That’s what happened last week when Variety broke the news that Maisie Williams (that’s Arya Stark from Game of Thrones for all three of you who aren’t stealing your college bff’s HBOGo log-in) will be playing Mary in The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Yaaaassssssss, honey.
You don’t know who Mary is? WHO MAISIE IS? Or what The Forst of Hands and Teeth is? You don’t CARE? You’re Sansa-ing me on this post?
This Sansa Sass will not stand. Allow me to tell you how great the newest casting news is.
What is The Forest of Hands and Teeth?
The Forest of Hands and Teeth is the first in a trio of New York Times best-selling books (not a trilogy, not really) by Carrie Ryan, a prolific young adult author, that deals with a some-time future world where plague-ridden cannibalistic human creatures have reduced the populace to living behind fences.
That’s right. Zombies.
BUT BUT BUT … Hands and Teeth is not Walking Dead for Teens. It’s not a rag tag group of survivors making it out in the wild. The creatures in this world, known as the “Unconsecrated” surround the fenced-in village where Mary lives. Her village is governed by a group of not-so-benevolent nuns called The Sisterhood. A group that Mary will be forced to join if she is never “spoken for” by a man in the village, which lezzbereal, no teenage girl is going to look forward to. Sisterhoods have rules.
source Rules were meant to be broken.
The book itself is incredibly fast-paced, intriguing, scary and macabre. And not just in a zombie-gore way, but in a psychological one. The ending is a killer punch to the gut. I hope the director, Kate Maberly, is able to capture the page-turning pace of the book.
Here’s the official book summary:
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?
The novel has a Salem witch trials feel instead of a futuristic apocalyptic one. The village feels colonial and puritanical. Mary’s experiences, sheltered. Which makes it all the more intense when that world is blown open.
Who is Mary?
Trust me, this character is not who you are expecting. Mary is the protagonist, the main character and the narrator. AND SHE IS BATSHIT INSANE.
And that’s not a spoiler. Right out of the gate, you aren’t sure whether or not you are supposed to hate Mary for being her special brand of selfish naivete, or if you’re supposed to be amazed at how well-crafted her insanity is.
I make no secret out of loving a crazy ass narrator. My favorite book is The Turn of the Screw because ain’t nobody more looney tunes than The Governess. Mary fits in with this completely. She’s obsessed with the idea of seeing the sea, knowing if it exists or not. And in a world full of dangers and imminent threats, a slew of survival needs, and even … YES YOU GUESSED IT … a love triangle, you can’t help but be exasperated with her single-minded focus. Her simple-minded focus.
Mary has no time for that. The ocean might be out there.
Why is Maisie Williams such a perfect Mary?
Mary is a bundle of contradictions. You aren’t ever sure if you love her or hate her, root for her or want her to just get eaten already so the other characters can get on with life. I always pictured her small and dark-headed, a girl who could look at once fairly plain and intriguingly beautiful as well. I can’t think of another actress of this age who could do Crazy Mary justice.
I do wonder though: will they play Mary as crazy? I’m certainly not the only reader to remember getting that impression from the novel, but it’s not the only interpretation of Mary’s behavior. I’ve hinted at this, but some people believe she’s just truly very selfish, or naive. I can’t wait to see which diretion Maisie and the film take her.
source Fingers crossed for SUPER LOON.
And … if you’ve never read the Hands and Teeth books, give them a try with this little bit of knowledge: this is one YA series that gets better with each consecutive book. The latter two are more companion novels to the first one, and while the drama and the pace are no less exciting, the characters are more relatable, the romance is more believable, and the love interests are hotter. So go get yourself ahead of the Arya For the Iron Throne reddit guys who are super in love with Maisie, and read the book before the movie starts production.
Have you read Carrie Ryan’s novels? What was your impression of Mary, the Village and THAT ENDING? Do you think Maisie Williams will make an impressively understated crazy girl?
