The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Encyclopedia
The Forest of Hands and Teeth is a New York Times best-selling
post-apocalyptic zombie
novel by first-time author Carrie Ryan that is marketed to young-adults. It was published in 2009
by Random House Delacorte Press in the United States, and by Hachette Gollancz in Australia and the United Kingdom. This is the first volume of a projected trilogy; the second book in the series, The Dead-Tossed Waves
, was released on March 9, 2010 and The Dark and Hollow Places followed in March 2011. As the story opens, an unexplained disaster has turned much of the human race into mindless, cannibalistic undead. They roam the forest of the title, seeking to destroy a band of survivors barricaded inside a walled village deep in the woods. However, the fence that protects these villagers also imprisons them within a dystopian society marked by violence, secrecy, and repression. The forest thus profoundly influences all the action of the novel.
Mary has been raised on stories passed down from her great-great-great-grandmother about life before the coming of zombies. She is especially fascinated by the ocean
and believes if she could reach it, she'd be free.
and Publishers Weekly
, which described the book as "fresh and riveting." MTV
called it "a pretty freakin' amazing, empowering and absolutely thrilling young-adult post-apocalyptic zombie love story." Author and critic Bidisha
selected The Forest of Hands and Teeth as one of the best books of the year for The Observer
and Jo Fletcher picked The Forest of Hands and Teeth as one of the most notable books of the year at the World Fantasy Convention
.
The Unconsecrated/mudo - Zombies (the definition for Unconsecrated is not holy, and the zombies are unconsecrated because they are impure or defiled). Most are slow, shambling creatures of the kind popularized by the original Night of the Living Dead
, but an infected person who is isolated when they turn will become a faster stronger type of undead (capable of wiping out whole populations). However, these zombies will fall apart faster and run out of energy. The mudo don't perish unless decapitated or burned to ash. The mudo also don't decay, but will start to pull themselves apart.
The Return - The zombie apocalypse. Started decades earlier.
The Sisterhood - The religious order that controls Mary's village. They believe that the key difference between the living and the Unconsecrated is free will, and so will always offer an option to people—even if the choice is to obey them or be exiled in the forest. To maintain control over the village, they tell everyone that the forest stretches forever and there are no living people beyond the fence. The sisterhood has many secrets, untold to the villagers.
The Guardians - Those who repair the fences and defend against breaches.
Mudo - The mute. A pirate term for zombies.
Jed - Mary's brother, a Guardian. Jed blames her for their mother's death and expels her from their home, leaving her no choice but to join the sisterhood. He is married to Beth and dies late in the first book while trying to save Mary.
Travis - the boy Mary loves. Though he returns her feelings, he won't marry her because his brother is in love with her. Instead, he asks Mary's best friend, Cass, to become his wife. He injures his leg one day, and later in the book is infected while trying to save Mary.
Harry - Travis's brother, who is in love with Mary though the feeling is not reciprocated. Nevertheless, Mary agrees to wed him to escape the Sisterhood. He soon develops feelings for Cass while Travis is recovering from his broken leg.
Beth - Jed's wife and the sister of Harry and Travis. While trying to escape from the village she is turned and later dies. During the course of the book she loses three children that are never born. She loses the first child at the very beginning before Mary's mother was infected, the second during the winter, and the last when she is infected and killed.
Argos- A young dog who was given to Mary by Harry as a wedding present. Later in the book, Mary gives Argos to Jacob.
Jacob - A young boy rescued by Harry when the village is overrun. When his parents and sister are most likely killed, Cass takes him in as her adoptive son.
Cass - Mary's best friend until a love-quadrilateral estranges them. Mary says she smells like sunshine.
Gabrielle - A girl from Village XIV. After her town is overrun with unconsecrated, she flees down the paths, apparently reaching the sea at one point. She eventually ends up in Mary's village, where the Sisterhood keeps her presence secret out of fear it will upset their control of the people. The Sisterhood isolate her for a long period of time before releasing her to the Unconsecrated to be turned, recaptured, and studied. She destroys part of the fence which allows the Unconsecrated in to destroy Mary's village.
Sister Tabitha - The head of the Sisterhood and the oldest, the religious order that runs Mary's village. She believes the Return is God's punishment for human curiosity and warns Mary not to seek answers beyond what the Sisterhood offers.
The Lighthouse Keeper - A man Mary encounters at the end of her journey.
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
post-apocalyptic zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
novel by first-time author Carrie Ryan that is marketed to young-adults. It was published in 2009
2009 in literature
The year 2009 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*8 October - Romanian-born German novelist Herta Müller wins the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature....
by Random House Delacorte Press in the United States, and by Hachette Gollancz in Australia and the United Kingdom. This is the first volume of a projected trilogy; the second book in the series, The Dead-Tossed Waves
The Dead-Tossed Waves
The Dead-Tossed Waves is a novel by Carrie Ryan. It is the sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth and the second book of a trilogy. The third book to make up the trilogy is "The Dark and Hollow Places." It was published in 2010 by Random House Delacourte Press and is written in first person...
, was released on March 9, 2010 and The Dark and Hollow Places followed in March 2011. As the story opens, an unexplained disaster has turned much of the human race into mindless, cannibalistic undead. They roam the forest of the title, seeking to destroy a band of survivors barricaded inside a walled village deep in the woods. However, the fence that protects these villagers also imprisons them within a dystopian society marked by violence, secrecy, and repression. The forest thus profoundly influences all the action of the novel.
Plot summary
Mary lives in a town ruled by the Sisterhood, and the Guardians. The village is surrounded by fences, beyond lies forest. There are only three ways through the fence—gates that open on paths that are themselves enclosed by fencing, expelling those who've been infected. Where the two paths lead, no one knows, for the Sisterhood says the village is the only human habitation left on Earth.Mary has been raised on stories passed down from her great-great-great-grandmother about life before the coming of zombies. She is especially fascinated by the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
and believes if she could reach it, she'd be free.
Critical reception
The Forest of Hands and Teeth debuted in the US to critical acclaim, receiving starred reviews from School Library JournalSchool Library Journal
The School Library Journal is a monthly magazine with articles and reviews for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, with a focus on technology and multimedia. Reviews are included for preschool to 4th grade,...
and Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, which described the book as "fresh and riveting." MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
called it "a pretty freakin' amazing, empowering and absolutely thrilling young-adult post-apocalyptic zombie love story." Author and critic Bidisha
Bidisha
Bidisha is a feminist, critic, broadcaster and writer. She began writing professionally for arts magazines such as i-D, Dazed and Confused and the NME at the age of 15 and published her first novel at 18.-Early life:Bidisha is an only child, her parents are both lecturers in information technology...
selected The Forest of Hands and Teeth as one of the best books of the year for The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
and Jo Fletcher picked The Forest of Hands and Teeth as one of the most notable books of the year at the World Fantasy Convention
World Fantasy Convention
The World Fantasy Convention is an annual convention of professionals, collectors, and others interested in the field of fantasy. It places emphasis on literature and art, while de-emphasizing dramatic presentation, gaming, masquerade, and the like. The World Fantasy Awards are presented at the...
.
Accolades
- A New York Times best-sellerNew York Times Best Seller listThe New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
- A Junior Library Guild selection
- #4 on the IndieBound Kids' Indie Next List for Spring 2009
- A Borders Original Voices selection for April 2009 and Borders Original Voices finalist
- Selected as an American Library AssociationAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
"Best Book for Young AdultsYoung Adult Library Services AssociationThe Young Adult Library Services Association , established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. The mission of YALSA is to advocate, promote and strengthen service to young adults as part of the continuum of total library service, and to support those who provide service to...
" - Selected for the Texas Library Association TAYSHAS High School Reading list (2010–2011)
- Selected by librarians at the Denver Public Library as one of the Best Teen Books of 2009
- Nominated for the North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
School Library Media Association Young Adult Book Award - Nominated for the 2010-2011 GeorgiaGeorgia (U.S. state)Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
Peach Book Award
Terminology
The Forest of Hands and Teeth - The wilderness beyond the fences where zombies dwell.The Unconsecrated/mudo - Zombies (the definition for Unconsecrated is not holy, and the zombies are unconsecrated because they are impure or defiled). Most are slow, shambling creatures of the kind popularized by the original Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent black-and-white zombie film and cult film directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea and Karl Hardman. It premiered on October 1, 1968, and was completed on a USD$114,000 budget. After decades of cinematic re-releases, it...
, but an infected person who is isolated when they turn will become a faster stronger type of undead (capable of wiping out whole populations). However, these zombies will fall apart faster and run out of energy. The mudo don't perish unless decapitated or burned to ash. The mudo also don't decay, but will start to pull themselves apart.
The Return - The zombie apocalypse. Started decades earlier.
The Sisterhood - The religious order that controls Mary's village. They believe that the key difference between the living and the Unconsecrated is free will, and so will always offer an option to people—even if the choice is to obey them or be exiled in the forest. To maintain control over the village, they tell everyone that the forest stretches forever and there are no living people beyond the fence. The sisterhood has many secrets, untold to the villagers.
The Guardians - Those who repair the fences and defend against breaches.
Mudo - The mute. A pirate term for zombies.
Characters
Mary - the narrator, a teenage girl who wishes to learn what lies beyond the village. She is very curious about the ocean, which no one believes is real.Jed - Mary's brother, a Guardian. Jed blames her for their mother's death and expels her from their home, leaving her no choice but to join the sisterhood. He is married to Beth and dies late in the first book while trying to save Mary.
Travis - the boy Mary loves. Though he returns her feelings, he won't marry her because his brother is in love with her. Instead, he asks Mary's best friend, Cass, to become his wife. He injures his leg one day, and later in the book is infected while trying to save Mary.
Harry - Travis's brother, who is in love with Mary though the feeling is not reciprocated. Nevertheless, Mary agrees to wed him to escape the Sisterhood. He soon develops feelings for Cass while Travis is recovering from his broken leg.
Beth - Jed's wife and the sister of Harry and Travis. While trying to escape from the village she is turned and later dies. During the course of the book she loses three children that are never born. She loses the first child at the very beginning before Mary's mother was infected, the second during the winter, and the last when she is infected and killed.
Argos- A young dog who was given to Mary by Harry as a wedding present. Later in the book, Mary gives Argos to Jacob.
Jacob - A young boy rescued by Harry when the village is overrun. When his parents and sister are most likely killed, Cass takes him in as her adoptive son.
Cass - Mary's best friend until a love-quadrilateral estranges them. Mary says she smells like sunshine.
Gabrielle - A girl from Village XIV. After her town is overrun with unconsecrated, she flees down the paths, apparently reaching the sea at one point. She eventually ends up in Mary's village, where the Sisterhood keeps her presence secret out of fear it will upset their control of the people. The Sisterhood isolate her for a long period of time before releasing her to the Unconsecrated to be turned, recaptured, and studied. She destroys part of the fence which allows the Unconsecrated in to destroy Mary's village.
Sister Tabitha - The head of the Sisterhood and the oldest, the religious order that runs Mary's village. She believes the Return is God's punishment for human curiosity and warns Mary not to seek answers beyond what the Sisterhood offers.
The Lighthouse Keeper - A man Mary encounters at the end of her journey.