The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

Mary lives in a village surrounded by the Unconsecrated (essentially zombies) who claw at the fence keeping them out. Her options are stark - she can wait for a boy to claim her for his bride or she can join the Sisterhood (a quasi-religious organisation who give the village its morals and control its history). Mary hopes that Travis will claim her but is instead claimed by his brother, Henry. When her mother is involved in a tragic accident, Mary is taken in by the Sisterhood, where she becomes embroiled within their secrets, including the discovery of a mysterious girl called Gabrielle, who Mary is sure is from outside the village. As Mary tries to discover the truth about the world outside, the Unconsecrated break through the village's defences and Mary is sent on a terrifying quest for survival.

There is much to admire in this debut novel. Ryan's village is a complex and highly structured world and there's a strong mystery surrounding the Sisterhood, personified through Sister Tabitha a zealot who will do anything and sacrifice anyone to keep the village safe. The constant moans of the Unconsecrated is a chilling reminder of the dangers surrounding Mary and her friends.

The set piece scenes are excellent - notably a heartbreaking moment involving Mary and her mother and a key scene where Mary and her friends are trapped on a platform being consumed by fire while the Unconsecrated wait below. Mary's an interesting character, driven by an irresistible curiosity to see the ocean that her mother has told about and troubled by her religious doubts. It's refreshing to read a YA novel with a love triangle where the female's wants are put above those of the male characters.

Although Mary's narrative voice is strong, Travis, Henry, Cass and Jed are painted with broader brushstrokes and Mary tells us of her relationship with them rather than showing it. Also frustrating is the fact that the Sisterhood's secrets are never fully uncovered with the book becoming a bleak struggle for survival as Mary and her friends search for the world she believes is outside while being harried by the Unconsecrated.

Ryan's unsentimental about her characters and many do not survive to the final page. This may put some readers off, but the story ends on a note of hope and I eagerly await the sequel to see what will happen to Mary next.

I wasn't expecting too much from "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" after reading a few reviews from disappointed readers and after reading 50 or so pages I was beginning to think I should have listened to them and avoided this one. BUT THEN, it suddenly improved and I couldn't put it down! So with that said, it's fair to say that this book is a bit a chewy to begin with, but persevere because it's so worth it, and here's why:

The world of "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" is unlike our own. Surrounded by fences like caged animals the villagers of Mary's, our main protagonist, town are trapped. Or are they? The Sisterhood holds many secrets except one - if that fence is breached there will death. Because outside of the fence lies the forest, and inside the forest are the Unconsecrated. The unconsecrated are infected humans; zombies desperate to infect the living. The Sisterhood, those controlling the villagers, promise that the village is safe. The fences are patrolled by the guardians. They cannot get in. That is, until the fence is breached, the alarms bare and Mary must make a decision. Fight or run.

I liked Mary. Sometimes. I liked her because she had ideas, she believed that there was more than just her village left - they couldn't possibly be the only living people left to preserve humanity. She's extremely inquisitive, which is great because we readers want to find out as much as we can about the secrets the Sisterhood are keeping. But sometimes I really wanted her to shut up. She's a very restless character, never content with things even when they're working out for her, and this can be frustrating because the story sort of flat-lines whilst she rants on about the ocean (Growing up Mary's mother told her stories of the ocean and Mary wants to believe that the ocean is real and it does exist).

Carrie Ryan's done a great job in my opinion of creating a believable zombie apocalypse. BUT, I wish she'd have explained how the infection was started, why one of the zombies is much faster than the others and how the village was initially formed but I suppose these things may be better explained in the following books. It was great to have a quick extract from the next of her books in the series "The Dead-Tossed Waves" and by the looks of things it's set quite a while after Mary's story - this is such a good idea! It's not often that series are set much later in the characters' futures; most of the time they pick up almost straight after where the last one finished so I think the series has promise.

Overall, a good read if a little chewy to begin with. I recommend this, I'd even read it again! Hope this helps.

I loved that this was a story about zombies where the focus was on the living. Mary lives in a simple time where the focus is on surviving. The Unconsecrated (zombies) are not a recent development but something everyone has lived with all of their lives. Living in a village surrounded by fences Mary's daily life is simple and full of chores, but if the warning bell rings there has been a breach and everyone must get to elevated platforms built into trees to stay away from the dead. To ensure survival the sisterhood demand that everyone marries as soon as they are ready. Mary has the weary task of marrying someone who loves her even if she loves someone else. Soon Mary starts asking questions such as who gave the Sisterhood their power, what are they hiding and what are behind the gates in the village?

From very early on in this novel I felt there were similar tones to the M. Night Shyamalan film "The Village". You have that feeling of being isolated and only knowing the village but suspecting that there must be something else outside through the Forest of Hands and Feet. The writing in this book made me fell that I was full immersed in the life (even if I was lying on a sun lounger beside a pool!!) and was feeling all of the doubts along with Mary.

I loved the characters in this book, well I didn't LOVE them all, I thought there were some nasty characters, but I thought they were all well written. The story does not rush along either. I read this book in a day, but I felt like I had been reading it much longer as the story took it's time to unfold and develop. There were certain parts to the story, where she would find something which we would be familiar with but was completely foreign to Mary, which made me want to shout at the book. I thought it was a really interesting concept that whatever education they had was focused on the present and how to survive, and never looking at the past.

I can't wait to pick up the sequels to this book and see what is to become of the world we live in.