The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan

How would you survive in a zombie apocalypse?  Would you be brave?  Would you adhere to the rules of the new society?  Would you be content living in your little sliver of safety or would you ache for something more?  For Mary, it's the only world she knows, but through the stories her mother used to tell her, she knows there is more.  She knows there are cities with buildings so high they climb into the sky.  She knows there are other faraway places.  She knows there is an ocean...  There might be somewhere safe from the zombies (otherwise known as the unconsecrated).  If there's any way to get there, it seems like an impossible mystery and one she's not sure she's brave enough to figure out.  Most people think she's a bit crazy though, because she believes in these "fairy tales" of oceans and giant cities and the last photos that could've been evidence of the strange world outside were burned in an accidental fire years ago.  To the majority of the villagers, going outside just means certain death and they can't understand why Mary fantasizes about it all the time.  The village is safe, the people are well-fed and no one wants to see beyond the fences.  Except Mary.  Mary dreams of a life without fences or trees, with water as far as the eye can see and she wants to know it personally.  There are fenced paths leading away from the community, but everyone has been warned to stay away from them and told that they're not safe.  Perhaps they lead to the ocean though...  I'd recommend The Forest of Hands and Teeth to fans of horror, suspense, zombie-apocalypse stories, survival, dystopians, tragic love stories or anyone looking for something a tad darker than their usual read.

Favorite things:  the creepy atmosphere, Mary's inquisitive soul, the exciting and dangerous world Carrie Ryan created, the characters and their uniquely intertwined relationships, the elaborate society complete with New World rules, the scary threat of the unconsecrated looming at every turn, the level of creepiness which provided an interesting read without being overwhelming, the pace which kept me hooked from cover-to-cover, the approach of the love story which was quite different from most YA reads and the overall journey you go on while reading this book.

Criticisms:  the ever-changing covers for this book resulted in me getting one that doesn't match the second one now which is a pet-peeve of mine, the behavior of one of the male leads was frustrating at times and... that's all I can think of, it was a really good read!

Overall:  5 out of 5 stars!  I'm so thankful to those of you who suggested it through my poll, because it really was worth my limited time!