Friday, September 11, 2009

Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan


Book: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Genre: YA Paranormal

Rating: B+

For: Fun.. wait... this counts for the RIP IV Challenge!

Here's one of those books you've probably all read by now, so I'm not sure what to add. Except maybe that I truly don't know what I think about it!

It's the story of a girl, Mary, who lives in a village in the middle of a forest. The village is surrounded by a fence that keeps out the "unconsecrated." The village is run and maintained and controlled by the "sisterhood."

One day, after her mother is taken, Mary ends up living with the sisters. While she is there, a strange visitor shows up that makes Mary think that perhaps there are others out there like them. It's her dream to find them, and to see what else is out in the world that they don't know about. And then, of course, there's the problem of the two brothers!

So, yes, the "unconsecrated" are zombies, and I just don't get the zombie thing. They were over-the-top creepy. Lots of moments of major heebie jeebies. Yucky! Yeah, they aren't taking over vampires for me anytime soon!

But even with these intense parts, I felt like I didn't care about the characters and the plight as much as I ought to. It makes me crazy when this happens, because I don't know why it happens.

So overall, I liked the story. But it was a bit too creepy for me, and too sad, and the end was too vague.

Other reviews:

One Librarian's Book Reviews

And here's an excellent book trailer that quite gives me the chills:

14 comments:

  1. I liked this one a lot, but agree some of the scenes were a bit over the top. My review is here: http://zenleaf.blogspot.com/2009/06/forest-of-hands-and-teeth-by-carrie.html

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  2. Hmmm I think your right. I liked the story but didnt care that much for the characters. I will probably read the sequel when it comes out.

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  3. Yes, I will be interested in the sequel as well. Maybe it will get rid of that "but wait, what?" feeling I had at the end.

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  4. Thanks for the link to my review!

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  5. I loved this book! I admit that the audio production was so outstanding that it probably colored my opinion of the book overall. The ending was vague, but it's part of trilogy, so I wasn't too upset about that.

    I was interested in the larger issues of women's rights, free will, and organized religion -- and that made me more interested in the characters.

    Thanks for the link!

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  6. I haven't read it yet!
    I can honestly say this is about the only zombie book out there that interests me, but I guess I shouldn't read it late at night, huh?

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  7. You know, a local friend of mine who read this (on my recommendation) had many of the same problems. She really disliked Mary, and felt the ending was too abrupt and vague.

    So, you're not alone! :-)

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  8. Yeah...I didn't really care for the ending either. The beginning was so strong and then it disappointed me. ;(

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  9. I really liked this book. One of my favs of the year!

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  10. *Grin* So you're a vampire kind of gal, not a zombie person. This book looks intriguing to me -- I have it on my TBR list. Thanks for the balanced review.

    http://starkravingbibliophile.blogspot.com/

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  11. Thanks for the comments everyone. It's fun to see what you all thought. And yes Laughing Stars... I GET vampires.. I just really don't GET zombies. At least not yet...

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  12. I have not read this book, but I've seen that cover floating around. Great review.

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  13. I think the ending was, perhaps purposefully vague, but didn't quite work. I was left wanting, overall, more STORY. But, I'm hoping the next book will satisfy that craving. Here's my review.

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  14. I read this last month. (My review is actually going to post tomorrow.) I believe this was my first zombie book. I felt a little disappointed by the ending at first, too {C-R-E-E-E-E-P-Y}. Then I looked the author up on GoodReads and realized that there is to be a sequel and that helped. =)

    Off to update my review to add a link to yours!

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