Mary
Mary is the teenage heroine of the novel. She is also the narrator and all events are told from her point of view. Mary and her community are set in an undetermined, post-apocalyptic time where they live in constant danger from hordes of cannibalistic, undead humans they call the Unconsecrated. The Unconsecrated roam the vast forest where Mary and many of the characters reside in. For their protection an immense chain-link fence has been erected around their community. In this community a hyper-conservative, hyper-religious society was formed and it is here that Mary is raised in. Mary, despite having been indoctrinated that conformity to their way of life is best, possesses a strong individualistic streak and is particularly driven, quite nearly to obsession, to discover what lies beyond the village walls. She is particularly obsessed with learning about the ocean; something, which many villagers do not believe, exists. Mary is romantically involved with Travis, another teenager who lives within their fenced in community. Despite her youth, she is a canny and fearless fighter. She wields an axe with lethal skill.
Jed
Mary's brother is a village Guardian and his main tasks revolve around mending the fence that keeps the flesh-eating zombies out and killing any stray zombies that do manage to breach the village defenses. Initially, Jed is presented as a melancholy individual, reeling from very deep personal hurts. He faults Mary for their mother’s death and in a selfish, cowardly decision he throws her out of their home, forcing her to live with the Sisterhood, He is then wracked with guilt as a result of this choice. He is married to Beth, who has suffers a miscarriage later on and this adds to his already considerable grief. Over time though, the rift between Mary and her brother is resolved; unfortunately though the healing comes through a breakdown in the village’s walls and the consequent onslaught of the marauding undead. Jed perishes in the attack but not before making his peace with Mary.
Travis
Mary’s love interest and all around conundrum, Travis is a contrasting mix of conflicting sentiments. Like Mary he too is curious to find out what is beyond their sheltered community and the dark forest surrounding them. Unlike Mary though he settles for a farce of safety behind the fence reasoning that he chooses to live this way because he is a pragmatist. He reciprocates Mary’s feelings for him but doesn’t want to marry her because his brother, Harry, is also in love with her. He proposes to Cass, Mary's best friend, instead. Initially he desires to protect Mary, but when the Unconsecrated finally break through their fence Travis discovers that she doesn’t need his protection, as she is quite capable of protecting herself.
Harry
Travis's brave and honorable brother, he is completely altruistic, putting the needs of others above his own and proves himself to be a fearless, capable fighter when protecting those whom he loves. He is in love with Mary but sadly his feelings and affections are not responded to favorably. In the novel Mary agrees to marry him but only as a means to escape the oppressive Sisterhood. Later on he develops feelings for Cass as her husband, Travis, is recuperating from his fractured leg.
Beth
Harry and Travis’ sister and wife to Jed, Beth has a presence that is more of a footnote in the novel, but the events that do happen to her affect the lives of the other characters. She has her first miscarriage due to the stress experienced from her mother-in-law’s turning into a zombie. Her miscarriage, coupled with the death of her mother-in-law prompts her husband to kick Mary out of their home, creating a deep rift between the siblings. Beth’s second miscarriage happens in a more tragic set of circumstances, as she becomes one of the Unconsecrated, having been bitten while on the run. Her death forces her husband Jed to face up to his old grievance with his sister Mary, as she is now the only family he has left.
Sister Tabitha
Sister Tabitha is the most senior member and de facto leader of the Village and Sisterhood, the mysterious and hyper-repressive religious sorority that rules the village. The Sisterhood calls the phenomenon of the dead coming back to life as vicious cannibals “The Return” and they believe it to be a form of divine punishment visited upon humanity for their curiosity. Being the leader of such an organization it comes as no surprise therefore that the sum total of her life comes is about enforcing rules, ensuring compliance, and, at least not explicitly stated, maintaining her own power base. She is a religious zealot, using her beliefs to justify any and all means she to ensure the village’s safety---especially ethically questionable methods. Sister Tabitha believes that the village is the only safe haven against the Unconsecrated. Unsuprisingly, Mary’s natural inquisitiveness and desire to know more about the outside world does little to endear her to Sister Tabitha.
Cassandra (Cass)
Mary's best friend until, that is, a complicated and convoluted four-way love “relationship” between her, Mary, Travis, and Harry, develops and eventually sours the bond between them all. Cassandra is initially presented as a sweet, demure young blonde who is in love with Travis. In time though her affections switch over to Harry because of her natural sensitivity and circumstances beyond their control. Despite her sensitivity though she proves to be a fighter, especially once she assumes the role of surrogate mother to Jacob. She becomes exceedingly protective of him, being able to fight of the Unconsecrated just to defend him. She also proves to be an extremely pragmatic character, an excellent counterfoil for the idealistic Mary. She forces Mary to question the wisdom of her frantic quest to find the ocean in order to attend to more practical needs, like dealing with dwindling water supplies when this situation endangers their quest.
Jacob
An orphaned boy rescued by Harry and adopted by Cass when the Unconsecrated manage to break through the Village’s fence. Jacob functions more as a plot device than a character, serving to bring to the surface certain characteristics of Cass, such as selflessness and tenacity, as she comes face to face with her own personal loss.
Gabrielle
The lone survivor from Village XIV, she escapes through the forest after her community becomes overrun with the Unconsecrated. Eventually she manages to finds herself in Mary's village. Gabrielle is a capable fighter and a cunning survivor, having endured alone out in the forest teeming with the undead. Mary makes an immediate connection with Gabrielle because she is an outsider, proving that there is life outside of their walled community and because she tells her that she has evidently reached the sea while fleeing the Unconsecrated. Gabrielle's appearance is a major turning point in the novel: she fuels and steels Mary’s resolve to finally leave the Village and her tragic death and eventual transformation into a superior form of the Unconsecrated via Sister Tabitha’s treachery finally reveals the truth about Sister Tabitha's sinister character and utter lack of morals. Unfortunately, Gabrielle’s mutation into a super-zombie also spelled the end for Mary’s village and life, as they knew it.
The Lighthouse Keeper
The nameless lighthouse keeper is a mysterious figure that Mary encounters after making it through the titular “Forest of Hands and Teeth.” He is not given a lot of focus to in the novel but locating him and the lighthouse serves two purposes for Mary: First, it proves beyond doubt that there is a much larger world out there and despite the manifold dangers, there is life beyond what they’ve come to know. Second, the presence of the lighthouse proves the existence of the ocean, which becomes more than just an obsession to her but more of a symbol of freedom. Freedom from the constant danger presented by the Unconsecrated and freedom, finally, from the despotic Sisterhood.
