Wednesday, October 26, 2016

RIP Review: The Girl With All the Gifts

Melanie starts each day with being tied down and removed from her prison cell. A guard takes her into a classroom with several other children and she has the best part of her day, as her teacher Helen Justineau tells the students wonderful stories. While Miss Justineau gives Melanie her affection, she seems sad about the girl's future. She knows that Melanie will never leave the army base where they live. The world outside has been divided into survivors and hungries and no one is safe.

If you are hoping to avoid spoilers for this two-year-old book and its upcoming movie, you may not want to keep reading!



The Girl With All The Gifts is a bit of a different spin on a zombie story. Instead of a strict survival tale, we begin with a relationship between a young girl and her teacher. They adore each other, but they know that their relationship will always be tempered by restraints, cells, and the knowledge that one of them is a human and the other is a very intelligent zombie who can (usually) control her hunger. While this book certainly has its fair share of heart-stopping moments, it is mostly about morality and ethics in time of crisis. Melanie's hopeful teacher with her kind heart is contrasted with Dr. Caroline Caldwell, a scientist who will go to any ends for her research. She believes anyone and everything is expendable, when it comes to helping humanity as a whole.

This book is perfect for wimpy readers like me. We like the thrill of a tense moment without having to double-check the locks on our doors before going to bed. The Girl With All The Gifts is an engaging read that will make you think about what lengths you would go to in order to survive. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention how wonderful it was to read a book full of action that revolves around three women.


The Girl With All The Gifts
By M.R. Carey
Orbit June 2014
460 pages
From the library


I read this book for Readers Imbibing Peril, hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings.

RIP XI

2 comments:

  1. I liked this book, too. And I liked the different take on zombies, though the ending was a bit of an unexpected twist.

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  2. I'm glad you enjoyed this title, Lindsey. I did enjoy it when I read it, although I feel like I fell into the hype trap a little and so it didn't quite live up to expectations. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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