The Forest of Hands and Teeth
by
Carrie Ryan
Edition
-
Publisher
Delacorte
Imprint
Delacorte
ISBN
9780385906319
Awards and Honors
ALA Best Books for Young Adults 2010
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Violence: Mild Violence
Mary dreams of a world beyond her village. But she also knows how impossible that dream is; according to the Sisters, no other village still exists. The Unconsecrated, the undead who claw at the village's fence, have infected everyone outside it. But one day the impossible happens: a normal, healthy-looking young woman emerges from the forest outside the village. Her presence gives Mary hope. It is hope she needs when, soon after, the Unconsecrated breach the village fence. To survive, Mary must escape from the village into the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Violence: Mild Violence
Details
Format
Page Count
320
Trim Size
5 1/2" x 8 1/4"
Dewey
F
AR
5.8: points 14
Lexile
900L
Genre
Horror.
Scholastic Reading Counts
21
JLG Release
Apr 2009
Book Genres
Topics
Zombies. Belief. Loss. Grief. Marriage proposals. Responsibility. Fences. Death. Choices. Childhood stories. Convents. Injuries. Love. Secrets. Outsiders. Duty. Vows. Secret passages. Dreams. Invasions. Escape. Survival. Infection. Roman numerals. Villages. Safety. Isolation. Preparing for a disaster. Curiosity. Photographs. Rivalry. Killing. Fear. Sacrifice. Fire. Taking a risk. The ocean. Rescue.
Standard MARC Records
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Cover Art
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Praise & Reviews
Starred or favorable reviews have been received from these periodicals:
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, Booklist, Publishers Weekly*, School Library Journal*
Praise & Reviews
Junior Library Guild
The zombies in The Forest of Hands and Teeth are both frightening and familiar—and what’s most frightening is their familiarity. “People in our village have gone mad from seeing their loved ones as Unconsecrated,” Mary says. Several pages later, Mary’s mother gets bitten, having wandered too close to the fence after seeing her husband on the other side. While the infection takes hold, turning her mother into a zombie, Mary stays close by. “I can’t decide if I want to watch my mother Return. If I can bear to see it. But I can’t help but wonder what that moment is like. Is there a spark or an instant where she will remember me? Where she will remember her old life from before?”
After her mother becomes Unconsecrated and disappears into the Forest, Mary is haunted by her memory. But she finds joy in new love. Mary has been sent to join the ranks of the Sisterhood, the religious order that rules the village. One night, Mary’s friend Travis is brought to the Cathedral, requiring medical attention. Mary treats him and prays with him, and, over time, they secretly grow closer, even sharing a stolen kiss. But tragedy strikes again when the Sisters forbid her to see Travis and expel her from the Cathedral. Alone, Mary has no choice but to accept a
marriage proposal from Travis’s older brother, Harry, who has loved Mary all his life. However, when the Unconsecrated break through the fence, Mary, Travis, and Harry are all members of the small party that escapes into the Forest. Even as they flee for their lives, heartbreak follows them.
Suspenseful and sensitively written, The Forest of Hands and Teeth breathes new life into the genre of the undead.
Horn Book
Only a fence separates Mary's village from the Unconsecrated--zombielike creatures that must be kept at bay in order for her primitive post-apocalyptic community, governed by a religious sisterhood, to survive. This inventive horror story combines mystery, romance, and suspense as it records Mary's quest to search beyond the barrier for alternatives to the life she has always known.
Grades 9 & Up
Young Adults
For Grades 9 & Up
Your older teen readers will appreciate the 12 selections in this category, a diverse mix of fiction and nonfiction covering complex issues and more mature content, from crushes and body changes to friendships and sibling rivalry.
12 books per Year
$243.96 per Year
Interests
Diversity,Fiction,Mature Readers,LGBTQ+,Novels,Funny/Humorous,Realistic Fiction
Grades 9 & Up
Young Adults
12 books per Year
$243.96 per Year
