The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

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 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?

My Review:
I almost don’t know what to say about this book. . .almost. I was intrigued by the idea of post-apocalypse where everyone is trying to survive zombies. I kept reading reviews from people saying how it was a “must read” and I have never read a zombie book so I took a chance and read it. There are some beautiful moments in this book that make you consider what should we value in life and whether or not dreams are worth pursuing. It made me wonder what I would do if I were put in the situation where I had to deal with pain, loss, suffering, and survival on a regular basis. Carrie Ryan is not the type of writer to draw out a scene and she keeps the book flowing with one scene after the other. I felt this story needed that to keep things interesting and it kept me turning the pages.

However I felt something was lost with not a lot of development of the setting or the supporting characters. I felt this lack of development did a disservice to the story because I was not as emotionally attached as I wanted. The only character I felt I could relate to in a real way was Mary the main character because of course it is from her point of view and we are inside her head. But I just did not care about the other characters as much which I hate because that is the most important part to me. Every time I read a new book I want to be emotionally bonded with the characters rooting for them every step of the way. Despite this flaw I think I might read the second one just to find out what happens.