Publishers Weekly
Ryan returns with a companion to her critically acclaimed debut, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, which functions as something of a retelling of that story, albeit with a different protagonist. Gabry lives in the seaside town of Vista, the same place that Mary landed at the end of the previous book. Like Mary's former village, Vista is carefully protected from the Mudo (the Unconsecrated), zombielike humans constantly seeking people to infect. After a reckless nighttime adventure with her friends turns tragic, Gabry avoids punishment, but can't escape the changes to and revelations about her life that quickly mount. Like its predecessor, this book features a breach of the town, an escape into the Forest, a love triangle, the ever-present and inexhaustible Mudo, and an extraordinarily bleak mood. But it also offers an expansion of postapocalyptic detail (including the Recruiters, a militant, policelike organization that hunts and brutalizes as much as it tries to protect) and a few inspired surprises. Despite the books' similarities, readers are sure to be hooked, as this novel also retains Ryan's gripping storytelling style and engaging prose. Ages 14–up. (Mar.)
Children's Literature
- Uma Krishnaswami
Ryan (The Forest of Hands and Teeth) revisits the world of the Mudo (formerly known as the Unconsecrated) in this story of Gabry, the daughter of the first book's protagonist. Gabry and her mother Mary live in a lighthouse in the place now known as Vista. Mary's job is to kill those Mudo who wash ashore. When Gabry pursues Catcher, a boy she has known for years, into the forest, her action has devastating results, and soon she must decipher messages her mother has left for her and venture back into the terrifying forest. As Mary was before her, Gabry is torn between the love of two young men: Catcher and Elias, who shows up out of the cruel society of Seekers. The world of the first book is developed further here, with the Seekers being one of its more interesting manifestations. The clues left in a book of Shakespeare's sonnets come as an interesting surprise, as do several other plot turns, some involving Gabry's friend Cira, others related to Catcher's shifting role. It is difficult to believe that Gabry has not anticipated some of these possibilities, even as sheltered as she has been. But then this novel is not always about internal story logic or even about the prose, which tends at times to be overwrought. What drives it is the twisting plot, the pace, and the compelling, agonizingly detailed terrors of this world in which the undead are ever threatening and the safety of the living has been an illusion all along. A series of further surprises at the end lead Gabry to learn a truth about herself. The novel stands alone or can be read in tandem with the first book; judging by the ending there will be more to come. Reviewer: Uma Krishnaswami
VOYA
- Diane Colson
The best and worst night of Gabry's life starts with the promise of romance. Lured by the possibility of a kiss from her long-time crush, Catcher, Gabry goes against all better instincts and climbs over the Barrier that shelters her town. Outside the Barrier, Gabry and her friends enjoy a heady sense of freedom until they are attacked by a Mudo, a former human infected with a virus that transforms the person into a blood-ravenous, zombie-like monster. By the end of the evening, most of Gabry's friends have been arrested, two have been killed, and Catcher has been bitten, almost certainly infected with the Mudo virus. Readers of the companion novel, The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Delacorte, 2009), will recognize this horrific world where people live in constant terror of the Mudos, or Unconsecrated. As in that other story, Gabry discovers that her "safe" life is built on lies. She also finds herself fleeing along the paths of the forest, torn between loving two very different men. Despite these parallels, the books have their own distinctive narrative and setting, which makes them very much like interlocking puzzle pieces. Readers can start with either book, but certainly fans of the first book will be delighted by the way Ryan weaves the stories together. Some fantastic coincidences help tie up loose ends from the companion piece. Judging by the way this book ends, readers can anticipate more adventures set in this ruined landscape. Recommend it to fans of apocalyptic fiction or zombie lore. Reviewer: Diane Colson
Barbara A. Ward
A barricade protects the citizens of Vista from the ever-shambling zombies yearning for human flesh. Mary lives in the lighthouse, watching for zombies who may wash ashore. When they do, she decapitates them. The barricade and Mary keep Vista safe from the zombies, also known as the Mudo or the Unconsecrated. When Gabrielle, Mary's daughter, crosses the Barrier to hang out with her friends one night, her actions have consequences for the entire village. In this companion novel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth, readers learn more about what happened to its heroine, Mary, once she arrived in Vista. After the truth is revealed about Gabry's past, both women embark on separate journeys through the dangerous forest—Mary to find the truth about those she left behind, Gabry possibly to find her past and her future. The pages are filled with horror, beauty, and spiritual ruminations as the characters are tested constantly. Reviewer: Barbara A. Ward
School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up—Timid, thoughtful Gabry has grown up safely in the city of Vista. She lives in a lighthouse with her mother, Mary, the daring heroine of The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Delacorte, 2009), whose job it is to kill Mudo—zombies—as they wash ashore. Then one night, Cira, Gabry's best friend, and Catcher, Cira's brother, convince her to sneak outside Vista's walls. With the attack of one Breaker—a fast zombie—everything changes: a friend is killed, Catcher is infected, and Cira is imprisoned and destined for the Recruiters, the army that protects the loose federation of cities left after the Return. Feeling both guilty for having escaped punishment and self-destructive after the revelation that Mary in fact adopted her, Gabry pushes herself to cross the city's Barrier again. Some pieces of the narrative are well constructed: the constant, looming threat of the Mudo, Gabry's quiet determination and daring in the face of fear, and villainous soldier Daniel's palpably frightening power-grabbing sexual advances. Other details are less believable, like Mary's suddenly abandoning her daughter and her duties to seek her past in the Forest. Though flawed, this volume has enough action, romance, and depth of character to satisfy, and the cliff-hanger ending will leave fans hungry for the third book.—Megan Honig, New York Public Library
