The Forest of Hands and Teeth

Zombies + post apocalypse=good stuff. In a futuristic America, there has been a zombie invasion that has reduced the known world to a single clearing of people fenced in by a system of metal gates. The Unconsecrated, as the zombies are called, bang and drone at the gates daily trying to get at the small settlement of humans and can turn a person by biting them. Our story's heroine, Mary, has lost both parents to the Unconsecrated and is forced to live with the Sisters, the religious core of the society. But when a young girl seeks refuge from somewhere outside of the fence, Mary begins to believe the stories she has heard of a world outside of the fence, and of the ocean.

It's a page turner. I read through it in just a few days. I felt a bit disappointed by the ending, and Mary's incessant and sometimes illogical drive bothered me. There's romance, surprisingly—considering it's hard to think of anyone getting hot and bothered with zombies milling about trying to eat people. As with many Young Adult novels, there's the suspension of belief that the only people left to save society are teenagers, but what can you do. Lyrically written, engaging and well-paced, this zombie thriller is a perfect October read.

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