Review: The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

 

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.
The Girl with All the Gifts is a sensational thriller, perfect for fans of Stephen King, Justin Cronin, and Neil Gaiman. 

So this is rather out of my compfort zone. But I saw the movie trailer and I just knew I needed to read this book before I can watch this movie. While I like stuff like the walking dead I haven't really read anything zombie related. So I wasn't sure what to expect. 

This book is about Melanie, a girl who can't remember a life before her cell. She doesn't know how she got there or why she is there. But most of all she doesn't know what she is. But almost every day she gets dressed, has to sit down in her chair while armed men strap her to it, then she is wheeled into a class room. The class room is filled with other children in the same position as her. In their classroom Melanie has a favourite teacher and Melanie knows that this teacher is also the only one that truly cares about those kids. One day just as a doctor is about to cut into Melanie's brain, the barracks is being attacked. There is monsters everywhere. Melanie not only finds her teacher but saves her life and together they get picked up by the doctor and two soldiers. Those soldiers are scared of Melanie and soon Melanie will discover that she is the same as those monsters out there. The same but somehow different...

If you ever enjoyed the walking dead you will like this. It's probably even better, beacause the story is actually going somewhere. This isn't a mindless gore kind of book. The POV changes between Melanie, the teacher, the soldiers and the doctor, which makes this even more interesting. 

The characters are all very interesting and so so different. Each dealing with their own issues while they have been thrown together and are each other's only chance of survival. 

I really enjoyed this book and it made me even more excited for the movie. This is a really well thought out story that leads to a very satisfying end. I haven't connected to one character more then the others because they are all complicated in their own way. But if I had to choose it would have to be Melanie. She is strong enough to fight her own nature so to not hurt the people she cares about. 

Full of blood, death, suspense and surprises. You certainly will never guess the end. This book had me on the edge of my seat many times. 

Weather this is your usual genre or not I think you will enjoy this either way. It held my attention all the way through and really made me think. I found myself picking this up when ever I could and putting it down only if I really had to. While this may not be the best book I have read it's one I won't forget in a hurry. I already have the authors next book on my shelf and I can't wait to read it. 

Thank you to Orbit Publishing for my copy. You can pick up your own copy and watch the movie adaptations in the cinema right now.