Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!

In the Forest of Hands and Teeth, you never stray too near the fence. You learn to tune out the endless moans and cries. And when darkness comes, your sleep is dreamless, because no nightmare compares to what constantly rattles and claws at the all-too vulnerable border between your village and the silent trees. Mary can’t remember a time she didn’t live with the presence of the Unconsecrated: dead bodies propelled by a savage appetite for human flesh that push against the fence surrounding her village day and night. Her people live in the shadow of the Cathedral and the Sisterhood, obeying the Sisters who enforce God’s laws and praying one prayer over and over: “Please, Lord, let the fence hold.” Despite the obvious dangers, Mary dreams of the world that must exist outside the Forest of Hands and Teeth, and of the salty ocean that her mother told her about but that her neighbors insist is just a myth. She has despaired of ever quelling the longing in her chest for freedom that often feels as desperate as the ragged need of the Unconsecrated.  Then a stranger comes to the village, from the fenced-in path that the Sisterhood has forbidden anyone to explore. Her mysterious presence sets in motion a chain of events that catapult Mary far beyond the borders of her tiny village into an uncertain future fraught with fear and death. Let me tell ya something, friends, it’s pretty freakin’ creepy to read an entire book about zombies without ever seeing the word mentioned. The strength of Carrie Ryan’s walking dead debut is the menacing mood it strikes–I could feel those cold, clammy fingers brushing my neck by novel’s end. But I was left with more questions than answers by the time I turned the last page, and frustrated by the clues Mary found of modern life gone wrong and the potential corrupt nature of the Sisterhood that were dropped and not picked up again. Man, I hope there’s a sequel–otherwise I’m gonna be as unsatisfied as the Unconsecrated! Tired of the same old vampires and werewolves? Then take a lurch on the wild side with Ryan’s disturb-arific zombies as soon as they start staggering into the nearest library or bookstore, which unfortunately will not be until April 2009.