Her name is Melanie. ~ Opening of The Girl With All the Gifts
Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Orbit, 2014
Horror; 435 pgs
Source: E-Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley
Goodreads Summary:
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.
Thank you to all who voted for The Girl With All the Gifts as my July TBR List book! This made the perfect book to read on my plane ride to and from the East Coast. I had high expectations going in given all the praise this one has received from my fellow book lovers.
I became an instant fan of Melanie's from the very first page. Innocent and polite, an eager learner, and did I say innocent? It is clear from the beginning that she is not just an ordinary child. Why keep her locked in a cell with the guards taking extra precautions to keep their distance and protect themselves? Melanie has no idea who--or what--she is. This is the only life she remembers. She longs to be held and loved, dreaming of living a life in one of the fairy-tales she's been told so many times by her favorite teacher, Miss Justineau.
It does not take long for The Girl With All the Gifts to take off, finding our protagonists in survival mode. The novel is told from several alternating viewpoints, jumping from one to the other to offer a more full view the world in M.R. Carey's book. I really appreciated the depth of the characters and the attention to what each of them was going through, especially Melanie who, as innocence turns into awareness, must find her own place in this new world she lives in.
I hesitate to go into too much detail about the book, given it seems to be one best left to discover in the reading. As others have said, reading this book felt like watching a movie; I could see it playing out on the screen in my mind, one tense moment after the other.
This book was at times touching and other times terrifying. M.R. Carey pulls no punches in describing the direction humanity has gone in The Girl With All the Gifts. It's not a world I would want to live in.
I admit to being worried the ending would disappoint, but it didn't. It was a perfect fit for the rest of the novel. The Girl With All the Gifts is everything everyone said it would be. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
You can learn more about M.R. Carey and his books on the author's website. He can also be found on Twitter.
© 2017, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.
Yay! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this book! It really is such a good read! (:
ReplyDeleteEustacia - I really did, and am so glad you all talked me into reading this one finally! :-)
DeleteI love books that are full of tension. This sounds great!
ReplyDeleteKathy - I do too. I don't always like the horror genre, but this one was great.
DeleteI still need to grab this one from the library! Wonderful review!!
ReplyDeleteErica - Thank you! I hope you enjoy this one when you read it.
DeleteSounds like a promising read full of intrigue. Definitely one I'll keep a look out for.
ReplyDeleteTracy - Yes, I felt it was. Kind of a dystopian zombie type novel, but different enough from the usual tropes in those types of books.
DeleteJust that first 2 lines of description got my attention. It sounds really good and I usually don't read fiction.
ReplyDeleteEllen - I thought this one was really good. I mostly read fiction, although I do read the occasional nonfiction.
DeleteI enjoyed this book. It was both emotional and horrifying and Melanie is such an intriguing character. I've yet to read the other book by this author, though. I'm still on the fence as I've read mixed reviews about it.
ReplyDeleteMelody - Yes! It really was emotional--and horrifying. I really felt for Melanie and it was interesting to see her grow as a character. I haven't yet read the author's other book either. I'm afraid I don't know much about it.
DeleteI thought this one was a good read; and while I didn't love the ending, I didn't hate it either. It just left me feeling a little cold. But that's the kind of world Carey created in this book, so I agree with you, the ending did fit. :)
ReplyDeleteLark - I hear you about the ending. I couldn't really see it ending any other way given everything else, and I think that's why I ultimately thought it was the best ending for the book.
DeleteI'm so glad you liked it! I still have several visual scenes from the book even after several years. Thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteJenclair - It really is thought provoking.
DeleteI've been on the fence about this one because I've heard really wonderful things but at the same time it sounded like it could be really sad. Your review has me thinking I need to read it! THis sounds wonderful and I love that the end is satisfying. It'd be so disappointing if it wasn't.
ReplyDeleteKatherine - It is on the sad side, but there are some sweet moments as well. If you do decide to read it, I'd be curious to know what you think.
DeleteThis book has gotten a lot of attention since it came out. I haven't picked it up yet though. Oh, so many to read ;)
ReplyDeleteTi - I kept putting off reading it because of the hype. I'm glad I finally decided to give it a try though. Sometimes it's all about the timing, right?
DeleteI have no excuse for not reading this book yet. I have the audio and a kindle copy. Sounds like I need to bump this one up on the tbr pile.
ReplyDeleteCarole - I hope you do give it a try soon. I've heard the audio is really good!
DeleteCurrently reading this! *^-^*
ReplyDeleteShannon - I hope you are enjoying it!
DeleteI've been going back and forth about this one; I'm not even sure why. Sounds like I need to get off the fence and pick it up.
ReplyDeleteLisa - I really enjoyed it and hope you will too if you decide to read it.
DeleteI absolutely loved this one... did you have it from NetGalley since 2014?? Wow. Sometimes you don't know the treasures you find there until much later :)
ReplyDeleteEvelina - Shamefully, yes. It was sitting on my Kindle far too long.
Delete