The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

I am teaming up with Chris from Stuff As Dreams Are Made On for a review of this book. I am a bit late putting my post up, but that is not really all that surprising! I like formats like this. It adds a bit of variety to blogging and reviewing!

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?

1. What was your immediate reaction after you turned the last page of the book? (without giving anything away of course.)
- I was disappointed that the book was over. It was a really good read, and once I got into it I read it in one sitting, so it was sad when it was over with. The book is an emotional roller-coaster and I was still trying to digest everything that happened in the last 50 to 100 pages. I was impressed by how Ryan successfully made this book a page-turner and kept you wanting more until the very end! Then, you were rather sad that it was over with...

2. How did you feel about the main character, Mary? Did she surprise you, were you annoyed by her, did you think she was a strong character, weak, etc?
- I had my moments with Mary. She wasn't a perfect character, but she was still very readable. She could be very strong-willed; and often times that was to a fault. I really liked her, though. If she annoyed me for a bit, she just as quickly redeemed herself and I found myself really liking her. I am not sure I always agreed with all of her decisions, but then, I don't think she always agreed with them either. That made her all the better of a person.

3. The film rights to the book have just been sold. Would you be interested in seeing a movie made out of this novel? Do you think there are things they’d have to change?
- I don't know... I am always so scared when books are made into movies. I have an idea in my head about how things are supposed to be, and the movies often crush that. Even just having movie posters on the front of books is a distraction because then you see the characters as famous actors and actresses instead of ones from your imagination. I am always worried that the movie will ruin the book.

4. What did you think of the secondary characters in this book? Who was your favourite? Anyone that you didn’t like?
- Well, I thought the secondary characters were written really well. I didn't like all of them, but that was sort of the point. I found Harry really annoying, if I must say so myself. He was like a loyal puppy dog. He just annoyed me in his devotion a lot of time because he handled it so strangely. I didn't hate him, though. His character added to the story. Cass also annoyed me. She is the type of person that you just want to slap some sense into once in a while, but she was a person that didn't like change and everything that she was used to was changing.. It's hard to know what to think.

5. What did you think of the title? As you got to know the setting that the book was named after, did you think it was a fitting title?
- I loved the title of the book. It suited everything. I wasn't sure what to expect from the title, so it surprised me and I really loved it. Enough said!

6. What did you think about the zombies? Was this your first zombie novel? Did you find them realistic?
- I loved the zombies. I thought they were really well-done! It wasn't humour, it was just plain scary! I have seen a lot of zombie-type movies, but I think this is one of few books I have read where zombies played such a central role! It surprised me that it was possible to love a book about zombies, but I did!

To sum it all up, I should say that this is probably one of my favourite reads from 2009 and it will likely make my best of lists at the end of the year! You really should read it, it is worth it!

My thanks to Random House for a copy of this book!