| the forest of hands and teeth | |
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Cover of The Forest of Hands and Teeth |
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| Author(s) | Carrie Ryan |
| Cover artist | Jonathan Barkat |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Young-adult, Zombie apocalypse |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Publication date | March 10, 2009 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 312 pp |
| ISBN | 0385736819 |
| OCLC Number | 226291601 |
| Followed by | The Dead-Tossed Waves |
The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a New York Times best-selling post-apocalyptic zombie novel by first-time author Carrie Ryan that is marketed to young-adults. It was published in 2009 by Random House Delacorte Press in the United States, and by Hachette Gollancz in Australia and the United Kingdom. This is the first volume of a projected trilogy; the second book in the series, The Dead-Tossed Waves, was released on March 9, 2010 and The Dark and Hollow Places followed in March 2011. As the story opens, an unexplained disaster has turned much of the human race into mindless, cannibalistic undead. They roam the forest of the title, seeking to destroy a band of survivors barricaded inside a walled village deep in the woods. However, the fence that protects these villagers also imprisons them within a dystopian society marked by violence, secrecy, and repression. The forest thus profoundly influences all the action of the novel.
Contents |
Mary lives in a town ruled by the Sisterhood, and the Guardians. The village is surrounded by fences, beyond lies forest. There are only three ways through the fence—gates that open on paths that are themselves enclosed by fencing, expelling those who've been infected. Where the two paths lead, no one knows, for the Sisterhood says the village is the only human habitation left on Earth.
Mary has been raised on stories passed down from her great-great-great-grandmother about life before the coming of zombies. She is especially fascinated by the ocean and believes if she could reach it, she'd be free.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth debuted in the US to critical acclaim, receiving starred reviews from School Library Journal[1] and Publishers Weekly, which described the book as "fresh and riveting."[2] MTV called it "a pretty freakin' amazing, empowering and absolutely thrilling young-adult post-apocalyptic zombie love story."[3] Author and critic Bidisha selected The Forest of Hands and Teeth as one of the best books of the year for The Observer[4] and Jo Fletcher picked The Forest of Hands and Teeth as one of the most notable books of the year at the World Fantasy Convention.[5]
The Forest of Hands and Teeth - The wilderness beyond the fences where zombies dwell.
The Unconsecrated/mudo - Zombies (the definition for Unconsecrated is not holy, and the zombies are unconsecrated because they are impure or defiled). Most are slow, shambling creatures of the kind popularized by the original Night of the Living Dead, but an infected person who is isolated when they turn will become a faster stronger type of undead (capable of wiping out whole populations). However, these zombies will fall apart faster and run out of energy. The mudo don't perish unless decapitated or burned to ash. The mudo also don't decay, but will start to pull themselves apart.
The Return - The zombie apocalypse. Started decades earlier.
The Sisterhood - The religious order that controls Mary's village. They believe that the key difference between the living and the Unconsecrated is free will, and so will always offer an option to people—even if the choice is to obey them or be exiled in the forest. To maintain control over the village, they tell everyone that the forest stretches forever and there are no living people beyond the fence. The sisterhood has many secrets, untold to the villagers.
The Guardians - Those who repair the fences and defend against breaches.
Mudo - The mute. A pirate term for zombies.
Mary - the narrator, a teenage girl who wishes to learn what lies beyond the village. She is very curious about the ocean, which no one believes is real.
Jed - Mary's brother, a Guardian. Jed blames her for their mother's death and expels her from their home, leaving her no choice but to join the sisterhood. He is married to Beth and dies late in the first book while trying to save Mary.
Travis - the boy Mary loves. Though he returns her feelings, he won't marry her because his brother is in love with her. Instead, he asks Mary's best friend, Cass, to become his wife. He injures his leg one day, and later in the book is infected while trying to save Mary.
Harry - Travis's brother, who is in love with Mary though the feeling is not reciprocated. Nevertheless, Mary agrees to wed him to escape the Sisterhood. He soon develops feelings for Cass while Travis is recovering from his broken leg.
Beth - Jed's wife and the sister of Harry and Travis. While trying to escape from the village she is turned and later dies. During the course of the book she loses three children that are never born. She loses the first child at the very beginning before Mary's mother was infected, the second during the winter, and the last when she is infected and killed.
Argos- A young dog who was given to Mary by Harry as a wedding present. Later in the book, Mary gives Argos to Jacob.
Jacob - A young boy rescued by Harry when the village is overrun. When his parents and sister are most likely killed, Cass takes him in as her adoptive son.
Cass - Mary's best friend until a love-quadrilateral estranges them. Mary says she smells like sunshine.
Gabrielle - A girl from Village XIV. After her town is overrun with unconsecrated, she flees down the paths, apparently reaching the sea at one point. She eventually ends up in Mary's village, where the Sisterhood keeps her presence secret out of fear it will upset their control of the people. The Sisterhood isolate her for a long period of time before releasing her to the Unconsecrated to be turned, recaptured, and studied. She destroys part of the fence which allows the Unconsecrated in to destroy Mary's village.
Sister Tabitha - The head of the Sisterhood and the oldest, the religious order that runs Mary's village. She believes the Return is God's punishment for human curiosity and warns Mary not to seek answers beyond what the Sisterhood offers.
The Lighthouse Keeper - A man Mary encounters at the end of her journey.
Seven Star Pictures has optioned the film rights to The Forest of Hands and Teeth and is fast-tracking the project. It is currently scheduled for a 2012 release.[15]