In Carrie Ryan’s debut novel, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Mary is a teenaged girl who lives in a small village surrounded by a metal fence, all that stands between her village and “the forest of hands and teeth,” Mary’s name for the seemingly infinite flood of undead which besiege the fences day and night.
The undead are not the only source of anxiety for Mary. She is of an age where she must either marry or join the Sisterhood, the religious order which controls every facet of the villagers’s lives. Mary chafes at the restrictions placed upon her by the traditions of the village and the dictates of the Sisterhood. She dreams of the ocean, a place which her mother has told her about, but which many believe to be nothing more than a fairy tale.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a highly imaginative take on the zombie story and well worth reading. It is an outstanding example of how a classic monster story can be reimagined as a complex and original novel. Carrie Ryan’s crisp, clear prose has created a tense, action-packed novel which is difficult to put down. The book is listed as being for ages fourteen and up and would make an excellent addition to any library collection for teen readers. Highly recommended.
This review originally appeared in a more extensive form on the Green Man Review Web site.
Review by Kestrell Rath