The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Title: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Author: Carrie Ryan

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Adults (March 10, 2009)

Genre: YA, Dystopian

My Rating: 4 Stars

Goodreads Description:

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?


My Review:

Okay, I will admit I was really curious to see what this book was about. I have read a few dystopian books before, some I have loved and some have just been okay. I have never read anything by Carrie Ryan before so I wasn't sure what to expect from her writing.
This book was......well, actually it is really hard to describe. It was dark, sad, a little strange, beautiful and a little heartbreaking. 
The world Ryan created was a bleak one filled with little hope and almost no escape from what awaits them outside the village fence, outside into the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
Mary, the main character has always believed there is more out there, that they are not the only ones that have survived the infection that runs rampant through their world. When the fences are breached she and the surviving villagers must find salvation. They must go from their village into the unknown world and make a new life. 
There are many tragedies, deaths and heartbreaks throughout this story. While the story is sad it is also a beautiful one about hope and faith.
Ryan created a truly unique world.
I enjoyed this story even if it left me feeling a little sad. Her writing was beautiful and I would be very curious to see what the next book in her series holds for this world that she has created.
Overall, I give this book 4 Stars.