrie Ryan does a wonderful job of builing the world Mary has been trapped into after the great apocalyptic disaster that turned the rest of the population into zombies. This novel reminds me a lot of "I am Legend", Mary may not be literally alone in her condition, but she feels the same confining strictures that Robert Neville felt about the society she is in. The novel remains three stars because despite the great writing because of two elements first, the Sisterhood is creepy and cultish and the story is dark, sad, poignant with hardly any hopefulness or light.

I really just felt that the writing did not take me away in this book. The story was interesting but I never had that feeling of being tied to the characters and they felt too immature for the storyline and setting. It had potential with the whole zombie mania going on in the entertainment world, but I just found myself rolling my eyes through the entire thing.

I'm giving this book one star, because in any book, it's all about the character development. It started out great, a similar plot line that reminded me of The Village. Village in the middle of no where, everyone is afraid to go outside the limits, think world has gone to hell. Even so I could get to like the book if it had proper character development. What I couldn't stand was, the love interest. No one falls in love after and accident, for no reason. A person of strong religious faith, DOES NOT lose faith after someone dies. I stopped reading when they just "had" to be together. All the freaking time. characters were generally undeveloped, didn't always react logically. I'm going to take a shot in the dark and guess there was a man in the authors life that she liked, that chose another girl.

I bought this book several months ago, along with many others to take with me when I went to England. I never got a round to reading until recently, which I must say is my own misfourtune because this is a truly phenominal book. I was at the edge of my seat until 5am reading 'The Forest of Hands and Teeth.' Ms. Ryan did a brilliant job with the story line, the characters and emotions of the book are well developed. There is a hint of predictability to the story but the other is still good at throwing a surprise in here and there.
The story revolves around Mary, who dreams of one day seeing the ocean. When her little world comes crashing down around her, she searches to uncover the secrest of the Sisterhood and the Guardians. To top things off the Unconsecrated (people overcome by a virus, like a zombie) break through the fences, sending Mary and her friends including the boys she loves and the boy who loves her, fleeing for her life. Does Mary find the ocean? Does she follow her heart? Read this book and find out. I will definetly be recommending this book to all my friends! :)

I love the pretense for this novel--future world where little village is surrounded by zombies. I was disappointed by the selfishness of the main character ... I MUST FIND THE OCEAN at any expense. However, I think quite a few of my teen students will enjoy the romance and adventure. If you want to know about the downfalls of this novel, read the 1-star reviews. Many perfectly explain the negatives of this book.

I may be a freak to some, but I loved this book. As I was reading I pictured the setting similar to that of the movie The Village (which I also love). It takes place in a small village surrounded by a fenced barrier to keep the unconsecrated out. The unconsecrated are basically zombies who will stop at nothing to try to eat you! They are kept at bay in a forest that surrounds the village, but you are constantly aware of their presence, which keeps this book thrilling.

I learned after reading this book that every story can't always go the way I want them to, and believe me I kept waiting for the happily ever after that didn't come. But in the end I didn't mind, Mary had escaped and the story will continue. The only thing I would change would be a part with a zombie baby. I'm a mom of a brand new baby girl and I could have done without the sorrow of seeing what a world full of zombies would do to the most vulnerable. But that one scene in this post-apocalyptic thriller won't keep me away from the sequel. I can't wait to read it...mine is on the way as I type!!!

This was a great book.I have not read a book that made me not want to sleep at night in a long time, but this book did it. It had me sitting in a chair with all the lights on,but at the same time I could not put it down. There were so many twist and turns just like the maze in the woods. And the feelings some of the people felt had me going too. I felt so sorry for her brother when he lost his wife and unborn kid. The ending had me mad though, she loses her brother and doesn't know if he alive or dead, come on what happen to the others. I am happy she found someone on the outside though.

I made a real effort to read this book, just because, and I am left creeped out and just kinda scared of a zombie apocalypse. I don't like scary movies, and it took me a while to realize this was about zombies (this is my first zombie book and I didn't read the synopsis) oh man. Never again, although I did feel unsatisfied and wanting more, I'm too scared too. Oh poo.

Wow!! If you love watching the walking dead, this is for you! It was just so intriguing I couldn't put the book down. All I wanted to do was finish it so I can begin the next one. There were moments where my hands started to sweat and clench as I kept reading. Amazing! The book has great details that keep you wanting more. It will make you feel all kinds of emotions. Sadness, happy, fear, anger, etc. Read!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Normally, I would never pick up a 'zombie' book and had to almost force myself to get this. However, from the moment I opened the book up and started reading I couldn't put it down. It was an amazing story of survival, love, adventure, and despair. I was scared, I laughed, and I cried. There aren't very many books that can bring out all three of those emotions in me,and gets high praise from me when it can(it's all I can really ask for when I read, and more than I expect). It's an amazing story that is sure to keep you up at night reminiscing.

Zombies, Zombies everywhere, and they only want to eat! This is NOT your boyfriend's zombie book. It's not full of gruesome death scenes, science, or even a lot of violence. This is the story of Mary, a young woman living generations after the Zombie Apocalypse, and her desire to find out what lies beyond the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

As if life growing up with the ever constant threat of zombie invasion isn't hard enough, add to that some Puritanical ideals, a forbidden romance, dark secrets, and the overwhelming desire to be the master of your own destiny, and you will have but a fraction of what this book offers.

After struggling with the loss of her family, Mary joins the Sisterhood, an order of Nuns whose sole purpose is to provide and care for their community. During her devotion/ training period she not only falls dangerously in love but also uncovers some very dark secrets that cause the ruin of her community. Her faith in God gone, she regains her childhood belief that there must be more to the world than her town and the surrounding forest. Through a series of events, not of her own design, she is thrust on a journey taking her into the very heart of the forest and beyond.

I'm not sure if it was the book itself or my own personal drama but the whole story seems to be dreary. Maybe it's just the cover design that makes it so. That aside, it was a wonderful story with a little bit of everything, and I recommend it.

First, this is my first review. I felt so compelled to write it because I want everyone to know how amazing The Forest of Hands and Teeth is. Kudos to Carrie Ryan who pulled off a zombie apocalyptic horror novel into a breathtaking, tear-jerking story. In the beginning I was a little disappointed, I'll admit because it seemed a little slow and not all too romantic. But you'll find out later in the book that once the action and emotions begin to rain down, they flood your mind! I was literally scared, nervous, and crying throughout this book. It pulls at all your emotions while disguised as a futuristic zombie nightmare. I recommend this book to anyone who likes horror, laughter, friendship, adventure, and love. I will honestly never forget how this book made me feel.

I took a chance and decided to give this book a try. I'm really glad I did. The author, Carrie Ryan, hooked me immediately. I've since read The Dead Tossed Waves and The Dark and Hollow Places. All three books were ridiculously compelling. I lent the books to several friends after convincing them that they really would enjoy a "zombie" trilogy. They all loved them. We are all hoping for a fourth book.

This book took me an extremely long time to read. I would stop frequently and read other books and then come back hoping this one would get better...It didn't.
There are spoilers below.
I found this book lacking in almost everyway. The prose, while managed to maintain a flow the entire book wasn't intriguing and didn't give me a clear view of what I was suppose to be experience. One of the biggest problems however lies in the characters.
The protagonist Mary seemed like others have mentions unrealistically selfish. At one point her entire village has just been wiped out by a zombie attack and all she cares about is the boy she loves. Really? I couldn't connect with that level of selfishness. What makes it worse is that instead of maturing she sort of stays the same. Continuously wanting after things that she can't have. It made her so annoying. The entire time I read the book I couldn't help but wonder where her priorities were.

I also found fault with the plot, which isn't really that new but did hold some originality.

Plot: The village where Mary lived is perhaps the only village left in the world unaffected by the unconsecrated (infected humans who have turned into zombies). The village is dominated by the views of group called the Sisterhood, who sort of use religion to hold the entire village together. The village has adapted to the their situation and is surrounded by high reaching fences that keep out the unconsecrated. When the unconsecrated do sneak in the villagers escape to platforms where the zombie people can't reach. Anyway one attack proves too much for the village and Mary and a few people escape down a path. The rest of the book follows their adventures and quest for survival.

Her companions include her best friend Cass, who seemed remarkably flat to me with no development at all. We are told about Cass personality but I couldn't really see it. Cass is like a ray of sunshine; ok but how about an event or moment that demonstrates this. And what makes Cass tick anyway? Where's her back-story? I feel like I needed a bit more to connect with her character and I never received it.

Another companion I found equally as frustrating was Travis. I simply couldn't see the attraction to him. He's described as handsome numerous times but what else makes him special. Mary's infatuation with him seemed rather shallow. He remains a cardboard cut out the entire book, with absolutely no growth in his character. I, the reader really feel neutral towards him. I mean we don't even find out his favorite color or what's the driving force behind his character. He's just sort of there.

Harry his brother who tags along suffers from the same thing. I mean he seemed to fall in the predictable best friend lust after heroine mold, with absolutely no defining feature. I wasn't the slightest bit surprised to discover early on that he loved Mary. Though I'm not sure how this is at all possible because she's just so damn annoying. Anyway Harry loves Mary and will do anything to make her happy, yet she continuously treats him like complete and total crap. Yet this doesn't change him in the slightest.....? I am also kinda confused as to why Mary didn't love Harry.... What little of a connection they seemed to have seemed stronger than the one she had with Travis.. Harry like Travis ultimately fails as a character. I can barely describe him cause I feel like the author failed to define him enough. He's also is sort of just there.

Mary and her obsession with the ocean???? WHAT??? How did this rank in her top priorities?
Stories that her mother told her of the ocean is Mary's motivation for continuing down the path. I have to say that I didn't really get it. I understand that she was close to her mother and these stories meant a lot to her...but come on. I also understand that the ocean represent something untouched by the infected in her mind ... but...the ocean isn't going to solve her problems. It won't bring back her mother or others that have turned. What will she do when she gets there???? It just seemed stupid and childish. A more logical destination would be perhaps the location of the cure for being a zombie. I mean that would just have made so much more sense and seemed practical.

The questions that weren't answered served to make the book an even less pleasurable read.
The secrets of the Sisterhood?
What are they?
Mary remains extremely suspicious and at the beginning searches for answers. At one point it's revealed that the Guardians are required by the sisterhood to stock the path outside of the village... Why? If they expected the overrun of the village why was there no instructions of where to go?
Do they know where the infection came from?
What did they do to Gabrielle? Where there experimentations or what?
Why was she kept a secret, did they not want to give hope to the villagers?
Where exactly did Gabrielle come from?
Why was Gabrielle the only fast zombie?
The book was at it's strongest when the Sisterhood was involved....

How was the fence continuously breaches and why did the guardians not do something. I mean I guess they repaired the fences but how did the zombie people keep breaking through? Why wasn't more done?

The end...
WHAT HAPPENED TO EVERYONE ELSE BESIDES MARY...
What happens to Mary....and why do we care that she's at the ocean....?
I feel like I'm actually leaving out other complaints but this is getting long so I'll stop. I wouldn't really recommend this book to anyone there are definitely stronger YA novels.

I ordered 'Forest of Hands and Teeth' when it first came out, intrigued by its prepublication hype. My teenage daughter snatched it up as soon as it arrived and read it before I could get my hands on it. Her reaction to the book was rather tepid, surprising since she usually likes dystopian fantasies. Based on her lack of enthusiasm I put the book on the shelf where it sat for a few months until I noticed that it was getting some pretty high praise from the literary blogosphere. Figuring I'd better see for myself, I picked it up. I shouldn't have bothered.

The book's beginning showed promise. The setting is a small village in a forest that is surrounded by `unconsecrated' (aka 'zombies'). The villagers are protected by a network of fences that surround the village and keep out the unconsecrated. The villagers are ruled by a theocratic order of women (the Sisterhood) and a quasi-military group (The Guardians) whose job it is to maintain the fences and protect the villagers from incursions by the unconsecrated. The Sisterhood maintained a strict society in the village where a girl who comes of age must either marry and bear children or enter the Sisterhood. As the story develops Mary, the main character, does the latter and learns that all is not as it appears in the order.

If the author had chosen to follow along these plotlines then the book might have turned out better but, as we all know, there is nothing like unrequited love or zombies to muck up an orderly existence. Rather than investigating the Sisterhood's secrets, Mary gets herself embroiled in a tedious romantic mess involving best friends and fiancé's brothers. Then the zombies break through the fence and the rest of the story is one long running battle to escape the unconsecrated and get to someplace safe. Even this might be interesting if the author had given the character's more personality than she gave the zombies. With books, if you don't care about the characters, then it's unlikely that you will care what's happening to them. When I start leafing through a book to see how many pages are left, it is not a good sign.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is brilliant. Carrie Ryan has written a story saturated with emotion and atomosphere, love and hate, and most of all, it's memorable. This is not your average zombie book folks. I loved that Carrie Ryan wrote a YA paranormal/sci-fi/romance and yet the monsters were scary and not part of the romance. Lately all YA is concerned with loving the sympathetic monsters. Well, I'm pretty sure no one will want to be kissing these zombies. It was refreshing and original and I couldn't put it down. It's the perfect mix of adventure, mystery, and romance to keep anyone reading late into the night.

I would have enjoyed the book much more if I liked the protagonist. Unfortunately, she came across as dim-witted, over-dramatic and selfish.

At the beginning of the book, we are led to believe she cares about others. There is a scene in which she stays all night on the other side of the fence, watching and waiting for her mother to turn into an Unconsecrated. But by the end of the story, we come to discover, though she may care about others, Mary is narcisstic and selfish to the point that she would jeapordize the lives of everyone around her to get what she wants--namely, to see the ocean.

For a first novel, the work was well-written and had a few good plot points. The story suffered in characterization.

I believe the author attempted to build up Mary's character by giving other characters negative traits that made her look better. Unfortunately, it did not work. The story came off as another zombie tale with minimal story-telling skill and an unlikable protagonist.

Though I dislike giving bad ratings, this is not a book I would recommend.

I'm not going to lie, at first I thought I wouldn't like this book. But once I got further along, i found that I completely enjoyed this book. Several times I found myself laughing along with the characters, getting angry with them, and crying with them. Some scenes still have me feeling baffled. Over all it was a very emotional book, and I highly recommend it.

This book packed some punch. I was surprised at the level of terror it evolved. At times I couldn't put it down b/c it was so intense. I was not prepared for the level of sorrow and devastation that occurred in this book. This author didn't hold back.

There are so many things about this book that I loved...well, it's hard for me to really put them into words.

FHT is incredible. I'm in love with it. All I want to do is reread it again and again. Carrie Ryan has written a book that is too powerful, too emotional, too GOOD to put down. Mary, the main character, LEAPS from the pages. She's vivd and human and real and HER VOICE. OMG. So lyric and wanting and REAL.

And the romance, it slayed me. I can't say much without giving away the farm, but it's one of the most powerful romances I've read in my life. And, as a romance author, I've read a fair amount of romance.

I can't WAIT for the sequel to the book. Get a move on, Delacorte

I recently read the Forest of Hands and Teeth. It was one of the better books I have read in a long time. The book is romance novel about zombies that keeps you turning the page. It is based on the world after a zombie apocalypse and what is left of our society. This is one book that kept me on the edge of my seat. I finished this book the first day I got it and I am definitely interested in reading the rest of the series.

i would have bought this paperback for the cover alone. fortunately the story is even better. i'm not usually a fan of girly books but enough recommendations from my friends finally convinced me. the forest of hands and teeth isn't exactly girly, either. it's a coming of age story but mary is tough and great. you want her to be free. this book is a nice twist on the zombie story.

It's been a while since I've read this book so forgive me if I get some things wrong.

Let me start off by saying that I actually liked this book at first. Mary was pretty cool and I felt so bad for her because of the way she was being treated. No one seems to have any love for her and everyone keeps calling her selfish. She just lost her mom and no one seems to care. And to top it all off, everyone is against her being with the guy she loves. I think his name was Travis...

Anyway, this whole story went down the toilet around the time their village was attacked. I was starting to see why everyone called Mary so selfish. Because she was. She was fickle about everything too. At first she wanted Travis(?) and when she finally got him, she didn't want him anymore! That's what pissed me off the most. She had spent most of the first half of the book whining about how much she wanted him and how it was unfair that she could be with him and once they finally got to be together, he wasn't enough for her. I think she always wants what she can't have.

But back to the story. It didn't make a whole lot of sense. I wish the author would've given us a history lesson on how Mary's world came to be. Like when did the Unconsecrated become the Unconsecrated? What was so special about that girl with her red jacket or whatever besides the fact that she was faster than the other zombies? Why was she faster? And so many other questions.

The characters didn't have much personality and were basically interchangeable. I didn't get why Travis liked Mary or why Travis's brother who's name escapes me, likes her either. I was happy when he moved on to Mary's friend.

I didn't even finish this book. After I got about halfway through I skipped through the rest of the book out of pure frustration and irritation with Mary. She quickly made her way on to my list of characters that I hate. She did so many selfish things but still was so surprised when people called her selfish! It made no sense!

All in all, this book was extremely disappointing. If you want to read it, check it out at the library and do not waste your money on it. I will not be reading anymore books in this series.

"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?"

Review: I had high standards for this book. While the summary less than caught my eye when I first heard about it, I expected it to be captivating based off of so many positive reviews and awards. Sadly, I may be the few and the only ones who did not come to love this book. So just tally this up with The Hunger Games, and John Green, because I have a feeling I shall face many comments about my review (or will you all avoid this train wreck waiting to happen?)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth had too much going on at the same time. The romance had no true beginning, it was a mess of nothing. It was mentioned that she craved for Travis, but no real background as to why. She later pushes through the story without explaining anything between the two. Mary keeps mentioning how much she loves Travis but yet, I saw no actual development between them. Yes. They had a few scenes where they connect but I feel like I still do not understand why they are so love with each other. Harry was, however, a better match I felt at times. Granted, not always but I got a deeper connection between the two (Mary and Harry) rather than Travis.

This brings us to the characters. I thought that while Mary was the main character, she was one of the weakest. I felt that her drive, her motivation was superficial. She only thought of the ocean, of Travis, of her survival. To me, she was selfish. Granted, she may have some tenderness and care in certain scenes but overall I just was not all that fairly compassionate towards her. To say the least, the majority of the character I felt no true sense of connection. They either died too quickly before anything really big started, or they just fell. Hard. However, I did feel like Mary's brother Jed, was great. I liked his depth, his emotions, and his desire. I love his need to protect Beth but also his reaction to the turn of their mother and how the situation was ironical similar.

The plot in general I had issues with. The plot sounded wonderful but the execution lacked. The author tried to do too many things all at once. She tried romance, thriller, mystery, action, and adventure. This only created an awkward situation together. I felt if she focused on some of these genres then she would have succeeded, but for now, I felt she rambled on at certain areas trying to contain it all. It was only about how way through the novel did the story finally picked up--that the actual Unconsecrated (just a fancy term for zombies) attacked. Every now and then, there were golden scenes that was perfect and that was one of the starting points for me. Another was the Sisterhood and Mary's short time confinement with them. I actually happened to love that. The secrets, the crazy loons, and the secret rendezvous. I guess what I love most about it was that Mary had more dimension while she was there. It was where it was mostly centered on one action or genre which made the most sense in my mind.

The background information that the story provided was in the first half. I felt that it was great she (Carrie Ryan) included it all in there, to inform the reader of the world before. It gave great insight, great detail, and a better understanding of the village and the causes of the entire Forest of Hands and Teeth. However, I did felt that there some things in there that could have been taken off. Again, it was the ramblings that dragged the story on too long.

The ending. It was, I guess it was an ending if you can call it that. I felt it was more of a hastily ending to keep the reader wanting more for the sequel. It was too abrupt, left too many unanswered questions.

Besides all of that, the writing was beautifully done--great analogies, detailed descriptions of scenes, and a brutal and honest tone, albeit sometimes dull. Carrie Ryan created a post-apocalyptic world that fulfills every fantasy lovers dream. With its intricate world, detailed plot, and gruesome action, Forest of Hands and Teeth will captivate many.

Overall: Sad and disappointed. Will still keep this in my bookshelf because it is a series, so that means I will hopefully read the next part and maybe a lot of my questions will be answered. Like the Luxe series, I'm crossing my fingers that this series will progress in a better direction.

Carrie Ryan has a beautiful way of stringing words together. I really enjoyed her take on the zombie genre. I also appreciated how the focus was truly on the survivors and not on a thousand different ways to bash a skull in.

The plot here is strangely similar to that of the Knife of Never Letting Go, released six months before this book. In both an autocratic ruling class after a future worldwide disaster tries to create an insular community and hides the evidence that there is any world outside the dystopia they have created for reasons that are never very clear. In this book it is the Church that controls every aspect of life and condemns to a living death any proof that there is an outside world. While the scenario seems promising at the beginning, scene after scene of zombie attacks and narrow escapes become quite tiresome. The protagonist, with her twin obsessions of finding the ocean and pursuing her fiance's brother, quickly becomes tiresome as well. The simplistic attack on Christianity as the source of all fanaticism was also fairly unenlightening. For older teens.

Comparing FHT to other zombie works is like saying my cat and my dog are the same species because they live in the same house.
Carrie is brilliant, concise, and creates a beauty of a story that will scare you but also leave an aching that lasts throughout the story as you connect with Mary.
This won't suit everyone's tastes. The ones it will, I guarantee, will devour it like tasty brains. (NOM!) I'm led to believe some of these negative reviews about unanswered question stem from those who didn't realize this would be a series. Dead Tossed Waves will be out in March 2010 and I can't be more excited.
Carrie, bravo. You are, undoubtedly, the queen of the Unconsecrated. (Which is actually a compliment)

I felt that I had slogged through the mud and fought the the Unconsecrated alongside protagonist, Mary, in this bleak novel about the struggle for survival in a apocalyptic future. There were so few moments of happiness, accomplishment, or even just serenity that I found my own usually optimistic outlook being drug down into a feeling of despair.... and I'm an adult. The fact that this novel is being marketed for young adults whose emotions have not been tamed, scares me. Young adults, for the most part, are not able to see that in times of darkness, the light will inevitably come again. And this book reinforces that feeling of hopelessness from which many teens suffer. The writing is good, though. I just don't recommend it to anyone who is already depressed.

I had high hopes for this book (I'm a sucker for cool covers). Such a great concept with so many different ways to take it. But all the story lines sort of fizzled. I stopped caring about the romance (he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not) long before she did. Her moby dick like obsession with the ocean (the ocean is awesome but get a grip already) was a second hand passion. I could empathize with the main character but I ended up not liking her much. But then again, this is a post-apocalyptic world and maybe the author didn't want to make a cut and dry plot with cookie cutter characters. The characters did have depth, even the zombies (sorry, the Unconsecrated) and the story wasn't patronizing to the readers. Some things don't always work out and we'll probably suffer the consequences of our actions someday. But yeah, not the feel good novel of the year.

This book was great. It was very suspenseful and exciting!. There was no slow part in the whole book. It stated out with a bang and it only escalated from there. I never wanted to put it down. There was not one dull part. I am not usually a fan of this type of book yet I give 5 stars to this one. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes zombies or just wants a fun, exciting read.

I checked this book out from the library while waiting on my daughter to pick out a book for school. I fell madly in love with the characters, troubles, frustrations and drama (bleeding hearts of the world unite!). I also fell in love with the author's writing style and actively sought out the sequel. *LOVED IT*

Ugh! POSSIBLE SPOILERS-------- First of all, it was written in the wrong tense. It just didn't work for this novel, because the author is not that great. There was maybe 1% fo dialogue, and reading it, I can see why the author was afraid to use it. So, we're left with 4-word conversations, which didn't explain anything and were pointless.

Little hints were dropped, which amounted to nothing. Characters said things they had no way of backing up. Nothing was ever explained, like where Gabrielle came from, what really happened, what the nuns were keeping a secret, why they threw Gabrielle outside, what the other doors led to, did the Nuns make it out alive, the paths were supposedly stocked with food, but they only came to one trunk of food. Why didn't people on the outside help them? What about technology? Why did no helicopters fly over the villages, or why didn't they drop atomic bombs in the affected areas. I HATED the ending. It was just dumb, dumb, dumb.

The so-called love triangle was one of the worse I've read. I should give it one star, but I did finish it, so I'll give it two. I won't be reading anything else by this author again.

For a book that's supposed to be about a female heroine, there sure were a lot of men, thinking about men, fighting over men, and men talking. It completely lacked empowerment. I won't be reading the rest of this series, that's for sure.

This book was a little strange, very gory and frightning too. It was a little confusing, and the characters outlook on things was kinda twisted. (in my opinion). It was hard to follow and there was some nasty things that happened to the characters. I was confused as to how far in the future, and at first if it was really even in the future. It was a pretty quick read, but it was hard to read. Because so much happened in the book, but it was only like a short time for the characters, if that makes sense. And yeah the title is cool in a creepy way, and the cover is kinda coeird, but that definately does not ensure it is a good book. I would recomend this book to those, who like creepy books. That are strange and bloody, and who may have a fetish with zombies. Anyone else I'm not to sure.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first Zombie book I have ever read and I am happy that I did. The plot sounds very promising and if held to its promise. But, to say there was an equal amount of love and zombie conflict would be a lie. Mary, the main character, is the most selfish, idiotic, and annoying character that I have ever had as the main character in a book. It amazes me that even though people are dying all around her, she can only focus on a guy. If it wasn't for the amount of people dropping dead on every page, I wouldn't have been able to read the book. For example, *Some dies* Mary: "OMG! I wish I was in Travis' arms soooo much!" *A massive zombie outbreak* Mary: "I wish she would get her hands off of him! He's mine" *Family member dies* Mary: "Travis is so cute!" Seriously, I wanted to punch this girl in the face. I was also annoyed about how painfully fragile Cass was. But other than that, this was a great book :D

There were such mixed reviews about this book that I didn't know what to expect. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with it. I didn't know that a book about zombies could be so full of feeling. I will definitely be checking out the other books in this series.

I was really excited when I found this book and read the sample. It sounded awesome but then it turned into a crappy love triangle with too many questions.

I have so many problems with Mary. She is selfish, shallow, and boring. Her love with Travis triangle is just plain annoying. Despite having grown up with him, she loves him for no reason. Yet, she is so obvious you wonder how no one picked up on it.She is whiny, needy, and just plain selfish. Granted her she just lost her parents and her brother kicked her out, but she is just horrible.

It gets a little better when she goes one the journey, but you never feel for the characters.

While this book was my least favorite in the series, it was still a great read, and necessary to start the story. I found it to drag a little in some places, but the overall series story makes it totally worth it! Would recommend this series to anyone that likes suspensful, scary books!

The premise for this novel had SO much potential. What really gripped me through the book were the secrets of the sisterhood and the real history of the return, all things that the author built up quite well but never explained. That left me quite irked at the end. I absolutely hate reading a book and thinking at the end, "Wow, this could have been so much better." Which is exactly what I thought after I finished this book. This single book could have easily been two had the author taken the time to develop the story and the characters more. The month or so that Mary spends with Travis in the house is mostly just skipped over and summarized; we don't see the connection between them or the progression of their relationship. It was annoying.
I'm not saying I wish I'd never read this book; it was interesting and held me as a captive audience (however I think that was because I was waiting for my expectations to be met). I'm interested to see what the second book has to offer.

It should be noted that I have not finished this (audio) book, but I am only a little bit into it and I ABSOLUTELY HATE the narration!! The reader is so monotone and it is hard to distinguish the exciting, intense parts of the book from the normal part of the story. I'm very frustrated!!

Mary is part of a small fenced village that has built safety within a forest filled with Unconsecrated (zombies). But the village is not the utopia that Mary once thought, and she longs to know what lies outside its walls and beyond the forest. The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a very well-intentioned failure. It has a strong premise, lots of potential for a good story, and Ryan tries to convey a number of themes--but plot goes unexplored while themes are hammered home, and all of it is crippled by a boring and unconvincing voice. I wanted to like this book, but I found it a slog and a disappointment. I don't recommend it.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth could have been a good book. It has a promising premise: not a zombie apocalypse but a zombie dystopia, where survivors live their lives in the midst of relentless undead. It's a dark, claustrophobic setting, and there are plenty of directions for growth: the true nature of the village's would-be utopia, Mary's dreams of the world outside, and the struggle to build life (and love) while surrounded by death. Unfortunately, Ryan makes vague gropes in all of these directions and never reaches far enough in any one of them. The secrets of the village are comically exaggerated conspiracies which ultimately go unexplored. Mary's desire to leave the village is often fulfilled in twists of fate rather than self-direction, which saps the protagonist's autonomy and makes the plot feel chaotic. And Mary's struggle to build life within death becomes an clichéd love triangle between wooden characters. There's too much plot and none of it explored to satisfaction.

The writing style is also a hopeful failure. First person present tense could convey the frantic events and claustrophobic environment, even the hopefulness of love, but instead Ryan too often tells rather than shows and Mary's experiences and emotions are so simply laid out that they are stripped of any subtlety and veracity. The narrative becomes a monotony of "I saw, I did, I felt"--simply said, it's boring. Ryan tries to infuse her concept, her plot, and her protagonist with greater meaning, and these themes of hope and knowledge are all very promising, but they too lack subtly. Like Mary's emotions, the themes reappear so often and so blatantly that they quickly become frustrating, redundant, empty words. If Ryan had narrowed the scope of the plot, had toned down the themes, had a more realistic voice and characters, this book could have been good. It certainly has a lovely title. Unfortunately, Ryan did none of these things, and despite its potential The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a disappointment. I don't recommend it.

I was shocked to see all the bad reviews for this book but as I was reading them I realised that all of them where expecting some kind of twilight book. This is a horror book foremost before a romance, just because this genre of horror love story is suddenly so popular people seem to expect them all to be the same. I found it refreshing that the outcomes are not like what people have come to expect. If every book is written to have the same outcome then there would be no point to them.

I was so disappointed by this book. I spent half the novel wondering what the real topic was. Was it about the sisterhood and their terrible lies and deeds? About the love of Mary's life? Finding the ocean? It seemed as though Ryan didn't know either. I had a hard time believing that there were people who loved Mary despite her selfish obsession with having whatever seemed impossible for her to have. When she finally made it to the ocean, had lost everything and found nothing, she's content. I would never recommend this book to anyone, unless it's to point out characters who lack the feel of real people, and the stupid choices of a young girl who doesn't know what she wants from one moment to the next.

This is a good book to read if you can't sleep. It will put you out in no time. Mary the main character needs a back bone. She does not stand up for herself. She want's Travis and when she gets him she is still not happy. Her brother Jed is an idiot and abusive. I can't believe he turns his back on her. Then when trouble starts he wants to be her brother again. And she ran right for him. This book suck's.

I gave this book 2 stars because the premise was original and the prose was lovely. Having said that I came away from this book completely dissatisfied. So many questions were simply left unanswered. So many plot lines left hanging. For example, (spoiler alert)

-why did her father leave the village?
-why does her mother expect him to come back?
-how can her brother be so dismissive and cruel to her?
-what secrets the sisters are keeping?
-how did the villagers gather livestock and expand the fence?
-who was Gabrielle and why did the sister's keep her a secret?
-why was Gabrielle extra fast?
-how was the fence in Mary's village breached?
-what's up with Travis and why if he loved Mary all along did he propose to Cass?
-why was communication cut off between the villages?
-how was Gabrielle's village breached?
-why if the zombies hunger for human flesh do they simply bite and move on, with out devouring their prey?
-why don't all the zombies eventually run out of steam like Gabrielle. Are they being replenished in some way?

I kept turning pages hoping for answers only to be confronted with another zombie attack. It wasn't creepy, it was just boring. And the romance. Yuck. Nothing real there, just lust and when that burns out Mary loses interest. I really wanted to like this book but there was no payoff in the end.

Mary! Despite that hurdle, the atmosphere is great. But there are just way too many loose threads. **Spoiler Alert** Why does Harry not speak up and ask to marry Mary until so much later? Why does Mary not demand an answer? Why does Travis not show up in the nick of time to prevent Mary from having to marry Harry? Again why does Mary settle for "Oh Mary, Mary!" as a non-answer? What "secrets" are the sisters hiding? What did they do to Gabrielle? I really don't know if I will read the next book, I'm so annoyed.

I thought this book was very well written although sometimes I got a bit frustrated at the lack of dialogue. I know it is written in first person but sometimes this just seemed to drag the story out. I didn't particularly like Mary as a person or care about the romance within the book but I thought it was a change from your usual zombie stories. I didn't feel particularly happy with the ending of Mary's story but yes, it did make me eager to read on which is why I downloaded the second instalment straight away.

I love a good zombie story, or stories of a worldwide cataclysm that leaves a small group of characters struggling for survival. If those stories are well-written and thoughtful, you'll get an idea of what's really important when all the insignificant clutter of life is stripped away. If they're not, you get "The Forest of Hands and Teeth".

In this book, you do have a group of survivors, but the longer you know them, the less you actually want them to survive. Especially the protagonist and narrator, Mary, who may be one of the most foolish and self-centered heroines I've seen in a long time. Mary is so consumed by her obsession with Travis that she doesn't even seem aware of her obligations to her family or community. I kept waiting for her to stop whining and take some responsibility, but it never happened.

I kept reading to the end because I had questions. I received no answers and few actual clues. I suppose this is setting us up for a second book. Somebody let me know how that goes - I'd rather walk through a zombie-filled forest than meet up with Mary again.

I didn't really enjoy this book very much. A large majority of the book was very predictable, though there were a few unexpected twists. It was originally very hard to get into but slowly got better as the book progressed. Despite not enjoying this book as much as I thought I would, I would be willing to give the other books in the trilogy a chance.

I started off reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth and loving the atmosphere and setting the author imbued. There was a great mysterious conspiracy air to it all. But then something odd happened past the first hundred pages. The great mysterious air dissapeared and - is this possible - the main character went from very real to very flat. The more I read the less it drew me in and the more paper cut the other characters seemed. When one of the other main characters in the novel dies I found that I simply didn't care and when the story ends in a HUGE cliffhanger I closed the book without feeling any urge whatsoever to pick up the next book in the series. And that my friends is the sign of a mediocre book, because I can't tell you how many times i've read the next book in a series because I liked ONE character and wanted to see what that ONE character did even while knowing the rest of the storyline was weak. If it weren't for the great beginning this would be getting two stars instead of three, but as it is, when the "twists" came and the story finally ended i found that I just didn't care.

I was truly looking forward to reading this book. Great premise, rave reviews. Unfortunately, I was disappointed.

First of all, I truly disliked the writing style. Present tense writing can do wonders in skillful hands (see Wake, Fade by Lisa McMann), but in this case this style was mishandled, it didn't add any kind of intensity to the story. Quite the opposite, I was extremely irritated by it.

I don't think this book was in any way original. It reads mostly like kind of Village/Dawn of the Dead/I Am Legend combo, just worse than either of these stories. In fact, "Forest of Hands and Teeth" has a movie script feel to it.

Finally, too many things in this books were left untold. I do like when an author leaves you thinking and helps you to come up with answers on your own, but in this case, so much was left to my imagination, that there was simply not enough information in this book for me to like the story and get attached to the characters. What kind of secret knowledge did the Sisters possess? Where did the zombies come from? Why was Gabrielle the fast one? Did Mary consummate her relationship with Harry or Travis? These questions are endless.

Too much was left untold or just hinted at to truly enjoy the book. I know the sequel is in the works, and I am positive I will not be reading it.

Overall, it's a great book. I would have liked more character development from more than just the main character, and maybe a few more of the "secrets" revealed, but still a great read. It will keep you teary-eyed from beginning to end.

What can I say about The Forest of Hands and Teeth. It was fantastic. I've yet to find a book to rival the intensity and carefully woven darkness contained inside. Classic terror? Absolutely not. Carrie Ryan's words are magical. As I read I found my stomach in knots and I was delightfully terrified to finish the book. The Forest of Hands and Teeth grabs you by the wrists, slices them open and delves in deep, penetrating the very core of your being. Read it, and you'll see what I mean.

This story felt like an endless journey that didn't lead me anywhere except to the ocean, and once Mary took the reader there, I had the inclination to go: so what? I couldn't understand Mary's obsession with the ocean. There didn't seem to be a resolution and very little plot to the story. It was too ambiguous for me. I guess I like more action and dialogue in my stories. It was a very internal story, and when you have those kind of stories, you have to really like or care about the main character. I could not empathize with Mary. I found it rather hard to connect with her as a character. I know there is a companion book coming out soon, but I won't be rushing to get it when it comes out, but maybe one day I might pick it up at the library or get it used. This book didn't interest me enough for me to really want to read any related books.

This was a thrilling captivating book that had be gripping my iPad lol. I think the book lagged a bit towards the middle but sped up again till I couldn't stop reading. It's a book for anyone who likes to keep guessing with the characters and get swept up into their lives. It's engrossing to those who adore the zombie genre and even for those who don't.

I really liked this book for the first few chapters. In fact I was so excited about it that I nearly finished the book in one day. However, the more I read past the half-way-point, the more disappointed I got. This book had everything going for it until the main character suddenly became so selfish and callous that I felt she had as much humanity in her as the zombies who chased her. Every time she got something she had previously been desperate to get, she suddenly decided she really did not want that anymore and just threw it away like a piece of trash. She left a wake of desperation and suffering behind her that rivaled anything a zombie could produce. Basically, the main character totally fell apart and became a vapid idiot that would throw her own grandma in front of a bus without a second thought. Seriously disappointed.

I wish this book had been bad from start to finish; I would be much less disappointed. A bad book is a bad book, end of story, but what is particularly frustrating about "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" is that it does not begin like a bad book-- in fact, it begins like a rather good, even great book. The first few chapters drew me instantly into Mary's world. The matter-of-fact grimness of life in this lonely village was understated yet clear, and I was impressed by Ryan's writing.

Unfortunately, after the initial excitement of the First Big Thing (carried out beautifully by the author, I have to say), the book takes a sharp turn downward. The romance made little-to-no structural sense, the plot swings about wildly for a while and then settles into monotony, and the main character Mary moves from sympathetic in her longing to simply obnoxious. None of the genuinely interesting questions are paid any attention at all, the characters change at random, and page after page is devoted to a multi-pronged (never seen that before) turgid and temperamental romance.

As I said, I'm disappointed more than anything. Zombie novels are new for me, so I was genuinely excited when "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" began with such promise. I think Carrie Ryan has real talent; I just wish her editors had nudged her toward the parts of the story that were genuinely interesting and compelling, and away from those aspects which were not. Unless I hear that Ryan has improved on these counts, I sincerely doubt I will bother picking up either sequel (what on earth they could be about, I have no idea) to this disappointing debut.

The idea of a civilization trapped by a zombie forest is pretty compelling, but this book kind of falls flat. I agree with the other one-star reviews: this book started out strong and then began to make less and less sense. By the mid-way point, I found myself not really caring about the protagonist. There were lots of interesting touches, but I wish the book cohered a bit better.

The premise and the setting of this novel are very interesting and unique, but the plot and characters are really lacking. It's the author's first book, and it reads as such.
While I read the book very quickly, it left me frustrated with lots of unanswered questions. First, I didn't really like the any of the characters, they really served to move the plot forward. Mary's single-mindedness and obsession with the ocean is annoying. And as some other reviewers have mentioned, why are two men in love with her? She doesn't seem that appealing.
I think what frustrated me most was that the really potentially interesting areas of the novel, like the Sisterhood and what they do to Gabrielle go totally unexplored. There were also several plot issues that I didn't fully understand. I didn't understand why the people in the village wouldn't figure out about the existence of outsiders when they saw Gabrielle running around as a fast zombie. They've never seen her before and don't wear red vests, um, duh. And, unless I missed something, I didn't understand why Travis and Mary and Harry and Cass couldn't just marry since they were the couples in love. I mean I know there was this theme of marriage not being about love, but commitment or something. But if both parties realized they wanted to swap partners, what was the hold up? I kept waiting for some deeper revelation about Travis and Mary, particularly after the strange conversation Mary has with Sister Tabitha about Mary's mother. Why didn't Travis come for Mary, and did Harry and Mary and Travis and Cass consummate their relationships?
I think the author needed a stronger editor to refocus the plot and characters. It's too bad, the author had an interesting take on the zombie apocalypse, but it ultimately left me disappointed.

i would have to say this book made it to my top 5 favorite books. i read it and finished it a week ago and am still thinking about!
Mary is an intensely interesting character. this story starts out with Mary telling the readers about the day everything in her world changed. the day that ruined and saved her life. mary's mother is bitten! and everyone she loves abandons her thinking its her fault. the sistorhood(i very sercertive sociaty) takes her in as one of their own. Mary unwilling stays with them until the day that changes her world forever!
i have to say by the end of this book i was crying my eyes out and yet very happy she finally had her dream come true. but at what cost to her?

I am ambivalent about this book. The story is good (escaping from the walking dead) but it bored me to death! I can't even quite explain why I was fed up with it. I reckon it will make a good movie, though; teenagers running away from the crazies (like that other movie). Obviously I am not reading the following books.

What can I say about The Forest of Hands and Teeth. It was fantastic. I've yet to find a book to rival the intensity and carefully woven darkness contained inside. Classic terror? Absolutely not. Carrie Ryan's words are magical. As I read I found my stomach in knots and I was delightfully terrified to finish the book. The Forest of Hands and Teeth grabs you by the wrists, slices them open and delves in deep, penetrating the very core of your being. Read it, and you'll see what I mean.

This story felt like an endless journey that didn't lead me anywhere except to the ocean, and once Mary took the reader there, I had the inclination to go: so what? I couldn't understand Mary's obsession with the ocean. There didn't seem to be a resolution and very little plot to the story. It was too ambiguous for me. I guess I like more action and dialogue in my stories. It was a very internal story, and when you have those kind of stories, you have to really like or care about the main character. I could not empathize with Mary. I found it rather hard to connect with her as a character. I know there is a companion book coming out soon, but I won't be rushing to get it when it comes out, but maybe one day I might pick it up at the library or get it used. This book didn't interest me enough for me to really want to read any related books.

This was a thrilling captivating book that had be gripping my iPad lol. I think the book lagged a bit towards the middle but sped up again till I couldn't stop reading. It's a book for anyone who likes to keep guessing with the characters and get swept up into their lives. It's engrossing to those who adore the zombie genre and even for those who don't.

I really liked this book for the first few chapters. In fact I was so excited about it that I nearly finished the book in one day. However, the more I read past the half-way-point, the more disappointed I got. This book had everything going for it until the main character suddenly became so selfish and callous that I felt she had as much humanity in her as the zombies who chased her. Every time she got something she had previously been desperate to get, she suddenly decided she really did not want that anymore and just threw it away like a piece of trash. She left a wake of desperation and suffering behind her that rivaled anything a zombie could produce. Basically, the main character totally fell apart and became a vapid idiot that would throw her own grandma in front of a bus without a second thought. Seriously disappointed.

I picked up this book, not realizing it was written for teenagers. As an adult, I still enjoyed it. It is well-written and doesn't resort to cliches. It's a zombie story but not really. It's more about a girl who is searching for who she is and following her dreams. And then there are the zombies. They kind of take a back seat in this story and the book never resorts to gore or really even horror. You kind of feel bad for the zombies! If you want a really scary or gross book, this is not the one for you. If you want a good story (with zombies), read this!

I wish this book had been bad from start to finish; I would be much less disappointed. A bad book is a bad book, end of story, but what is particularly frustrating about "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" is that it does not begin like a bad book-- in fact, it begins like a rather good, even great book. The first few chapters drew me instantly into Mary's world. The matter-of-fact grimness of life in this lonely village was understated yet clear, and I was impressed by Ryan's writing.

Unfortunately, after the initial excitement of the First Big Thing (carried out beautifully by the author, I have to say), the book takes a sharp turn downward. The romance made little-to-no structural sense, the plot swings about wildly for a while and then settles into monotony, and the main character Mary moves from sympathetic in her longing to simply obnoxious. None of the genuinely interesting questions are paid any attention at all, the characters change at random, and page after page is devoted to a multi-pronged (never seen that before) turgid and temperamental romance.

As I said, I'm disappointed more than anything. Zombie novels are new for me, so I was genuinely excited when "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" began with such promise. I think Carrie Ryan has real talent; I just wish her editors had nudged her toward the parts of the story that were genuinely interesting and compelling, and away from those aspects which were not. Unless I hear that Ryan has improved on these counts, I sincerely doubt I will bother picking up either sequel (what on earth they could be about, I have no idea) to this disappointing debut.

The idea of a civilization trapped by a zombie forest is pretty compelling, but this book kind of falls flat. I agree with the other one-star reviews: this book started out strong and then began to make less and less sense. By the mid-way point, I found myself not really caring about the protagonist. There were lots of interesting touches, but I wish the book cohered a bit better.

The premise and the setting of this novel are very interesting and unique, but the plot and characters are really lacking. It's the author's first book, and it reads as such.
While I read the book very quickly, it left me frustrated with lots of unanswered questions. First, I didn't really like the any of the characters, they really served to move the plot forward. Mary's single-mindedness and obsession with the ocean is annoying. And as some other reviewers have mentioned, why are two men in love with her? She doesn't seem that appealing.
I think what frustrated me most was that the really potentially interesting areas of the novel, like the Sisterhood and what they do to Gabrielle go totally unexplored. There were also several plot issues that I didn't fully understand. I didn't understand why the people in the village wouldn't figure out about the existence of outsiders when they saw Gabrielle running around as a fast zombie. They've never seen her before and don't wear red vests, um, duh. And, unless I missed something, I didn't understand why Travis and Mary and Harry and Cass couldn't just marry since they were the couples in love. I mean I know there was this theme of marriage not being about love, but commitment or something. But if both parties realized they wanted to swap partners, what was the hold up? I kept waiting for some deeper revelation about Travis and Mary, particularly after the strange conversation Mary has with Sister Tabitha about Mary's mother. Why didn't Travis come for Mary, and did Harry and Mary and Travis and Cass consummate their relationships?
I think the author needed a stronger editor to refocus the plot and characters. It's too bad, the author had an interesting take on the zombie apocalypse, but it ultimately left me disappointed.

i would have to say this book made it to my top 5 favorite books. i read it and finished it a week ago and am still thinking about!
Mary is an intensely interesting character. this story starts out with Mary telling the readers about the day everything in her world changed. the day that ruined and saved her life. mary's mother is bitten! and everyone she loves abandons her thinking its her fault. the sistorhood(i very sercertive sociaty) takes her in as one of their own. Mary unwilling stays with them until the day that changes her world forever!
i have to say by the end of this book i was crying my eyes out and yet very happy she finally had her dream come true. but at what cost to her?

I am ambivalent about this book. The story is good (escaping from the walking dead) but it bored me to death! I can't even quite explain why I was fed up with it. I reckon it will make a good movie, though; teenagers running away from the crazies (like that other movie). Obviously I am not reading the following books.

The book starts off well, the premise is interesting. Mary is living in isolated village that is ruled by the sisterhood, guarded by the guardians and is in fear of the unconsecrated.

Whats outside of this? Mary is allowed glimpses of this world by teasing tales and photos that she has seen and been told of by her mom. I'm not sure what age this is set in because she has a photo of her many greats grandmother as a girl. So I'm assuming this is the future though there is nothing really concrete indicating that.The author also never indicates Mary's age either but I guessing late teens.

An attack forces them out of their sanctuary and thus begins the journey of self discovery for Mary and finding safety for the others.

Throughout the book they live through a dank and depressing world with meagre hope. Mary is desperate to know if there is something outside the village she lives in. Away from the unconsecrated. Its never clearly explained why she wants this. Thats her dream that she is chasing. She goes through a trying and painful journey discovering many truths about herself in the process. At the end, I'm not sure if she is satisfied. Was it worth the cost? Was she happy? She never looks beyond her dream. she never mentions what she wants to do once she achieves it either. Toward the end, I was like ''enough about your ocean already''.

In the middle of this are her two friends who are in love with her, her best friend, and her family. The relationships are complex and we mostly dont know what really is in the mind of the others. The book explores the psyche of a confused girl very well. Her character is well developed. Its the remaining plot that falls short. It just leaves a lot questions unanswered.What happened to the sisterhood? Why were they turned? What happened to Gabrielle and why? What secrets are the sisterhood afraid of revealing? What happened between Mary and Harry that night they spent together? Besides this, a lot technicalities are very vague forcing the reader to assume many things. Mary was difficult to like.

I know many loved this book. Maybe its just me, but it left me very empty and searching for answers that should been explained in the book. Maybe the sequel will be better. I was disappointed.

This book was probably one of my least favorite books that I have ever read. The begining started off good, fantastic even the first paragraph drew me in. The first 1/3 of this book or so was good. Then suddenly everything changes and you are left with a bunch of unanswered questions. I realize this book is a part of a series but absolutely nothing feels as if it is resolved. I hated the characters they were flat and there was no character development whatsoever. The characters hardly ever seem to interact,and I never could understand why the main character was so in love with Travis it felt like she just randomly declared that she loved him. She certainly did not act like she loved him, or anyone for that matter I found her to be extremely selfish and willing to risk anyone's life for her own desires and putting her self above everyone else. Also the first person narration bothered me immensely. It is sad because if the author had kept the story more about the secrets the sisterhood were hiding it could have been an interesting read. Overall I would recommend that no one reads this book it is truly and honestly terrible, and I am not harsh when it comes to books.

Do not read this book unless you have a kindle like device! The last 2 books in this series do not come in book form. I tried to buy them for our county library and found they could only be bought on kindle like devices. I will never know the ending.

It is great to read a zombie book that isn't about the zombies. This is about the people who struggle to survive. It is about their memories and disbelief that a world before the "return" ever existed at all. So much time has passed in this world since the return of the dead, even we as readers wonder what if anything is left of the world we know now. We also wonder, what of our world is important enough to remain and important enough to seek out again.

The book was pretty good. The characters could be a little deeper but their pain and frustration is real and if you like apocolyptic and zombie thrillers, this would be the book for you. It almost reminded me of "The Village". Old time setting with bizarre happenings. Zombie lovers must read and romances must see!

Ever wonder what happened to people once the zombies attacked and they found a safer place to live? Well here it is. This book is a story about life after the first attacks and how people lived. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what is going to happen to Mary.

A somewhat different twist on the ever popular zombie genre. Unlike most, not focused on the why or finding a cure, but solely on survival, unrequited love and hope for better existence. Enough unanswered questions to ponder after you are done.

the novel had no depth with the most basic of character development and a horrible ending. The concepts of love and God are introduced but not explored. I felt like a zombie reading the book, eyes glazed over and a hunger for something more.

I was really disappointed by this book, especially after reading all the great reviews. But the book didn't have much of a plot. I kept reading, waiting for something to happen until I was almost at the end and then I just finished the book, leaving me bored. It was pretty predictable and I didn't care for Mary very much. I just thought that the author could have done way more with the story.

I have to say...the premise for The Forest of Hands and Teeth seemed quite interesting. I've seen tons of zombie movies, but I've never read a zombie book. But I was disappointed in the book almost from the beginning. The weird love square was awfully cliche of YA books and I felt that the author was manipulating the audience's emotions. There were some mysteries about the sisterhood that were never solved because,(SPOILER) just like in the movies, everyone died. For some reason, the main characters annoyed me a little. But despite those things, I was still drawn into the book and I couldn't put it down. It was very addicting. I stayed up until five o'clock in the morning to see what would happen to them....and I was completely and utterly disappointed. I won't reveal the ending, but it was a total letdown. It felt really pretentious and again, manipulative on the author's part. This book was EXACTLY like a zombie movie and if you've ever wanted to read what is essentially a script for that, this is the book for you. It almost felt like a roller coaster and could be somewhat enjoyable if the reader enjoys the thrill of plots like these. Overall though....I wouldn't recommend this to my friends.

I absolutely loved this book! From the second I turned the first page I couldn't put it down. It gets your heart and mind racing; definitely not something to read before bedtime if you're prone to anxiety like me, however you would be cheating yourself by not picking up this rare find in today young adult book world--this book has substance. I LOVE THIS BOOK!

I have passed this book on to all of my friends (guys and girls ranging in ages from 14-65, what can I say I'm an equal opportunity "friender") and we are now all hooked. So excited for The Dead Tossed Waves!

THANK YOU CARRIE RYAN!

THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH is one of the most gripping, raw, real stories I've ever read--and its about Zombies, which SHOULD be anything but realistic. And yet the world Ms. Ryan has crafted comes together with such clarity, I feel like I'm there-- experiencing the devastating loss and uneding hope that Mary feels. Mark my words: This one is an NYT bestseller in the making. [close]

Let me start by saying I've never written a review for a novel before as I've always felt there was some redeeming quality even in the worst novel, but I found The Forest of Hands and Teeth to be the exception to the rule. The only reason I am giving it two stars is for the title that managed to sucker me into thinking it would be really good.

Mary in my opinion is probably the worst character ever written(even worse than Bella Swan and that is saying something). At least Bella seems to truly care for people even if her reasoning is shallow at best. From beginning to end Mary only ever truly cares about herself. She never learns or grows from the situations presented to her which makes me think what was the point of the story? The really sad thing is that even the other characters realize that nothing will ever be good enough for Mary. Even Travis,the supposed love of her life, tells her life with him will never be good enough for her, and that is very telling of her character as a whole. I was always left with the burning question as to why I should care if she lived or died, and most times I found myself rooting for her to die.

Throughout the story the author poses all sorts of questions and never answers a single one of them - oh, wait she did allow Mary to figure out what Roman Numerals were, but really who cares. It doesn't explain how all the fenced paths were created, and if there why no one ever used them to travel from village to village as I suppose was the intended purpose in the first place. The Sisterhood might've been interesting, but turned out to be just a plot device to move the story forward and were left behind before any of their secrets were revealed.

Then after the breach, they come to another village along the path which also could have been cool if only someone was left alive to tell them anything, but no, it's completely empty. Why? It made absolutely no sense at all to me as the reader. Here is this well fortified village with a system of tree houses well stocked with supplies, linked by bridges, and the author chooses to let the reader believe no one survived? Am I supposed to believe their severe lack of belief in God was their downfall? Apparently I am as Mary points this out over and over again in saying there are no scriptures near the doors and not one religious symbol in the one house she went inside.

Now for the secondary characters. I guess they were all right in a one dimensional sort of way. As I read I was forced to wonder if anyone other than myself realized how every character said Mary's name almost every time they spoke to her. It drove me nuts. They'd speak maybe all of four lines and use her name at least three times in those few sentences. NO one speaks like this - ever. "Mary, you must understand your place in society. If not you put us all at risk, Mary, and I cannot allow it. Do you understand, Mary? Say you understand, Mary, or I'll leave you here to die." This wasn't a quote out of the story, but it could've been as that is how everyone speaks. Everyone! It's no wonder there was hardly any dialogue at all as it was painful to read.

From the very beginning the love triangle never worked as there is no reason why anyone would ever fall in love with Mary. She was a purely selfish character from beginning to end, and only gave the merest of afterthoughts to who she hurt in getting what she wanted. Sure, she had dreams and that is admirable, but there has to be more to a person for someone to fall in love with them. No one claiming her in the beginning made perfect sense, and it also made perfect sense why Travis never planned on coming for her.

But the thing that made me the most angry about this story was the ending. Mary standing by the ocean wondering if everyone would've been proud of her for realizing her dream of seeing the ocean. Seriously? No, Mary, I'm pretty sure all the people who died so you could get to the ocean aren't smiling down from above, glad in the knowledge they died for your oh, so noble cause of seeing the ocean. And in the end as Mary ponders the people she lost along the way, wondering if maybe it's better not to remember them, it is a slap in the face to the people who gave their lives so she could survive.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book and thought it was going to be a series I'd love. Then the characters left the village and everything went downhill. The final fourth of the book was a mess. The characters thoughts, feelings and behavior made no sense. It's as if the author didn't know how to finish it. I was really disappointed in it after the great start.

I was out and about one day when I happened to see the book trailer for this on television. It sounded interesting so I figured I would check it out. Three hours later (and at 3AM I might add) I had finished the book. I meant to read a few chapters but from the very beginning I was hooked. This book is so different from the zombie fiction of today. It had a heart and a supremely strong character at its base. Mary is an incredible character and through her eyes we see the world after the zombie apocalypse. I am already halfway through the second book in the series. This book is definitely worth the money!

This novel has a good scary atmosphere about it. The world is dark and bleak, but the main character, Mary, doesn't let her situation get the better of her. I like how her character isn't black and white. The story is a little slow to get going, but I didn't mind this as the setting is strong. I'm looking forward to reading the author's next novel.

I really enjoy reading the new apocolyptic YA literature that's been coming out in print lately. This one however was a big let down. I agree with other readers about the repetitiveness. The antangonist annoyingly has to repeat points she made earlier. Seriously, repeating obvious statements throughout the book does not create the drama or emphasis that the author is going for. Instead, it becomes an annoying litany, rather like whining.

Some may enjoy this book, but I found the narrarator's voice to be like a mosquito.

I loved this book. It's easy to get into right away and soon enough takes off so for the rest of the book I couldn't put it down. I wonder if this book was intentionally written to teach us a lesson on which to choose, our dreams or love?

I picked the book out of curiosity, the intriging cover, and title to take a peek and wow the book was very deep from the start. I seriously could relate to this girl Mary, and all the emotional drama falling all around her. The non-stop action of conflicts was intense, and her romance was pretty cool too. I couldn't put the book down. I am reading on to the next book now...

I recommend. Be aware that it deals with sexual arousal but doesn't take it too far (explicit "sex scenes"). Also be aware that religion is cast as a "bad guy". This makes me sad, but doesn't offend me. The story raises lots of questions that would be interesting to discuss with a group. It's also hard to put down!

Forest of Hands and Teeth was unbearably sentimental. It seems like every other page had something along the lines of "Can't you see?" Followed by an overly dramatic rant about pointless emotional nonsense. That and the most frustrating of all was the many assumptions the lead character makes in the book that just magically turn into fact for no other reason except for that the author is a lazy writer. I took up the book because of the title and I knew there were supposed to be zombies involved, but if your looking for a good zombie novel read FEED or World War Z. This is more romance directed toward teenage readers that haven't yet been exposed to writing worth reading.