The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

From Goodreads...
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?




The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first selection by the real life book club that I am a member of (I MIGHT have had something to do with the selection :) We haven't had our meeting yet so I can't tell you if the other girls liked it but I can give you my thoughts...

This book was very well written!! The story is told in Mary's voice and didn't disappoint. If a story is gonna be in first person, I wanna know what is going on in that person's head...I wanna know their deepest and most secret thoughts, fears, hopes and desires. So many first person narratives fail in that aspect and just tell you what the character is seeing or doing. And I think that is why I don't connect with some books that are otherwise great stories.

I warn you...this is not a happy, happy, joy, joy book. It's Dystopian and it's dark. And bad things happen and people die. But ultimately it's about finding your own path, about questioning what you have been told to believe and following your heart's desire. And so despite all the sadness in the story (and wow is there sadness) I still felt a sense of hope and possibility for Mary and her future.

I also absolutely must mention how lovely Carrie's writing is, the beautiful wording a stark contrast to the ugliness of Mary's world. There are some lines of dialogue that brought tears to my eyes. I cannot wait to read the rest of this series, it is a definitely a standout in the genre and I highly recommend it!

*5 FANGER!!*

This is the book trailer...