Uma Krishnaswami (Children's Literature)
Mary’s village in a post-apocalyptic United States is under siege from the Unconsecrated, and has been within living memory, its fences assaulted by these zombie beings hungry for flesh. The story begins when Mary’s mother contracts an infection and is abandoned to the ranks of the Unconsecrated. Mary herself dreams of the ocean she has heard of from her mother. Then she discovers the horrifying role played by the Sisterhood, a religious order of women who are in charge of protecting the people. When the barriers are breached, Mary manages to escape along with several others, including Travis, the young man she loves, and Harry, the one to whom she has been “given.” The setup is suspenseful, and Ryan does not flinch from some of the more ghastly aspects of the undead world. Loyalty and love clash with self-preservation, this clash constituting the primary emotional thrust in the story. Although Mary’s affection for Travis remains surprisingly chaste, and Harry’s change of heart feels more convenient than earned, the final outcome carries a satisfying inevitability. Ryan’s choice to use first-person narration limits what otherwise promises to be a wide sweep of story and renders some of the introspective passages a touch tedious. If Mary is not always as compelling a heroine as one might want, she is consistent and true to character, and her disillusionment is certainly warranted by the substantively evil world that Ryan delivers. 2009, Delacorte/Random House, $16.99. Ages 14 up.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, February 15, 2009 (Vol. 77, No. 4))
It's been generations since the zombie apocalypse, and the people of Mary's village know they are the only living people left. In this overly introspective zombie tale, Mary despises her circumscribed life. Penned in by fences keeping out most of the flesh-eating Unconsecrated, destined to marry the brother of her beloved Travis, Mary dreams of the ocean her mother's told her of. Her miserable village life won't last much longer, though. When a visitor arrives from another village, the ascetic Sisterhood who control every aspect of village life secretly imprison the visitor, then (inexplicably) turn her into a super-fast Unconsecrated and set her loose among the rest. Fences fall before the onslaught of this super-powered zombie and Mary finds herself one of only six survivors, desperately searching for safe haven. Mary's an unlikable heroine, obsessed with Travis (with whom she spends an oddly sexless interlude in a barricaded house) even as everything she knows is destroyed. But despite plot holes, more angst than action and an excess of philosophical meanderings, Mary's story delivers what's important: zombie apocalypse. 2009, Delacorte, 320p, $17.99. Category: Science fiction. Ages 12 to 14. © 2009 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lu Ann Staheli (Library Media Connection, August 2009)
In Mary’s world, the Sisterhood always knows best, the Guardians will protect and serve, and the Unconsecrated will never relent. Mary is learning things she never wanted to know about her village. When the fence leading to the Forest of Hands and Teeth is breached, she must choose between the village and her future. And she must face the truth about the forest. The book is beautifully written, but the story is slow, revealed mostly through Mary’s thoughts rather than action. Strong sexual overtones are depicted in a scene between Mary and Travis, the boy she wants. Fans of The Giver (Houghton Mifflin, 1993) might appreciate the themes and tone, but most readers will be lost. Additional Selection. 2009, Delacorte Press (Random House), 320pp., $16.99 hc.

Kate McDowell (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, April 2009 (Vol. 62, No. 8))
A mysterious disease has turned most of the world’s humans into flesh-craving zombies called the Unconsecrated, and Mary’s village is protected only by fences. When Mary loses her mother to the disease, the girl finds herself under the absolute authority of the Sisterhood, the cloistered group of women who preach that their village is the last human settlement. Mary soon discovers that the Sisterhood is not only lying, they’re prepared to murder in order to preserve their story: when a visitor turns up from outside the village, the Sisterhood feeds her to the Unconsecrated. After the diseased menace breaches the village’s paltry defenses, Mary joins with friends to escape to what they hope will be safety. This is a nicely frightening variant on a classic horror trope, and Ryan’s graphic descriptions of rotting flesh, protruding bones, and razor-sharp teeth add considerable tension to the kids’ harrowing flight; though the ending offers some hope, it’s clear humans will have a tough battle to survive (which may or may not play itself out in subsequent volumes). Touches of dystopic futuresque detail (residents periodically find remnants of the society that used to be) and subplots of romantic entanglements among the escapees add texture but never steal focus from the main story. Readers who prefer their horror lightly seasoned with romance will appreciate Ryan’s gratifyingly creepy debut Review Code: R -- Recommended. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2009, Delacorte, 320p.; Reviewed from galleys, $20.99 and $17.99. Grades 9-12.