A review by intothevolcano
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

4.0

The varied reviews for this had prepared me not to be too impressed - however, I really quite enjoyed it. In contrast to a lot of other zombie books I'd read, I liked the lack of technology - when characters come up with a solution to something, it's often using arrows, or rope, or even twigs. It really built the tension - and emphasised just how scary zombies can be.* I found Mary too to be a refreshing change - I've been reading a lot of YA lately, and it was interesting (and perhaps more realistic) to have a protagonist who isn't sure of herself, who makes mistakes, and is motivated by her own self-interest (as opposed to a "love story" or romance being the overarching theme, even whilst the world literally falls down around her). Yes, the typical YA love triangle is to some extent present here - but I found Mary's interior monologue about it to be a lot more engaging. Basically, as a grown woman, I liked that she considered the option of neither boy being enough for her -

even the one she truly does love.

I'm not sure if this was one of those YA-characters-who-think-like-adults moments - but it was a refreshing change nonetheless, and didn't seem out of place for a character with a background like Mary's.
That said, I really hope the sequel ties up some of the loose ends - because there were a lot of them. I'd like to hear more about the history of the Sisterhood especially.

* I think this is a side-effect of finishing Newsflesh lately, where there are lots of characters-poking-zombies-with-a-stick or we-can-outrun-them-easily - understandable, as those characters are trained for such shenanigans. In FOHAT, however, the characters learn that they are woefully unprepared -

that their town's back-up plan is as unrealistic and ineffective as the lies they have been told about their own history.