Wednesday Reads: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

It took me two tries to read The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. I know, I know, it's a great book and how could I have put it down the first time? The first time I tried reading it, I don't think I was in the mood for a quietly disturbing book. But the second time, I just let the beautiful sentences flow over me. And I'm glad I did because this book was right up my alley on morbid/disturbing/well written scale.

Synopsis:

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, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.

Now 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 by so much death?

First Sentence: "My mother used to tell me about the ocean." One of the ways the reader can connect with Mary is with her almost single minded desire to see the ocean. We've all had dreams, and this is Mary's. It's what drives her, gives her hope. I have a sailboat as my background on my blog, so you can imagine that I connected with Mary on this.

Beefs: This book was almost quiet (hence why it took me two tries to read it). But I could also list that under Brownie Points because it was so beautifully written. And that's the only beef I can come up with.

Brownie Points: This was one of those books in which I never knew what was going to happen. Obviously Mary's going to survive (anyone can figure that out--it's in first person and how many authors actually kill their main characters?), but other than that I had no idea what was coming next. It was a pleasant change.

Recommendation: If you haven't read it yet. You need to. Unless you're against death in YA and zombies, then this really isn't your cup of tea.

Would I represent it? I'm not sure how far I would have gotten if I'd come across this in my slush pile. Sadly, probably not far, then I would've had to kick myself later. However, yes, I'd love to represent something like this.

Happy reading!