First one Down

It's 2:30 am and I am exhausted. I can only hope that this post will be at least semi-coherent, though, because I finished one of my reads and it was so utterly amazingly fantastic, that it just had to be today's post. 

See, I told you I could wrap it up fast, and now my sisters can have it by the end of next week. I totally can't wait to hear what they think about it, seeing as they're the intended audience and all. Obviously my ventures into the teen section are paying off lately for all of us (actually, I've had a string of great reads of late). 

This is a debut that I think many adults will be surprised to find is a teen read. While many are great fun for adults, Carrie Ryan's debut could easily be shelved in an adult horror section and you'd never, ever, ever know the difference. 

So, without further adieu, here's a bit about the horrific and bleak (but still totally teen appropriate) The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan:

Mary knows little about the event now referred to as the Return, but she knows that she and her family are safe behind the fence. The Guardians ensure that the Unconsecrated can't get in, and the Sisters take care of everyone. Order is very important in their society and most are content to live according to the rules that have been in place for so long. Tales of a time before the fence and the plague of walking dead leave Mary yearning for more, though. When her own mother is bitten and becomes infected, Mary is forced to join the Sisterhood. While living within the confines of the Cathedral, pining away for her true love, a love that is completely out of reach, Mary witnesses something the Sisterhood are willing to kill to keep quiet. An outsider from beyond the protected gate, slips through the barrier one evening. Mary is desperate to ask her about what lay beyond her tiny town, but the next time Mary sees the girl, it is not in the safe sanctuary. The girl has been cast out, without anyone in the village the wiser, and has become one of the most dangerous Unconsecrated they have ever faced. She is smarter and faster than the others and she will lead to the Sisterhood's undoing. When the fence is breached, Mary and a few others flee the town, facing the unknown world outside for the very first time. Will they survive or are humans done for?

I did attempt to bring this one to the gym with me, as I said last night, but I didn't get very far. Nope, this was a totally one-sitting read that I couldn't force myself to put down no matter how late it was getting (obviously). The only problem is that I desperately want more of this world. Run out and buy it yourself (it's a teen hardcover so you know it's cheaper than an adult one and it's completely worth it). And I'll even let you in on a little info I found at Carrie Ryan's website: Ryan's second book, tentatively due out some time next year, will take place in Mary's world. YAY!

If you're a fan o post-apocalyptic zombie tales (as I am) then you need to read this book. I just know you'll love it. And as soon as I get a true teen opinion, I'll give you guys an update, but based on how much they liked Marianne Mancusi's Razor Girl, I'm fairly certain they're going to LOVE this book.