The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Oh My Goodness! My heart is still racing from this book. I literally could not put it down today(yes, I finished it in a day while still managing to work a full 8 hours and go to the gym). FYI it's a girl's zombie book. The cover and descriptions make no allusions to zombies, but trust me, that's exactly where this story is headed even though "zombie" is never mentioned. Unconsecrated=Zombie.

Mary lives in a post-apocalyptic world after the Return where a mysterious infection has spread creating the Unconsecrated who paw at the edges of the gates surrounding her little village. Beyond lies the forest of Hands and Teeth. The gates are patrolled by the Guardians and the Sisterhood guide the citizens. Most have lost hope and try to keep Faith, but Mary has relinquished her belief in God to follow her dream of finding the ocean-and a freedom from the Forest. Life in the village is strained and choices are minimal. Bonds are forged out of necessity to survive and commitment over love. A sequence of events (don't want to be a spoil-sport) reveals to Mary that nothing is as it seems and the people she trusted are hiding secrets.

The story is amazingly written around the choices one young girl must make in the face of overwhelming despair. Will love prevail? Will undying faith in a dream? It's fast-paced and every word leads seamlessly into the next thought, the next chapter. The reader is propelled into this complete isolation and consumed by Mary's POV. An interesting take on a classic concept. The love story is empowering, but not overshadowing as the need for freedom still rings loud and clear. The reader experiences a gamete of emotions as Mary feels them-such is the vivid imagery and fluidity of the writing.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first in the trilogy with it's companion novels The Dead Tossed Waves and The Dark and Hollow Places already out. Honestly, I feel so heavy after absorbing the weight of this novel, I'm going to have to break before jumping into the next story. Seriously, I was enraptured the entire time, but by page 268 I was bawling my eyes out and I finished the book with an empty void that only chocolate can sufficiently fill. Don't get me wrong-I can't wait to read the other stories in this world Miss Ryan has dementedly formed, but I need a good comedy or epic romance to space out the utter tragedy.