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| The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan |
This is a very intriguing read because in this village the unconsecrated aka zombies are a part of everyday life just kept out by reinforced fences. If the unconsecrated do breach the village there is a warning siren and then ladders to platforms where people can wait out the attack.
You see everything through the eyes of Mary who doesn't seem to fit in to the village way of life. Her mother tells her stories of what life was like before the "Return." Mary fervently believes in her mother's stories and wants more then anything to see the ocean.
In the village if you are a woman of marrying age you have only 3 options: live with your parents, marry or join the Sisterhood. Mary though does not really seem to have a choice and she soon finds out that the Sisterhood and the Guardians who protect the village are full of secrets.
A kind of icky part is that her love interests are brothers, Travis and Harry. She's in love with Travis but Harry speaks for her instead which means that he intends to marry her. So she loves Travis but he's essentially betrothed to her best friend Cass. Cass then falls in love with Harry when Travis is ill. Overall quite a mess in the love department and happy endings seem very hard to come by in this world.
There are some scenes throughout the book that really make you pause. There's a scene involving an infant and an open window that I know I won't forget anytime soon.
This book is about both real and mental journeys and learning what you believe in. It's about whether you should follow your dreams and choose love or just settle for the norm.
The ending is not exactly happy but I can't wait to see what happens next in this bleak yet enthralling world.
Enjoyed your review! I have this one on my wishlist, but haven't read it yet. Sounds so good!
ReplyDeleteThanks, yeah I would really recommend it the book is just really well written and the story pulls you right in from the very first chapter.
ReplyDeleteThis story really makes you think-- and I was just in awe of how a world could be transformed.
ReplyDeleteThe love triangle was kind of crazy too- I wish Mary wouldn't have been so fickle.
Brandi from Blkosiner’s Book Blog
Yeah, it really does make you think, like I said above the whole scene with the infant and the open window was something I sure won't forget. Plus just picturing the relentlessness of the unconsecrated and living with them as an everyday occurrence and how crazy that would be.
ReplyDeleteI recently got this book but haven't got to read it yet. Thanks for the great review!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting in the Saturday Situation Linky! That's where I'm visiting from.