The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Summary:
In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Review:
Think of this book as a combination of M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village" and "I Am Legend" rolled all into one. Mary's world is one of a tiny village surround by the Forest of Hands and Teeth. All around her are the truths instilled in her by the Sisterhood and the Guardians. But what are they hiding? Is there more left of the world than Mary's tiny village? She has spent her whole life living on her mother's stories about the ocean and buildings taller than the sky.

But when the Unconsecrated turn on her village, Mary is forced to face the horrors that lie beyond the fence. Does the path lead anywhere? Or is theirs the only village left in the world? It is up to Mary to find out what the Sisterhood has been hiding from them for so long. Her only problem is that she is running out of time.

Ryan has created a dystopian society that believes they are the only humans left. This book pushes your boundaries and makes you questions the truths in your own world. It's not just another zombie book, but rather creates its own society with strict values. It continually makes you ask yourself, "What if...?"

Reading Rating:
Fast-paced read with plenty of violence and horror. There was constant action and terror, but the ending was less hopeful than I would have liked. Definitely not a happily ever after.

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Summary:
Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States. Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain, rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up to go in her place.

Review:
For the author of the Gregor the Overlander series, Collins creates a dystopian society that demonstrates the lengths that Katniss will go to protect her family and to stay alive. Growing up in one of the poorest districts, Katniss is a trained hunter and a survivor. But in the Hunger Games there are no rules, except one--only one winner can leave the arena alive. In a society where reality television has become a brutal death match, the citizens of the 12 districts are forced to watch as their sons and daughters fight to their deaths, unless Katniss finds a way to changes the rules of the game. Highly recommended for readers who enjoyed Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series.

Reading Rating:
I stayed up long past my bedtime reading this one! And even tried to sneak a few peeks while working on the desk. It kept calling my name. Loved, loved, loved it :-)