Review: THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by Carrie Ryan

TITLE: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

AUTHOR: Carrie Ryan
AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.CarrieRyan.com
GENRE: Young Adult, Horror/Zombies, Fantasy, Apocalyptic, Romance
PUBLISHED:  March 10th 2009 - Gollancz 
MY RATING: 4

SYNOPSIS:

(Courtesy of Goodreads-No Spoilers!)

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 by so much death?

REVIEW:

I have now been scarred for life, or scared for life. Probably both. I just survived THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH. Can I just say... Holy cow!!

This book is about a girl living in a village in the middle of a forest. There was an infection that spread killing people and turning them into zombies. So around this little village is a large fence protecting them from the “Unconsecrated” (the zombies.) The village lives in fear, under religious tyranny and under strict rules to procreate. They believe they are the last survivors.

Carrie Ryan’s main character, Mary, is an oddball in this rule driven society. She’s a dreamer and a rule breaker. She is magnificently believable from start to finish. (Some of the time I wanted someone to slap her and make her follow the rules.) But she couldn’t be bridled, not by rules, not by the religious order, not by marriage. She is an intense individualist. (I can appreciate that.)

The tone of the book was overwhelming. It was told from the point of view of Mary in the present tense. I was used to reading stories in the past tense. But this story being in the present tense and being the first person point of view felt at times that I was the one running down the hallways of the cathedral, or down the fenced paths. I felt trapped in this book feeling what this character felt and HAD to finish the book to release myself from the story.

The plot was emotional with fear, anger, and resentment. But the overriding hope that Mary would find a way to be free kept my heart in the story and pressing to find out if she will ever see the ocean.

RATING:

I don’t like zombies. I don’t like zombie stories, but I read this one so deeply and quickly that I cannot say that it was a waste of time. It was so well written that I saw the characters living and breathing in front of me. I’d have to rate this experience as a 4: A Very Good Read.

It scared the crap out of me, gave me a rush and I couldn’t sleep last night! (Thanks Carrie!)

RECOMMENDATIONS:

This is listed as a Young Adult novel. I think it would be rated “R” in movie ratings because of descriptions of the gore (zombies) and mild sexual content but there was no bad language. It is so frightening, that I would probably warn my teen not to read it. 

More Books by Carrie Ryan:

Book 1: THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH

Book 2: THEDEAD TOSSED WAVES

Review: A BEND IN THE ROAD by Nicholas Sparks

TITLE: A Bend in the Road
AUTHOR: Nicholas Sparks
AUTHOR WEBSITE:
GENRE: Adult, Romance
PUBLISHED: April 1st 2005 - Grand Central Publishing
MY RATING: 4

SYNOPSIS:

(Courtesy of Goodreads-No Spoilers!)

Miles Ryan's life seemed to end the day his wife was killed in a hit-and-run accident two years ago. Missy had been his first love, and Miles fervently believes she will be his last. As a deputy in the North Carolina town of New Bern, Miles Ryan not only grieves for Missy, but also longs to bring the unknown driver to justice. Then Miles meets Sarah Andrews. The second grade teacher of his son, Jonah, Sarah had left Baltimore after a difficult divorce to start over in the gentler surroundings of New Bern. Perhaps it's her own emotional wounds that make her sensitive to the hurt she first sees in Jonah's eyes, and then his father's.

Tentatively, Sarah and Miles reach out to each other. Soon they are both laughing for the first time in years . . . and falling in love. Neither will be able to guess how closely linked they are to a shocking secret -- one that will force them to question everything they ever believed in . . . and make a heartbreaking choice that will change their lives forever.
In A Bend in the Road, Nicholas Sparks writes with a luminous intensity about life's bitter turns and incomparable sweetness. His affirming message carries a powerful lesson about the imperfections of being human, the mistakes we all make, and the joy that comes when we give ourselves to love.

REVIEW:

It was difficult to keep reading. The whole book was incredibly emotional. It was hard to deal with the emotion he put out in this story. They seemed real and true, but nonetheless hard to swallow. I had to take it in small bites.

This is the story of a deputy, Miles Ryan, who’s lost his wife in a hit and run. The grief that pours out of him is heart breaking. He meets with his son’s teacher to talk about the boy’s grades, and they hit it off and obviously fall in love. Yummy. Things are going good till he gets a lead on the case of his wife’s killer. The emotions are raw and Miles is out of control. In an effort not to spoil, I’ll just say that the story twists around and will surprise you. I love the resolve. I loved everything about how the whole climax and resolution was solved. I would have written the same way, probably not as elegantly though!

One other thing I thought was fantastic about the story was the dual narrator. I loved trying to guess who started the narration. Half way through Sparks lets us find out the secondary narrator is the hit and run driver. I was especially touched by the description of the night of Missy’s death. How the feelings this person felt afterward and how they lived thereafter. It seemed real to me. Most stories make people like this seem heartless. Sparks seems to give his characters an extra boost of humanity –they feel deeply, therefore we feel deeply when we read this book. The story went back and forth from this first person narrative to omniscient, showing the story unfolding. It was interesting and fun with two separate narrative voices.

RATING:

I rate this book at a 4: A Pretty Good Read. I know I just praised this book up and down and gave it a 4 at the same time. I don’t exactly know why. But I have to say the ending was my absolute favorite part… I’d give the several end paragraphs a full 5!!! It left me happy. The past few Sparks books I’ve read, I disliked the ending. I was fully ready to be disappointed in the ending. But he surprised me and gave me what I wanted in a totally beautiful way!