"The Forest of Hands and Teeth" Review

Book 1 of 20 for the Dystopian Challenge

If zombies (the Unconsecrated, here) were rampant, separated from you and your isolated village by only a fence, what would life be like? Throw in a government mixed with religious fanaticism (a mysterious group called the Sisters) and a breach of the fence, and you have the basic plot of this book.

I am quite capable of suspending my disbelief. The terribly unlikely scenario did not bother me.

What bothered me were two elements of this YA book: the first was the writing, and the second was the ending.

Now, before I launch into the criticisms, let me say that there were things about it that I really enjoyed. The characters were generally well depicted. Some PG-13 parts were strikingly written (this is a PG blog, sorry; no further details). And the bleakness of the plot greatly appealed to me and my enjoyment of dark, dark stories. Be careful if you're easily disturbed, because there is rampant zombie violence.

The writing was uneven. Much of it was good, though in several places it slipped into melodrama or was clumsily executed. Dialog was often clunky.

And these thoughts kept recurring to me:

• "Stop having the characters make declarations about their thoughts and feelings!"
• "Show, don't tell!"
• "Why does everyone sigh so much?"
• "Show, don't tell!!!"

I wish I could go into detail about my complaints about the ending. My anti-spoiler resolve prevents me from saying too much about it, and it's frustrating. Let me just say that an author who sets up a situation should have the courage to see it through honestly. The story should play out logically, without convenient, magical shortcuts taken only because the author is feeling protective. You set up the stakes, and you should be true to those stakes.

I'll stop there. I'm tempted to say too much.

Also, it addresses the notion of selfishness, but unsatisfactorily. I don't think it was ever once used well, true to what I think is the definition of being selfish, and always as an accusation against the same character, who I don't believe acted selfishly. Those who used the word always did so unfairly. It happened often enough that it ended up being irritating.

Overall, though, I enjoyed it. It wasn't perfect, but it was a lot of fun. I even would recommend it to the right audience. It didn't give me nightmares, but it's been more than a day, and I'm still thinking about it.

As a part of the dystopian challenge, I think it qualifies, but only barely. The societal control was not the crucial part of the plot. I wish there was more exploration of, and defiance against, the governing bodies.

But in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, maybe there just wasn't enough room to address it...