The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Release Date: 3/10/09
Publisher: Gollancz
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 310
Overall:

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?

I heard extremely good reviews of this book. Based on the awesome reviews and awards it's won I expected a book parallel to those I love like The Hunger Games, Gone, etc. however I didn't come to like this book nearly as much.

One of the problems was that I didn't particularity like any of the characters. Mary annoyed me, she seemed to think that she cared about everyone but only did things for herself. I didn't get how her and Travis' relationship grew, or even came to be... it just sort of was... she also was really wish-y wash-y between whether she liked Travis, or Harry, or if neither of them was enough for her. I really did like Jed, I liked his struggle and his drive, opposite than Mary he seemed to do things for everyone, rather than himself.

From the description, the plot seemed twisted and fastpaced. However the plot seemed really choppy, either it was moving really slow, or moving too fast for me to keep up with.

However, the way Carrie Ryan writes was beautiful, she wrote with a gritty tone and detailed the scenery beautifully. Her post-apocalyptic world seemed real and would be a fantasy lovers dream.

Overall, it wasn't a bad read and everyone else seemed to like it. So maybe it's just me.
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xoxo,
Shelbie