The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
ISBN: 978-0-385-73682-4
Published by Delacorte Press
Young Adult Fiction/Apocalyptic Fiction, ages 12 & up

FTC Disclosure: Purchased

“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.”

This is the only world Mary has ever known, but she questions it relentlessly.

She dreams of the ocean. Something she’s never seen and many tell her doesn’t exist. As long as she’s lived, she has only known a world surrounded by a forest containing a fate worse than death – literally.

Believing the stories her mother has told her since she was a child, she knows there is hope, salvation, and a world outside of the forest. This hope and salvation however, goes against everything she is told by the Sisterhood and Guardians. Questioning them only makes her life harder, but she refuses to be swayed.

There is no doubt why the ocean plays such a prominent role throughout Mary’s live and the story.

It represents a vast freedom she’s only dreamed about. It is powerful, beautiful, and mysterious – and free. It also reflects the lives and emotions of the characters caught up in the tragedy that unfolds.

This is not a perfectly written story. But it works. I was caught up by it immediately and connected with nearly every character. I found a tear in my eye more than once.

The biggest surprise, and it really shouldn’t be, is that this book is young adult fiction. Not that this is in any way a detriment and I feel bad that I even had those thoughts. Truly, this has been one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.

Pardon me as I digress a bit, but understanding young adult fiction for what it is and having more appropriate expectations from it, will make everyone’s reading life easier and more enjoyable.

These are the kind of books that should be interspersed within a diverse home library. And no one, of any age, should ever feel deterred from reading a book unless it truly is beyond one’s comprehension and thus enjoyment. Just my opinion.

I’ve heard that the follow up to this was a disappointment. That it’s basically the same story retold from a different perspective. From the excerpt in the back of the book, it does sound very similar. Because I work in a used book store, it won’t be a huge investment to see for myself.

This is a highly, highly recommended read.

Just be sure you set enough time to finish it in one sitting. I wish I had.

The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned by Anne Rice

ISBN13: 9780345360007
Historical Romance/Horror, 436 pages
Published by Ballantine Books

FTC Disclosure: Borrowed (and returned)

This was a book highly recommended. It’s also the first Anne Rice I’ve ever read.

After finishing this novel, I’m don’t feel it’s representative of her best work.

Not that it’s that bad. The beginning popped for me and I was thoroughly engrossed in the story and characters. Bascially, this is a love story between a mummy brought to life and the daughter of the man who freed him from his tomb.

Sounds…unique. And it is. But to a point.

By the time Ramses and his modern love Julie return to Egypt, I was a little peeved at the way some of the characters and their storyline were being handled. Not to mention feeling that some of the subplots were more distracting than they should have been.

I had to remind myself I’m not reading a piece of literature that requires such scrutiny. In letting go of these prejudices, I did enjoy the read more, but not enough to post a rave review about it.

The last part of the book, just couldn’t keep me page turning like I did in the beginning.

I can see why she’s a popular writer and I look forward to reading the Mayfair witch series. I also cannot wait to finally read Interview With A Vampire.

So this wasn’t a bad introduction and I’m crossing my fingers I learn to like Anne Rice as much as her fans. I see the potential, but time will tell.

Dracula Is Dead

FTC Disclosure: Book provided by publisher

This book is not what you think. In fact, it really should be pointed out what the full title is:

Dracula Is Dead: How Romanians Survived Communism, Ended It, and Emerged since 1989 as the New Italy.

Damn, that’s a mouthful. But a more accurate description as to what this book is all about.

There are many things Romania is known for, yet the most enduring is Vlad Tepes, otherwise knows as Vlad III – the man who inspired Romania’s most famous character: Dracula. (If you are wondering about other notable Romanians let’s not forget Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci, tennis player Ilie Nastase, or Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel)

But this amazing country has so much more to its history and culture. And this book describes the struggles to overcome this association while on its way to becoming the modern and culturally rich country it is today.

It’s unlikely Romania’s past issues and connection to Dracula will ever be forgotten. In many ways, it shouldn’t. As it is said, “Those that forget history are doomed to repeat it.” Considering what Romania has been through, this is a sentiment I hope is not only taken to heart, but never comes to pass.

Sheilah Kast and her husband Jim Rosapepe have a unique and knowledgeable perspective of the country. Jim was an ambassador to for three years. As they note, “We traveled all over Romania. Jim visited all forty counties, most of them more than once, and Sheilah went to some spots that Jim did not. We saw more of Romania and of Romanians – from the mines to the software labs, from the monasteries to the hospitals – than most foreigners and even many Romanians have.”

This book is more than a travel diary. It gives the reader a clearer perspective of a country that has many assumptions made of it, and how few of these are accurate.

In terms of detractions, there aren’t many.

The most irksome was the point-of-view technique used by the authors – as in plural, there are two. This is most evident when seeing “us” and “we” in the text. But whenever one party is relating something about the other or about something the other did, they use their names, as if talking about themselves in the third person.

If it’d been me, I would’ve changed the “we” and “us” into the third person plural to smooth out the transitions. Since they didn’t, I was initially confused about who was recounting their experiences. Afterward, I simply had to make a mental adjustment and not let it bother me.

However, one reader’s nitpicking may mean nothing to another. So take this observation accordingly. For me, it was something that wasn’t so detrimental that I couldn’t finish the book. It was  just an annoyance that popped up from time to time.

In terms of recommending Dracula Is Dead? 

If you are not much of a non-fiction reader, or a history buff, this may not be the book for you. But to those who are intrigued by modern history, political turmoil and change, the birth of a new democracy, and in increasing one’s knowledge of the world around them, I do recommend it.

I didn’t know much about Romania and am glad I was introduced to it through these two authors. I am intrigued and would consider traveling there if I ever had the means. I would love to see first hand this remarkable country.