Review: The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Audiobook)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
Series: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Genre: Dystopia, Zombies, Young Adult
Length: 9 hours and 31 minutes
Narrator: Vane Millon
Source: eLibrary
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Description:

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 about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, 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?

My Rating:

My Review:

Mary's mother has always told her stories of the ocean, of a time where there was a world outside of their small village.  After her mother is bitten and dies, Marry holds on to those stories stronger than ever.  Abandoned by her friends and family, Mary joins the Sisterhood where she must give up her dreams of the ocean and her dreams of having her own family.  But hte Sisterhood has secrets that makes Mary question everything she has always been told.  She soon meets up with her childhood love and faces a choice.  Then the unthinkable happens and Mary and a few others are forced outside of the only world they know.  They must now fight to live.

On the story...
On one hand the plot and adventure kept me on the edge of my seat never sure of what would come.  I was excited and scare for the characters.  It is easy to become invested because the thought of being eaten by zombies is a truly horrible thing.  The zombies, or the unconsecrated as they were called here, create such tension and adventure; it really kept the plot moving.

On the other hand, Mary was confusing.  It wasn't that she was an unlikeable character, it was more that she was willing to sacrifice everyone else to fulfill her dream of seeing the ocean.  A dream that didn't make sense int eh context of the terror and trauma around her.  At every step of the way she was unsatisfied.  She didn't want to join the Sisterhood and was angry that she didn't have a way out.  When an opportunity presents itself, she wants a better opportunity.  When the better opportunity is there, she wants to see the ocean.  When the better opportunity is gone, she wants it back.  At some point I just stopped caring about her or her dreams.  This made the end a bit unsatisfying.  I might have ended up a little bitter.  Just a little.

On the narrator...
I love that there is finally a bit of diversity in the narrators that I'm coming across and I hope there is more to come.  I didn't love Ms. Millon but she wasn't a distraction either.  As the audio progressed, I was able to ignore any annoyances and enjoy the story.

Overall...
This is a story with a strong plot, but an unsympathetic main character.  At this time, I'm not going to pursue this series any further.

 P.S.  This goes toward that Dystopia challenge that I forgot that I committed to.  If you hadn't noticed yet, there are quite a few more to come :)