While I tend to prefer my zombies on the big screen, I was pleasantly surprised by Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth.
In this post-apocalyptic YA novel, teenage Mary's world is defined by the fences around her village. The fences that keep out the Unconsecrated, the hordes of undead who roam the vast surrounding forest. It has been many generations since the Return and much of life before the Unconsecrated has been forgotten, except for a few old stories and faded photographs. Most villagers have accepted life inside the fences, content that the world is as the Sisterhood describes it. But Mary is convinced there is more: other villages, other remnants of life before the Return, an ocean. She is determined to find out what's outside the village and what the Sisterhood is hiding. When the fence is breached, Mary must decide whether to fight for the life she has always known or risk what might lie beyond the forest.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a suspenseful nail-biter that thankfully does not let its love triangle plot line engulf the heroine. Mary is complex, strong and able to take care of herself. She's filled with all the raw emotions of a teenager, and her motivations range from the noble to the petty, but she is willing to make tough choices and fight for what she believes in.
This is Carrie Ryan's first novel. It's companion work, The Dead-Tossed Waves, was released in March 2010.
Author: Ryan, Carrie
Publisher: Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 2009
This book is on my list. Now I want to move it up in the queue! Also, you just gave me some good advice for my own writing. I must make sure my heroine is not "engulfed" by her romance subplot. Must go work on this... : ) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYes, I appreciate YA that gives girls a range of motivations, beyond just boys. I think I tend to read books for a slightly younger audience for that reason.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy the book! I've got The Dead-Tossed Waves next in my queue.