The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Title: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Authors: Carrie Ryan
Format: Paperback, 336 pages.

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?

My Rating: 4 stars ★★★★
My Thoughts: Reading this book was a strange experience for me. This was really the first zombie-themed book that has ever caught my eye, and I had seen a lot of positive reviews for it, so I was excited to give it a try. Then as I started reading, I felt so bored and depressed by the dystopian world that the protagonist, Mary, finds herself trapped in... yet, next thing I know, I was staying up all night to finish the book!

After finishing the book, I initially told myself that I didn' really like it and was overall disappointed. Then, in the following days, I keep randomly thinking about the book and the events in it, until I came to realize that I actually quite enjoyed the book after all! In fact, I even wound up choosing this novel for a recent poem-writing challenge hosted by The Happy Booker, which you can read HERE.

See, I think the problem is my view on zombies in general: Zombies are scary, terrifying even. If a real-life zombie apocalypse were to happen, I don't think I'd stand even the slightest chance of survival, nor would I even want to try! It just seems like such a never-ending stressful situation, so reading zombie books stresses me out when I put myself in the characters' shoes. It's only after I distance myself from those emotions that I can decide whether I truly like/dislike a show, movie or book.

That being said, I definitely think The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a well-written, haunting, and powerful read. I am eager to continue on to the next book in the series, though I was a bit disappointed to see that it seems as though the second book doesn't pick up where the first book leaves off. I'm the type of reader that *hates* loose ends, but I am still intrigued to see how the series progresses as well as if (hopefully!) some things get tied up during the next two novels.

Warnings: death, a little bit of gore... I mean, it's a zombie book after all!

Cover Musings: I like the cover. I think the branches look like thorns or fingers, which fit really well with the concept of the book.

**Note: all month long My Shelf Confessions is hosting a Vamps vs. Zombies

 event complete with challenges and prizes. Check it out!**