The Forest of Hands and Teeth

I expected The Forest of Hands and Teeth to be a fantastic love story set in a post-apocalyptic world... I expected to fall in love with this book, and to rave about how much I love it and want other people to read it.

I think I am the only person I've heard of who was actually disappointed with this book. Not to say that it was overall a bad book. It was decent; it had a good story and cute romance and a not-cheesy ending. But I had a problem with it.

First of all, I had a problem with the Unconsecrated. I couldn't figure out exactly what was up with them... it wasn't until after I finished the book and read other reviews that I figured out that they are basically, in simple terms, "zombies". But even the idea of zombies doesn't seem right to me. And I felt like the idea was never explained in clear enough terms. Maybe it's because the characters didn't really understand fully themselves, but I really wanted some answers, and I just never got them.

[[Side note: It seemed like the problem of the Unconsecrated could easily have been solved. If there's a little village in the middle of a forest of Unconsecrated, and that village has been there for years and years, and the only way the Unconsecrated can grow is if they turn humans, then the obvious solution in my mind is to keep the humans away and just kill the Unconsecrated off one by one. Eventually, they will all be gone. Although I suppose that's too simple of a solution.]]

Another problem I had was with the main character, Mary. She was extremely selfish. Her only goal in life is to see the ocean. That is a fine goal, I must say, and if I were her I'd feel the same way. And I admire her ambition, but it seems like she was willing to let everyone around her suffer for that one goal.

The last problem was the ending. Mary's story seemed complete, and I was completely satisfied. But I can't help but wonder what happened to the other characters?? She seems to have forgotten everyone else entirely, and I have no idea what happened to them, and I would really like to know. Perhaps it addresses them in the companion novel, but I doubt it. Doesn't The Dead-Tossed Waves deal with different characters? Will I ever find out what happens to Mary and the others?

In conclusion, the book was a good one, but it left me guessing way too much. I was left to infer a lot of the background (although I may be enlightened a bit in the companion, but I won't know until I read it) and also left to infer a lot about the ending. I can understand why someone would enjoy this novel, because it is definitely a page-turner, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Now I wonder... having read this review, do you think I should read The Dead-Tossed Waves??