This novel was a very creative take on the idea of zombies, although they are never actually called that. They are referred to as the "unconsecrated." The story focues on Mary and her life in the village that is fenced in and surrounded by the unconsecrated. Mary believes that there is life outside of the Forest of Hands and Teeth, and yet the protection they receive from the Guardians and the rules enforced by the Sisterhood point to all signs that they are the last humans on earth. When Mary is forced to join the Sisterhood she begins to realize that they are keeping secrets from the village. Her hopes that there are others out there is becomes a reality when she realizes that someone from the outside is being kept hidden by the Sisterhood. Only when the fence is breached and Mary must choose between the village and the hope of life outside of the fence does she realize she has to have faith in the idea that life does exist beyond the forest.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the whole idea of a village surviving behind a fence surrounded by zombies. It was a mixture of multiple genres: gothic, suspense, mystery, horror, & romance. When I first started it I didn't know it was the first in a series, but am very looking forward to the second book The Dead Tossed Waves.
