The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

I had read so many amazing reviews of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and was quite excited when I actually got to read it.

It is basically a post-apocalyptic novel, set after the world has been taken over by zombie-like beings. Mary lives within the boundaries of a big fence, which the ‘unconsecrated’ (or zombies) are constantly shaking at. The Sisterhood are a group of “nuns”, who control the small village of people who haven’t been infected by the unconsecrated. Before Mary can be ‘bonded’ (aka married) to Harry, the village is infiltrated. And Mary finds herself escaping with Harry, her real love Travis (Harry’s brother!), his betrothed and Mary’s brother and wife. They all manage to get out unharmed – left with absolutely nothing but Mary’s hope of finding the ocean, a ‘thing’ she has heard about from her late mother but doesn’t quite believe in.

 This is a fantastic book; so beautifully written and very gripping. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to perhaps slightly mature readers who enjoy fantasy, romance and adventure.

 Sequel out now [The Dead Tossed Waves]. And supposedly movie in the making. Yay.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

If you lived in the world of this novel and was a troublesome teenager, you could be “unwound” – sent to be used for spare body parts. Or you could be the tenth child – the one who was to be sacrificed for the “good of society” for “unwinding”. Either way, it wouldn’t be a good end to your young life. Three such teenagers decide to revolt against this sytem and their desperate fight to stay out of the hands of the authorities makes for some exciting reading.

The Crossing by Mandy Hager

The Crossing

This is Book One of the Blood of the Lamb Trilogy about a future world where girls are taken from their birth mothers and brought up on an island until their first period. Then they are taken to the Holy City where she would serve the Lord. Maryam is the young female antagonist that we follow going through this process – however, unlike others before her, she questions everythihng that is happening. Although rather confronting, this is an interesting vision of a future world where religion is used to maintain power over people.

The event that caused the change in this society is called The Tribulation and this has brought disease to some of the more powerful people. Read the novel to find out what this disease is and how it is treated. There is a love interest and baddies galore. I’m looking forward to Book Two to see what happens next.