I was initially very apprehensive in reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth because for one, it's about zombies and I don't typically like reading about them. Secondly, some of the reviews I heard about it weren't very positive. But I'm definitely glad I gave it a shot because it certainly is an interesting debut novel. 
 The prose is certainly beautiful, if not a little melodramatic at times. The story is very much focused on the Return, the Sisterhood, the Unconsecrated and the Forest. What I liked very much about the story was how our heroine, Mary, discovers that perhaps the belief she was raised to have, that God cannot exist without the Sisterhood, may not be true and I thought this showed a really good point, that organized religious cults have this evil side. 
 What I sort of had a problem with was Mary. While she is very staunch in her belief that there is a part of the world untainted by the Unconsecrated, I felt that her belief made her rather selfish. She is willing to sacrifice everything; willing to do anything to get to the ocean, even at the expense of others. 
 The Forest of Hands and Teeth is definitely a heartbreaking read because honestly, Mary doesn't catch a break. Bad things happen to her and when she finally gets what she's always wanted, it gets taken away from her. I'm not saying that this isn't a good novel but if you're looking for a light-hearted read, this isn't it. I'm really looking forward to the sequel though.