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annathepiperI can solidly say that my acquisition of The Forest of Hands and Teeth is entirely the work of John Scalzi's Big Idea posts that have been prominently featured on his blog. This book was just recently featured, and as soon as I saw the post go up I knew I had to check this one out. I don't read a lot of YA, but this one had all the right elements for me: a young heroine anxious to explore beyond the confines of her restrictive world. A post-apocalyptic setting, where what's left of humanity has had to cobble together a civilization out of the ashes of the old. And, most importantly, zombies!
Because, as I have expressed before, I do love me some zombies.
But here's the thing. This is a zombie novel, yes, but it's an oddly haunting and lyrical one. The title alone captures this and is in no small part what drew me to the book; then, too, you've got the cover art. Mary, the girl on the cover, stands looking pensive in front of a bleak woodland. This captures the mood of the book perfectly, because this story isn't about the zombie outbreak; it's about the tiny society that's arisen seven generations after, and the few remnants of the pre-outbreak life they've managed to cobble together into a village. What happened to create the Unconsecrated, as Mary's people call the zombies, is never called out. Instead, the zombies are a constant background detail, a shuffling, shambling mass of unlife beyond the fences that surround the village.
Mary is the heart of the story, a young woman who's grown up on her mother's tales of the ocean, which no one in their village has ever seen. When Mary loses her mother to the Unconsecrated, it puts her on a path between having to decide between two young men, challenging the long-held secrets of the Sisterhood that rules her village, and ultimately, to finding that mythical ocean. It's an excellent story overall and well worth checking out for YA and adult readers alike. Five stars.
Because, as I have expressed before, I do love me some zombies.
But here's the thing. This is a zombie novel, yes, but it's an oddly haunting and lyrical one. The title alone captures this and is in no small part what drew me to the book; then, too, you've got the cover art. Mary, the girl on the cover, stands looking pensive in front of a bleak woodland. This captures the mood of the book perfectly, because this story isn't about the zombie outbreak; it's about the tiny society that's arisen seven generations after, and the few remnants of the pre-outbreak life they've managed to cobble together into a village. What happened to create the Unconsecrated, as Mary's people call the zombies, is never called out. Instead, the zombies are a constant background detail, a shuffling, shambling mass of unlife beyond the fences that surround the village.
Mary is the heart of the story, a young woman who's grown up on her mother's tales of the ocean, which no one in their village has ever seen. When Mary loses her mother to the Unconsecrated, it puts her on a path between having to decide between two young men, challenging the long-held secrets of the Sisterhood that rules her village, and ultimately, to finding that mythical ocean. It's an excellent story overall and well worth checking out for YA and adult readers alike. Five stars.