Book Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

The Forest of Hands and Teethis all Mary has ever known - it appears to only hold hordes of unconsecrated; there is nothing outside of her village. This is what Mary and her family and friends have always been taught by the Sisterhood. Mary, however, clings to a dream of something more - a beautiful place her mother told her of outside of her isolated world.

This book had a lot more depth and thought than I expected. On the surface it just appeared to be an apocalyptic horror tale about zombies. But really, it was so much more - an exploration of Mary's feelings and desires, of dealing with grief, of testing boundaries. I loved this story for its dystopian world, for Mary and her complex feelings and experiences, and for the action-packed adventure. What I wished the book had was more explanation, more answers, and just more story. I hope Ryan creates another book from this world - I am dying to learn more.

Read-alikes:
Had me thinking about Lois Lowry's dystopian books beginning with The Giver- I've got to reread it now!
Reminded me of a darker version of City of Ember by Jeanne Duprau
A little like Unwind by Neal Shusterman

RATINGS:
s-factor: !
There might have been a very few.

mrg-factor: X
A few situations, but action was always off-stage.

v-factor: ->->->
The zombie fighting and killing was a little gross, but not overwhelmingly so.

Overall rating: ****