The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
This book is supposed to be a post-apocalyptic romance. The jacket reads:
In Mary's world, there are simple truths. Now 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 by so much death?
Basically, the book is based on the premise that a zombie apocalypse happened. The zombies, called the Unconsecrated, live in the Forest of Hands and Teeth and they are straight-up horror movie zombies--the flesh-eating kind. Mary lives in a town in the middle of the forest, a town completely surrounded by fenceline that protects them. They have no idea if there is an outside world, if there are any survivors, etc. The premise is interesting and it's what pulled me into the book.
So what's the problem?
1. One of the jacket blurbs reads that it is "elegantly written." No--it really isn't. Not only does the author assume that the reader has brain damage, repeating the same information over and over (within 10 pages we are told 3 times that Sister Tabitha is "the oldest of the Sisters"), leaving behind HUGE plot holes (we know Mary's father disappears and is presumed to be a zombie but no one is allowed past the fence that surrounds the town. This is never explained) and doing a lot of showing, not telling (Why does Mary love Travis? We know nothing about him. Sister Tabitha describes Mary as someone who asks dangerous questions but we never see or hear her doing it.)
2. It is written in short, simplistic and repetitive sentences. I know I touched on this in #1 but it is sooooo annoying to read a book in which every sentence is 10 words or less.
3. Worldbuilding. Ryan doesn't do it. For instance, the book mentions "the Scripture," "the Sisters," etc. It is also mentioned that religious beliefs have changed since "the Return" (the zombie apocalpse). So Ryan had an interesting opportunity to create an entirely new religion. Instead, she just uses Christianity redux. It's an easy out. She does this over and over again--fails to create anything interesting and new. The premise of the book is interesting. It's unfortunate that the book completely fails to live up to it's promise.
4. THE ROMANCE. Ryan tries to set up a love quadrangle between the main character, Mary; the guy she loves, Travis; her best friend, Cass; and Travis' brother. The problem is we know nothing about ANY of them. Even Mary...who is the first person narrator. Mary falls in love with Travis while he's unconscious...which is apropos, since that's about all we know about him. I have no idea why Mary loves him, why she doesn't love his brother (who is in love with her), or why Mary develops such a sudden attachment to Travis. And since the worldbuilding fails, the novel has to stand on the romance, which falls completely flat.
100 pages in and I've decided to stop reading. Skip this book.
Also--commenters: Recs for summer reading are appreciated.