Daily Archives: January 12, 2010

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
There are zombie stories.. and then there are zombie stories. This is one of the latter.

If you are expecting rip-roaring, shaking-your-head, can’t believe you are reading this gore type of zombies such as you’d find in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies then this isn’t the book for you. This book reminded me more of Cherie Priest’s Boneshaker
… minus the steampunk.

Well-written (and even in first person, go figure!), I felt immediately swept into the story. Carrie Ryan did a great job of crafting a bleak, horror-filled world but still managing to maintain a feeling of hope. Each character has a distinct personality – but she’s not overly protective of her characters either and does not hesitate to sacrifice them (sometimes brutally) when the story calls for it.

There are action scenes placed well throughout the book, giving it a needed boost when I felt one was needed and the love story that develops is one that isn’t that easy to pick and choose sides on. I love it when there is no real clear person for the main character to be with and when each choice would lead to an incredibly different life.

Despite reading about this world where the “unconsecrated” roam freely, at times I forgot this was even a book about zombies – so much so that paragraphs that spoke of sharpened nails and biting surprised me and brought me back to the reality of the story being told.

I’d definitely recommend this book to teens who enjoyed The Hunger Games or Boneshaker. It’s fun and an interesting read.

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The Shadowmask: Stone of Tymora, Book II by R.A. Salvatore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
In this second book we’re told the continuation of the story began in The Stowaway. This time, Maimun is without his stone and is off to capture it again.

The story is full of characters such as Joen and Captain Deudermont which breathe life into it. Also a return is made by a character thought lost in The Stowaway, which was a pleasant surprise.

While I still had a bit of an issue with the telling of the story in first person (being somewhat corny), it begins to work better in this book. It feels like the authors are finally getting their stride and spinning a story worth telling. Despite this being the “bridge” in a trilogy, there are adventures that begin and end in the book that gave me a satisfied feeling and didn’t make me too frustrated when it came to the, to be expected, cliffhanger ending.

Overall, a great series so far for young boys and girls. Lots of adventure, fun and easily read.

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