The Forest of Hands and Teeth

YA is a genre of books largely based on story.  The characters can often be well-drawn and inspired, but the stories are what always keep me coming back.  In The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan, zombies have taken over the world.  The zombies have forced all remaining humans to cluster together in little isolated villages as they live out their claustrophobic lives in ever-present fear of being eaten by these Unconsecrated beings.  In the middle of this is Mary, a passionate, impulsive girl whose life is falling apart - her father, dead, and mother recently taken also by the Unconsecrated surrounding their tiny village in the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Now Mary has to reckon with her relationship to Harry, who she's known since childhood but cannot bring herself to love as much as she loves his brother Travis.  Travis is her night and day, if only he would allow himself to love Mary, and let go of his betrothed - who happens to be her best friend Cass.  What will Mary do for love?  Will it be enough for her in the end?  Or will her lost mother's memories of a different life, pre-zombie-invasion, lead her on a different path?

Trust me, once you start reading this book, you will want to learn the answers to these questions asap.  Read the day (night) away with this one, folks, and enjoy some scares along the way.  The zombies here are pretty creepy, the horror element is horrific and the romance is as painful as teen romance gets.  Mary's world becomes your own as she pounds her fists against the walls of her small world, fighting the undead and the life she ended up with in the terrible Forest of Hands and Teeth.  This is one of my favorite reads of the year.  I can't remember the last time I read a teen horror story, and this definitely qualifies, so be prepared for some blood.  Mary's character is lovable but not cute, real but not boring.  And the circumstances are dire, making for a real page-turner to keep you guessing.  The only issue I had is that we never find out how the world got to be a zombie hell, how it all began.  I assume that's covered more in the later book(s) - the second in the series is called The Dead-Tossed Waves (Forest of Hands and Teeth, Book 2) - which I'll be picking up as soon as my library hiatus ends.

Have fun guys, and stay tuned this weekend for another Words from the Well.
Sweet dreams!