THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH
by Carrie Ryan
(Delacorte Press)
Two words that might have kept me from picking this book up: "zombie apocalypse." I can't say as I tend to gravitate toward the undead.
How then, did I end up reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth? Well, I frequent a message board with Carrie Ryan, the title's catchy, the cover's appealing in a good-creepy way, and the flap copy doesn't mention the z-word even once. So I hassled a Random House sales rep and dove into the story with blissful ignorance. Such ignorance, in fact, that I don't know whether I would have realized this was a zombie book at all if I hadn't snuck a peek at the acknowledgments in the back before I finished. That said, anyone with even half a freaking clue about zombies ought to catch on the moment Ryan begins describing the Unconsecrated. (Doi!)
Anyway, I'm betting the Twilight crowd will go for the romance, the zombies, and the galloping plot, more or less in that order. (For an actual plot summary to bolster my blather, click here.) I, on the other hand, found myself fascinated with the way Carrie Ryan created an entire society, plunged me into it, and parceled out its history and secrets bit by bit -- just enough to make me feel continually intrigued instead of lost or frustrated. The questions about the roles of religion and authority in society kept my eyebrows on the rise, too. It's sinister, compelling, stuff and totally outside the usual realm of my taste. If Halfway Down the Stairs were still in business, I know I'd get a kick out of handselling The Forest of Hands and Teeth. And for what it's worth, I think I smell a sequel...
