Guest Post! Titania86's Take On:The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Titania86 of Fishmuffins of Doom has kindly accepted my invitation to do a guest review! Titania is one of my favorite bloggers, her reviews are very insightful. So without further ado, I give you Titania's Take On: The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.

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Mary lives in a post-apocalyptic world, surrounded by the Forest of Hands and Teeth and the horrific Unconsecrated. Everything in her village is controlled by religious zealots called the Sisterhood. Marriage and having children have nothing to do with love and everything to do with continuing the human race. Both of Mary’s parents have become Unconsecrated and her brother will no longer allow her to live in his house. Her only choice is to join the Sisterhood unless a man expresses interest in marrying her. Her dreams are bigger than all of this. She longs to see the ocean her mother told her about, but that no one in her village has ever seen. She has a burning curiosity and a drive to be more than what her village will allow. Will she settle and accept her fate or will she somehow escape?

Carrie Ryan has crafted a completely unique zombie novel. When I think of the zombie apocalypse, I think of the breakdown of society and the government. This book goes past the initial phase with generations of people living with the zombies and creating a new way of life. This setting seems more suited to the medieval era. The oppression of women and the general backwards thinking of the villagers, coupled with religious fundamentalism really angered me. There were so many things that were kept from the villagers by the Sisterhood that I don’t know how they could stand to live like that. Most of the other people there were resigned to their less than satisfying existence in order to survive. The Sisterhood isn’t above leaving people in the forest to be eaten if they make too many waves. Through about the first half of the book, I really wanted to throttle some characters in the book. So many of Mary’s problems could have been solved if she could make her own decisions and decide what she wanted to do with her own life. I’ve read many reviews that complain that Mary is selfish and unlikeable, but I completely disagree. What teenager doesn’t dream of bigger and better things? In her society, it just seems unattainable.

There is no shortage of zombie mayhem in this novel. There are also both slow and fast zombies. The slow zombies are the ones seen in most movies that shuffle about. The fast zombies in the book are a new development, which makes sense because of how long it had been since the initial zombie uprising. Plus, the problems with muscles atrophying are addressed as well. It has always been my complaint with fast moving zombies that there would come a point when the zombie wouldn’t be able to move anymore. These zombies are also unique because of what they represent. In George A. Romero’s movies, they are frequently about the mindless consumerism that is popular in America. These zombies are a symbol for the oppressive social constructs that consume any happiness that Mary and her friends would have had.

I absolutely love The Forest of Hands and Teeth. A zombie fan might find the first half of the book slow, but the second half totally makes up for it. I was engaged for the entire novel, on the edge of my seat for most of it. I would recommend this to any zombie fan.   

My rating: 4.5/5 fishmuffins

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Thanks, Titania for stopping by! It's been a pleasure to have you. :)
Happy, reading!

My Take On The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

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?

  Topically, this was a horror story that kept me from reading after dark1.
  Why was it so scary?
  Two words: Fast zombies.
  Yes, it was my worst fear; a zombie you can't outrun. But it was more than that, really. It wasn't just the ever-present horde just beyond the fence. Always menacing. Always threatening. Tingeing the air with fear. No, it was the type of fear that the Unconsecrated brought with them. Familial fear. The fear that comes with your family being in danger. The fear that you're somehow going to be separated at any given moment by distance or death that got to me the most. It was my worst nightmare played out over, and over. It was gripping and it was real. I was on the edge of my seat, never knowing what was coming next until it was upon me. I actually found myself holding my breath on occasions, and sometimes I just had to put it down so I could unwind. There were touches of reality that gave you a glimpse of the magnitude of the situation that were both wonderful and terrifying.
  Mary's dream of finding the ocean, which she learned of from her mother through the stories she passed down to her, is all consuming. It drives her to take chances and explore her village like nobody else ever has before. It emboldens her. It sustains her. She was an excellent character with a lot of backbone and will2. Her life is saturated with tragedy; her father becoming one of the Unconsecrated, her mother falling into despair at the loss and searching the fence line daily for her husband's face, her brother drifting away from her, and her loss of faith in God and the truths she's been taught since birth.
  Ultimately, this is a beautifully told story of hope and love. It’s dead scary, tragic, and made it hard for me to fall asleep some nights, but the message is one of never giving up your dreams and never giving in to fear. Even if that fear has teeth and a hankering for your flesh.
  I give The Forest of Hands and Teeth...

...Five Zombies3 for scaring the bajeezus out of me.

Maybe I'm a wimp, but I don't recommend this for babysitting gigs or camping trips. I recommend this to anyone who enjoyed The Hunger Games, but wished there had been more cannibalism4. It was similarly paced with a great protagonist and story.

Keep your night-light handy,
Zombie Girrrl
 
footnotes____________________________________________________
1  I also couldn't read this at lunch, like I normally do. It just wasn't happening.
2  She’s also pretty handy with an ax, but that’s another story.
3  Technically, it's four regular zombies and one Fast One.
4  Sicko, you wished there'd been more cannibalism?!?!
*** NOTE: I did not receive any product or monetary compensation for this post. This book was obtained through a contest from a fellow blogger. Individual results may vary. ***