Books in series
#0.1
Hare Moon
2011
Tabitha can’t shake the feeling that something exists beyond the fences of her village. And when she sneaks out, past the gates and down the path into the Forest of Hands and Teeth, she meets a boy who teaches her heart things she never knew. But love in a world surrounded by so much death doesn’t come without its sacrifices, and Tabitha gradually realizes just how much she’ll have to give up to live among the Unconsecrated.
From New York Times bestselling author Carrie Ryan comes an original story of love after the Return.
#0.2
Flotsam & Jetsam
2013
New York Times bestselling author Carrie Ryan returns to the terrifying world of the Forest of Hands and Teeth with the short story, "Flotsam & Jetsam." When the zombie outbreak erupts on their ship during their senior cruise, two friends escape in a life raft only to find themselves adrift in an endless ocean with no rescue in sight. What’s worse: one of them is infected.
Note: this 5,000 word short story was originally published in the anthology The Living Dead 2 edited by John Joseph Adams.
#0.3
Scenic Route
2013
New York Times bestselling author Carrie Ryan returns to the terrifying world of the Forest of Hands and Teeth with the short story, "Scenic Route." In the wake of the zombie apocalypse, Margie and her sister Sally think they’ve found safe refuge in a remote cabin on top of a mountain. But when a charming stranger arrives at their door, they learn that sometimes the living can be more monstrous than the undead.
Note: this 7,000 word short story was originally published in the anthology Enthralled edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong.
#0.4
Bougainvillea
2010
In the wake of the zombie apocalypse, the island of Curacao becomes one of the few remaining pockets of safety. Iza's father rules the island with a cruel and militant fist, showing little mercy to those who come begging at his docks. Iza chafes under his absolute control, refusing to believe that ruthlessness is the only path to survival. But when zombies breach their compound one night and rebels take her hostage, Iza must decide for herself what it truly takes to survive in a world filled with death and betrayal.
Set in the zombie world of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Bougainvillea is the story of growing up between two worlds: the living and the dead, the rulers and the ruled, the privileged and the cast off.
PLEASE NOTE: this is a short story, not a full novel. It was originally published in the Zombies vs. Unicorns anthology and is included in the collection, The Dead and Empty World (also available).
#0.5
What Once We Feared
2013
When the zombie apocalypse hits and the dead begin to rise, Jonah and his friends are on a class field trip downtown. Panicked, they make a split-second decision to seek shelter in the Overlook, an apartment complex built like a fortress on the edge of town. But as they begin to face the realities of what it will take to survive, they realize that while making the decision of where to run was easy, living out the consequences of that decision may be impossible. From Carrie Ryan, the New York Times bestselling author of the Forest of Hands and Teeth books, What Once We Feared is an original digital short story about facing a world that is forever changed and in which survival means more than merely escaping the undead.
#0.6
A Game of Firsts
2014
\\\an original short story set in the world of The Forest of Hands and Teeth\\\
When the zombie apocalypse hits, brother and sister Danny and Julie are stranded at home alone. As the world crumbles around them, they take refuge in the attic over the garage. But it only takes one small mistake for the illusion of safety to break and for any chance of survival to disappear.
#1
The Forest of Hands and Teeth
2009
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. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?
#2
The Dead-Tossed Waves
2010
Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.
#3
The Dark and Hollow Places
2011
There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face when she and Elias left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the horde as they found their way to the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.
Annah's world stopped that day and she's been waiting for him to come home ever since. Without him, her life doesn't feel much different from that of the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Then she meets Catcher and everything feels alive again.
Except, Catcher has his own secrets—dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah's longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah—can she continue to live in a world drenched in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?
#0.1-0.4
The Dead and Empty World
2013
Stories included in this collection:
"Flotsam & Jetsam," originally published in The Living Dead 2, edited by John Joseph Adams and published by Night Shade Books;
"Scenic Route," originally published in Enthralled, edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong and published by HarperCollins;
"Bougainvillea," originally published in Zombies vs. Unicorns, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier and published by Simon and Schuster;
"A Game of Firsts," originally published in The First Time, edited by Jessica Verday and Rhonda Stapleton;
"Hare Moon," originally published in Kiss Me Deadly: 13 Tales of Paranormal Love, edited by Trisha Telep and published by Running Press Teens; later published in a slightly different form by Random House.
Author
Carrie Ryan
Author · 27 books
Carrie Ryan is the New York Times bestselling author of a lot of books. She use to be a lawyer. Happily, she is not anymore. You can keep it that way by reading her books: Latest release (out Aug 2, 2022), perfects for fans of thrillers, serial killers, missing girls, mysteries, unputdownable books: Trapper Road If you like zombies, try the Forest of Hands and Teeth series. If you like clever, fun adventure fantasy for 8-12 year olds, definitely read the Map To Everywhere series (co-written with her husband, John Parke Davis). If you like cold calculated revenge involving hidden identities and lots of secrets: Daughter of Deep Silence. If you or your kids like multi-author, multi-platform series like 39 Clues and Spirit Animals, try Infinity Ring: Divide and Conquer—it's produced by the same publisher (and has vikings and true history!) If you like true-crime stuff (both fiction and podcasts), check out her upcoming release, Dead Air, a serialized thriller co-written with Gwenda Bond and Rachel Caine. If you're pretty sure you won't survive the zombie apocalypse, you're in good company. She won't either. instagram: @CarrieRyanWrites twitter: @CarrieRyan website: www.CarrieRyan.com
