Forever Obsession: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

ISBN: 978-0-385-73681-7

Pages: 308

Appearance:

Summary:

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?

Hey guys! Happy Black Friday! Are we all going crazy shopping yet? Soon? Anyway, here's my review of the infamous Forest of Hands and Teeth.

I've never been a big zombie book fan. I just never felt drawn to the genre and was honestly confused on why so many people loved it. If you guys see the low rating below, part of that "bias" contributed to it. Let me backtrack, in the beginning I was really into the book and thought maybe zombie genre books weren't so bad after all. Somewhere around the middle of the chapter, I just got so annoyed by all the "moaning and groaning" of the Unconsecrated. The constant fear of death, the depression of seeing your family and friends die and rise again to kill you. I don't mean to offend any zombie lovers, but the whole negativity just made this book a really bad read for me. I barely made it to the end.

The other reason for the low rating was the plot. Mary was so full of hope, so full of dreams and goals for life, but slowly, every single dream was crushed in some sort of way. Her mother died within the first few pages and became of the "Unconsecrated." She was thrown into the Sisterhood, but then brought out and forced to marry a friend when she truly loved his brother. The writing and language was good, it wasn't that it was poorly written. It's just the whole negativity (again) that really made this book a bit insufferable and hard.

One the bright side, the ending was a nice cliff hanger. But to be honest, my brain was so beat up with pain, hurt, anger, and loss that any ending would suffice. I was ready to throw the book away when Jed died. They were so close, I was actually feeling happy, But, she did make it to the ocean and to civilization. So that is a good ending, sort of. Harry, Cass, and Jacob are still stuck in the middle of the forest and she has to find a way to get to them and save them.

It's just really complicated. According to Shelfari, I've read this book ages ago, but I don't remember much. This is the first book in a series, but I don't think I'm going to go on with the series. So my view of zombie books just dropped even lower...got any good recommendations that might change my mind? Please let me know! I'm in dire need of some inspiration, feeling so down.

I want to sleep, I want dreams to pull me from this world and make me forget. To stop the memories from swirling around me. To put an end to this ache that consumes me.

You think you want love, Mary. You think it is this beautiful gift that does nothing but fill you and make you whole. But you are wrong. Love can be cruel and ugly. It can become dark and cause the deepest pain.

Who are we if not the stories we pass down? What happens when there's no one left to tell those stories? To hear them? Who will ever know that I existed? What if we are the only ones left -- who will know our stories then? Who will remember those?

We forget that the rest of live can be just as dangerous. I think about how fragile we are here-- like fish in a glass bowl with the darkness pressing in on every side.

When you know love . . . that's what makes life worth it.

I know in my life there have been breaches, but I also know that I am very good at blocking out the memories that serve me no purpose.

We are our own memory-keepers, and we have failed ourselves.

Would you ever give up the ocean for me?

I wonder what right we have to believe our childhood dreams will come true.

Every night I drown, every morning I wake struggling to breathe.

I realize that sometimes death comes before you expect it. That while we are rarely prepared for our friends, family, and loved ones to die, we are never prepared for our own deaths. Never prepared to reconcile our own regrets.