The Forest of Hands and Teeth YA trilogy
The Forest of Hands and Teeth
The Dead-Tossed Waves
The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan
I thought I'd read the first few sentences for giggles-- I'm not a zombie or horror fan-- and then I got swept under. The authenticity of the first person narrative sucked me in. We meet a young woman in a Christian enclave trying to wrest control of her life away from a patriarchal society and losing, losing, losing. She's been told all her life that their enclave is all that's left of humanity. Then a stranger shows up. Now there's hope that, as the zombie plague spread, multiple new social contracts evolved, and we wonder-- Can Mary find a better fit? But between her and that dream stands a forest of hands and teeth- zombies as far as the eye can see.
It's all very engaging as long as you don't look at the etiology of the plague or the zombies logically. And it's a little annoying that so much time is spent on the YA romances and forbidden loves, but given the protagonist's age and origin -- the enclave's breeding imperative-- it's forgivable. Plus, I was a teenager once, and the writing is just that good that I can remember all that rawness and what happens when you learn love isn't the sine qua non of existence. Eventually Ryan even questions the metaphysics of zombies. It's cool. Yeah, this Ryan person can write. I seriously never thought I would enjoy a book about zombies. Nor did I ever dream there could be a book about zombies that quotes so much Shakespeare.