The Forest of Hands and Teeth

In a world, believed of having no ocean, only consisting of one villiage and the rest of the world a forest; a girl named Mary had a life full of expectations. Her life had changed the day her and her later husband, Harry, held hands. Sure it was just holding hands but while they were holding hands her mother died. Leaving her to go to the sister hood. She spent almost a year with the sisterhood until Harry finally proposed.
Her mom asked Mary to do one thing for her: find the ocean, this book is the quest of finding the ocean.
Cassandra, age 12, Kenilworth Branch

I'm sorry to say I didn't like this book. Not because of the writing that was good enough. It was really that the book didn't seem to have a point. From the beginning I looked for some sort of purpose in it's plot. I really found I couldn't relate to the main character which was a large problem. And the ending just left me staring at the last page. I don't think there is going to be a sequel so I guess that doesn't explain it. Oh well. There are so many other great books out there to read... but unfortunately this isn't one of them.
Abi, age 15, Concession Branch

This novel is both a compelling journey and a real eye opener. Mary loses everything to a world she doesn't understand yet she's forced to live in. The secluded little village couldn't help but remind me of the movie The Village. They too, were a civilization believing themselves to be the last left on the planet. As for the love aspect of the story, at first Mary's affections for Travis were so fake to me; but as time passed and after everything Mary did for Travis, you could tell her feelings were true, even if she wasn't so good at expressing them. I could see myself in Mary there. I could connect to her difficult feelings of expressing emotions.
This book was about a journey; getting past the secrets and finding the true path to the world outside the village. It was interesting that in the end when Mary did find the outside world, she saw how much time they had wasted fearing the Unconsecrated and how little these zombie figures affected the rest of the world. What I dislike is how much the author leaves us hanging at the end of the novel, but perhaps it is better that way. I loved this book. It made me consider what secrets our own world holds, and how our society may fend in the future.
Tamara, age 13, Saltfleet Branch

This book was very confusing and had death at every turn. Every hope was smushed and any light that could be seen was taken away. The ending left me sad and mad because there wasn't one.
Monica, age 16, Turner Park Branch