The Forest of Hands and Teeth

By: Carrie Ryan

Narrated by: Vane Millon

Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's 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, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. Now, 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?

"A bleak but gripping story.... Poignant and powerful." (Publishers Weekly, starred)

"A postapocalyptic romance of the first order, elegantly written from title to last line." (Scott Westerfeld, author of the Uglies series and Leviathan)

"Intelligent, dark, and bewitching, The Forest of Hands and Teeth transitions effortlessly between horror and beauty. Mary's world is one that readers will not soon forget." (Cassandra Clare, best-selling author of City of Bones)

"Opening The Forest of Hands and Teeth is like cracking Pandora's box: a blur of darkness and a precious bit of hope pour out. This is a beautifully crafted, page-turning, powerful novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it." (Melissa Marr, best-selling author of Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange)

"Dark and sexy and scary. Only one of the Unconsecrated could put this book down." (Justine Larbalestier, author of How to Ditch Your Fairy)

©2009 Carrie Ryan (P)2009 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"Mary's observant, careful narration pulls readers into a bleak but gripping story of survival and the endless capacity of humanity to persevere.... Fresh and riveting." (Publishers Weekly)

"The suspense that Ryan has created from the very first page on entices and tempts readers so that putting the book down is not an option." (School Library Journal)

Repetitive but Worth It

I liked this book but the character's thoughts were repetitive. The narrator was great until she had to do the child's voice. That's it though. Definitely worth it.

Waiting for a continuation

kept me reading. Good suspense. Needed a little more detail about each character, as well as what happened before they were in the village (how the consecrated started)

I gambled and I lost!!! I give it 3 stars....

I read the mixture of reviews for this book prior to download and despite some horrible reviews, decided to take a gamble on this one. If I were 13 I suppose I might be blown away by this book. However, as an adult reader I have read enough books to know the difference between a good read and a cheap thrill. This book had such promise...

As a fan of the post-apocalyptic/zombie genre I was excited to dive into a female author's perspective on zombies (unconsecrated) and was looking forward to a different take on romantic/sexual tension among characters. I know this book is intended for the young adult reader but I could not help but feel as if I were back in 6th grade.

Reasons:

1) Why was our heroine so gravely pathetic? Either about to sob, sobbing, fantasizing, longing, shaking, burning or gasping for air and unable to speak. We've all met Bella from Twilight (also a pity whore) and we've all seen the polar opposite heroine (badass), but I'm telling you it was VERY, VERY hard to like Mary and she is our only window into Ryan's world.

2) Narration wasn't bad at all...until she attempted male voices. Mono-toned and ultra feminine. To me there were no men in this book.

3) The love "quad" in this book wasn't very convincing at all because Ryan didn't develop the male characters into anything more than one dimension. What does Travis look like? Who is he? Or Harry? Do they even have personalities or are they merely in the book so Mary can lust for them and cry? I never "felt" anything for them because there was virtually nothing to them but names in a book.

4) Not entirely original...M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" echoed in this tale.

4) SERIOUSLY....What is with Authors using the same word in every paragraph? Don't they use a Thesaurus? I felt like every paragraph or every few sentences contained the word "flesh" when so many other words could have taken its place.

I can however, give credit to Ryan's atmosphere, storyline and suspense...despite my criticism I wanted to know what happened. I was entertained, to some degree.

Best Scene: Gabrielle attacking the village.

Should you spend the credit? Only if you are new to zombies/mennonites/cults/conspiracies and teenage love-quads and don't mind a heroine with LOTS of feelings!!!

Good use of a credit? Yes!

Like most of us I try to use my credits wisely.I check out reviews from several sites before I pick a book.Most of the reviews on Audible are about not only the book but also the narration.If the reviewers hate the narration it affects the review of the book.I think that has happened with this book.I liked the narrator.Her voice was clear and with the exception of 1 character (a 6yo boy) the male roles did not sound ridiculous---always a plus!Some reviews stated that Mary was selfish,she was---this is HER STORY!Shes a single minded anti-hero.Her main goals---avoid zombies,get to the ocean alive and bite free.Drags alittle during travel but never enough to lose interest.Book 2 comes out in March so this book stops short of a complete ending for Mary.

Restarted and stopped several times

I stopped listening to this story several times before I actually finished it. The characters are not memorable and the story is hard to follow. It did not seem like this group had been together since childhood. The main character is lacking something, her confusion in life left me feeling depressed and more confused than she was. I'm going to listen to book 2, eventually.

Why must you change things?

I've read this before, but her voice change the story for me. I'm not sure if in a positive or negative aspect.

Love the book series!

Carrie Ryan is absolutely talented and imaginative creating a world that is expansive and detailed. The story line is consistent and easy to follow. I love that the typical zombie story line is created into something more than the typical books. Absolutely worth a read as well as the rest of the series.

i just dont like the mc

its an ok story but i guess being a dude i just couldn't relate to mary, the beginning is awful no lie, but once people start getting eaten its a bit better end felt rushed but oh well

one of my fave series

2nd time experiencing this series and I'm on the edge of my seat now as I was with my first time reading it

Love the story - hate the narration

I love this book. I own it and even have it signed by the author. I've read the entire series and absolutely love it. BUT.... this narrator is terrible. I could barely stand listening to this story that I love by this narrator. Why does she give weird accents to everyone? She obviously isn't familiar with the story, the author or anything. I dislike that she's put a spin on the story that isn't part of the book.

This is one you should read yourself rather than listen to on audible. Everything by Carrie Ryan is amazing - it's too bad the narration for this story is so terrible.