Xpresso Reads

This was a really exciting read. The plot was not what I expected from the little I knew of the synopsis - it was even better! The Forest of Hands and Teeth takes us years after a virus turned everyone into zombies, except for a certain few who have escaped and built a village surrounded by fences. We follow this girl, Mary, who lives in this village and she wonders if it's true that there is nothing and no one beyond the fences, but zombie (or Unconsecrated as they call it). Then one day, the fences are breached. This is a true, creepy, exciting zombie novel!For the first part, the book was pretty slow, a bit boring, and Mary just kept whining about how her life sucked. But after the fence is breached the story gets very engrossing, fast paced, and keeps your heart racing until the very last page. It would have gotten 5 stars if not for the slow beginning.The author is obviously very talented. The writing is great. She did a very good job at making their world very eerie and nostalgic. The characters are well-rendered. You really feel for them - their loneliness, fears, and will to live. It's also great to have a female main character who is strong, tough and optimistic, who doesn't need a boy to hold her hand and lead. I wish we would have had more explanation about what happened before that lead them to this life; how the virus started and such. Maybe in the next books!? We'll see.I recommend this to anyone who likes heart pounding excitement and isn't afraid of a little zombiesauce.