The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Gollancz
March 10th 2009
310
In Mary's world these things are known. The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians 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 form the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
But everything that Mary has ever known starts to fail her. She's learning things she's never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, the Gauridans and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.
When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, Mary must choose between her village and her future. She must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there really be a life outside a world surrounded in so much death?
My Review:
This was such an amazing book! I seriously could not put it down. I even brought it with me to work out with. ha ha. I have never been into the zombie type books, but this one changed my views completely.The hungry unconsecrated beings tearing at the fences surrounded by the village would literally send shivers down my spine. All the mysteries of the sisterhood,village, numbered gates, and never-ending paths really got me hooked and intrigued about what I was reading.
The descriptions in this book made the images and characters so clear to me, as if I was really there, witnessing the whole story first handed. Can you imagine being trapped in a world where you are told that there is nothing beyond the fences, but the unconsecrated? Or to only have your mother’s story of the ocean to keep you hoping that there is a world beyond the village? I know I can’t. The emotions and imagery in the this novel is incredible and definitely worth the read.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth is an intense story of hope, faith, and dreams. In this book, the character Mary has this undying faith in her mothers stories of the ocean and will stop at nothing until she sees the ocean and gets away from the village that holds her there. Her hopes and dreams of her mothers stories test her faith and courage to give up the world she’s always known, and push past the gates into the unknown.
I’m not even going to lie, I cried like a baby throughout this whole book. I would put myself in the character of Mary. I felt all her emotions through the things she faced throughout the whole story. Making the story more terrifying and thrilling. It push reading to a whole different level. We will call it “Being one with the book.” ha ha. Try it sometime.
All in all,this was truly a masterpiece and well written novel. I give two thumps way up for Carrie Ryan and her excellent writing skills. I highly recommend this novel to those who aren’t afraid to face the unconsecrated.
P.S. I can’t wait for the next one in the series, The Dead-Tossed Waves, which I will be buying as soon as possible!!
Things to Watch Out For: Sensual acts, religious ceremonies, killings, unconsecrated beings(zombies basically), graphic detail, death, violence, and terror.
For More information: Carrie Ryan and her books: GoodReads-Carrie Ryan,
The Forest of Hands and Teeth: Common Sense Review
