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The Forest of Hands and Teeth

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The Forest of Hands and Teeth

By: Carrie Ryan
Narrated by: Vane Millon
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About this listen

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But, slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. Now, she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

"A bleak but gripping story.... Poignant and powerful." (Publishers Weekly, starred)

"A postapocalyptic romance of the first order, elegantly written from title to last line." (Scott Westerfeld, author of the Uglies series and Leviathan)

"Intelligent, dark, and bewitching, The Forest of Hands and Teeth transitions effortlessly between horror and beauty. Mary's world is one that readers will not soon forget." (Cassandra Clare, best-selling author of City of Bones)

"Opening The Forest of Hands and Teeth is like cracking Pandora's box: a blur of darkness and a precious bit of hope pour out. This is a beautifully crafted, page-turning, powerful novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it." (Melissa Marr, best-selling author of Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange)

"Dark and sexy and scary. Only one of the Unconsecrated could put this book down." (Justine Larbalestier, author of How to Ditch Your Fairy)

©2009 Carrie Ryan (P)2009 Listening Library
Death & Dying Fantasy Fiction Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Young Adult Emotionally Gripping Scary Sisterhood Paranormal Village
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Critic reviews

"Mary's observant, careful narration pulls readers into a bleak but gripping story of survival and the endless capacity of humanity to persevere . . .Fresh and riveting." ( Publishers Weekly)
"The suspense that Ryan has created from the very first page on entices and tempts readers so that putting the book down is not an option." ( School Library Journal)

What listeners say about The Forest of Hands and Teeth

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

amazing!

I absolutely loved this story. It is the first ever audio book i ever listened to and i must say i am now hooked!

it starts out quite slow and the characters in the story aren't described as much as i would of liked, because throughout the whole story i did have to try and guess what the main character looked like, but other than that an absolute edge of the seat story. I listen whilst at work and i must say there were times when i was just staring into the distance just waiting for the next thing to happen leaving my work to the side.

Epic story, bit sad i just found out the next one doesn't carry on with the same character but bet its just as good. hope you enjoy it as much as me. :)

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Zombie Stuff

I have already rated this book and I gave it a 5. Shortly after I had submitted my rating, another listener gave the book a very average 3. I feel compelled now to explain my high rating. I am an older listener not a teenager. The book is written from a first person perspective and is preoccupied with the dilemmas assocated with responsibliltiy and consequence which weigh heavily on the central character. Appocalyptic doom and survival are the main threads of the plot and there are many harrowing situations that arise. The main character is as flawed as the rest of us and tries her best to do what she feels is right.Relgious obligation also rears it's ugly head.Her situation made me sad and I admired her courage. Deep scary and horrible stuff. The sequel is even better.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A page turner

Excellent world building, with that maddening quality of leaving you wanting to know so much more than is revealed (a plus in my opinion).
The characterisation is a little bit two dimensional, which is odd as there is a huge amount of focus on it. The male romantic interests are basically interchangeable, and nobody seems to really be held accountable for anything. because of love.
However, really tense, good at building suspense, and something quite different. I enjoyed it, and would be keen for a sequel!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

not my cup if tea

Mot my cup of tea plot wise...very depressing and sad...and just kinda ends. However well written...descriptive.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

A post apocolyptical, teen romance with zombies...

So this is the first audiobook that I have listened to without first reading it. Not sure why I haven't done it before, though with reading you draw from your own imagination, having it read to you can change that.

Now the storyline may have bugged me if I was reading it, the teen angst was a pain at times and often when reading it would lower my rating. But it gets a high rating from me, showing me that a good narrator can make angst seem appropriate.

A hit with the Young Adult zombie lovers.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Barely managed to finish it

I wasn’t a fan of the narrator, all very monotone and I was disappointed with the story.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not Recommended

OVERALL
5 hours into the book I just cannot believe that I'm half way through and almost nothing has happened. I am not a person to leave a book after starting it even if I don't like it but I cannot bear a single word anymore.

WRITING
Unending lines of stomach turning self pity with metaphors that is surprising I haven't heard something on the line of "the cold burns like fire" though it did come very close to such thing many times.
It goes like this:
▬Main character does step 1 (yay something happens though just for a few seconds).
▬>Tens of minutes< of self pity, useless introspection and ponders of lost loves all lengthened by an annoying repetition of the same concepts using different cliche metaphors.
▬Main character does step 2, again only for a few moments something actually happens and then again with the self pity thing.

STORY
I won't say too much as I don't want to spoil the book for people intending to read it, but expect nothing original and lot's of cliches to the extent of "My point in life is: I will see the Ocean" ...yes, that is actually, basically, the unspoiled main plot of the book in a nutshell.
Do you think that is enough to make you wrinkle your nose in suspicion? Well, you haven't heard anything yet, expect soap opera-like love triangles and squares and cliche revelations such as "TSSSS... CSSSHH... I am your father!" (Well... much more soap opera cliche like, but I'm not going to spoil anything just in case).

NARRATION
I now know that Vane Millon has an unnerving, monotone, emotionless voice. I do apologies for my harshness Miss Vane but every sentence ended with the same exact pitch, it just felt like a punishment. I still feel that it fits well in the context of a teenage girl, but a rich high-school one, surely not a post apocalyptic, wilderness self sustaining environment survivor kind. Maybe is because I have just finished hearing to Robertson Dean in "I am legend" (boy what a book, and what a narrator. Just awesome), I don't know for sure, but sure is I felt something when he was narrating and of all those emotions, frustration wasn't one of them, while with this book it was the predominant one. If it's not clear what I'm saying you can imagine every phrase's tune going like this: ▼►▼.

CONCLUSION + RECOMMENDATION
I would not spend a credit on this book if you ask me, if you are looking for a good post apocalyptic story I recommend:

-Metro 2033
-I am Legend

respectively.

They do not contain zombies per se, but other horrific creatures. They are both amazing, you will not be disappointed.

Enjoy

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4 people found this helpful