The Forest of Hands and Teeth

In the dystopian novel, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, the village that Mary has lived in all her life is surrounded by a forest of fear and death, occupied by countless undead beings, who survive on the flesh of the villagers. This is the only place that Mary has ever known, full of ciaos, tragedy, and obedience, which is ruled by the Sisterhood, who control everything from marriage to death. While the villagers follow their religious leaders blindly, Mary questions the world around her, challenging the so-called truths that she was told, and begins to reveal the secrets of this paranormal society. When the fence around the village is breached and the undead conquer, will Mary find the answers she has been searching for?

I was a bit hesitant to read this book, I must admit. But after reading this review at College Candy, I decided to give Carrie Ryan's debut novel a try. I am not much of a zombie lover, but the dystopia feel of this book had me hooked. It was full of mysteries and secrets, all of which that I wanted to uncover. The depth of Mary's character was a surprise, as well as the intricate relationship between her and Travis, her friend's betrothed. By the end of this novel however, I was not content with the meager answers that Ryan provided to explain the undead's existence and the end of the modern world. So with a lack of an explanation at the end, I was overall disappointed by this book. Give it a try and let me know what you think in a comment below!

Dreaming of summer...

I am officially dreaming of summer days, where I can wear a tank top and flip flops, lounge on a beautiful beach, and read a good book. Since it is only February, my fantasy is a bit far-fetched. But I am counting down the days till June, when not only is it my favorite time of the year (my birthday is in July), but it is a time when I do not have to think about any schoolwork. I can focus on reading whatever I want without feeling guilty about it. So, in preparation for this lovely time of year, and yes, I know it is four months away, I have begun my Summer Reading List. A compilation of all the books that I have heard about, read about, seen, or been recommended to me, that unfortunately, I do not have the time to read right now. So here is the beginning of this very important list, that I will be adding to throughout this semester. I will also tell you where I heard about each one, which may help with your own reading adventures.

1. Sarah’s Key- Tatiana de Rosnay
2. The Forest of Hands and Teeth- Carrie Ryan

*I read about both of these books on an online college blog called College Candy, where there is a series called "Saturday Read." These reviews are very thorough and cover a bunch of different genres each week. Check it out!

3. True Blood series- Charlaine Harris

*I am assuming that everyone has read, or at the very least, heard of the Twilight series. They are the best books, love story, yay vampires, blah blah blah. Yeah, I know they are good. But I think the fad has gone too far, especially as a fan of the books before anyone read them, and when someone asked what you were reading and you said it was about vampires, you received a strange look. Ok no more Twilight rant. So apparently before Twilight ruled the teen world, Charlaine Harris wrote a series of books called True Blood. There is a television show based on these books, although I have never seen it. A friend recommended these books to me, and said that she couldn't put them down. So why not?

4. An Abundance of Katherines- John Green
5. Looking for Alaska- John Green

*I reviewed Paper Towns by John Green a couple months ago, and then saw these two books pop up while I was skimming through Amazon. His other book was good, so I figured I would try these out too. If I like one of a particular author's books, I will usually try out the rest of his/her collection. Typically, when one is good, the others that he or she have written are on the same level. This is not true for every author, but it is worth a try.

I will add more when I stumble on one that is worthy of this very memorable list. Stay tuned.