Book: The Forest Of Hands And Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Book Info: Published by Delacorte Books For Young Readers; 310 pages; Hardcover; checked out from the library

Goodreads Summary: 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?

One of the things I kept thinking was that this book is zombie apocalypse meets M. Night Shyamalan.  It was an interesting book, and I liked that there’s this secluded village that the world has forgotten about.

I liked the world Ryan built- there’s a clear hierarchy.  While she doesn’t completely explain everything that’s happened, it is pretty easy to figure out.

The characters, though, fell flat.  They were all really annoying, and it seems like this book is much more plot-driven than character-driven.  And as much as I liked the plot, there were too many things going on.  Keeping zombies at bay, romance, staying safe…her obsession with the ocean.  She finally gets to the ocean, but it felt really lame and forced.

I give it a 2 out of 5.  It reminded me too much of The Village by M. Night Shyamalan for me to really get into it.