book review the girl with all the gifts

Skip to main content
Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

Book Reviews

'girl with all the gifts' is a thriller with (sharp, scary) teeth.

Genevieve Valentine

The Girl With All the Gifts

Buy featured book.

Your purchase helps support NPR programming. How?

Independent Bookstores

Warning: Mild spoilers ahead!

Zombies, those perpetual-motion machines of horror, are enjoying a renaissance. It's not hard to see why; in uncertain times, zombies offer the perfect pandemic backdrop for social and political upheaval amid encroaching terror — whether you're Team Slow or Team Fast (don't tell anyone from Team Slow if you're Team Fast — you don't have time for that lecture). But a zombie is never just a zombie. Traditionally, their proscribed, nearly mythic fate makes them a go-to metaphor for lost causes. Recently, however, a new narrative has sprung up, denying they're a lost cause at all.

In The Girl with All the Gifts , 10-year-old Melanie needs armed escorts to her lessons in an underground bunker. She doesn't know why, and for the adults around her — conflicted teacher Miss Justineau, hardliner Sgt. Parks and researcher Caroline Caldwell — there's not much point explaining the kids are experimental cases, examining the fungal spore that turns the infected into "hungries." But of course, this is a zombie story: The experiment will be blown wide open, a motley crew will be hurled into a road trip fraught with danger, and the horizon will be filled with tough decisions.

Author M.R. Carey, who has worked for years in comics, fully knows the power of some nice, gooey zombie imagery, and there's plenty of it to be found here; It's hard to tell which carries the biggest gross-out factor — the queasy descriptions of faces veiled with gray spores or the anomalous, uncanny mannerisms of the infected. But the story's primary concern isn't getting its ensemble out of Dodge alive so much as it is the examination of what it means to survive this epidemic in the first place.

The characters bring their doctrines with them, ranging from stubborn empathy to kill-'em-all militarism, and every decision becomes a fractal of ideals. Some of these arcs feel more preordained than others, but even then, Carey allows for conflict within consistency: Dr. Caldwell is unwaveringly intent on the pursuit of a cure and willing to sacrifice anything (including Melanie), which positions her as both friend and foe, often within the same sentence.

Occasionally, the book seems to trip over itself in its race to get ahead of the genre pack. In particular, Carey succumbs to the fate of many an adult author attempting to voice a precociously otherworldly child, and the tone of Melanie's point-of-view chapters veers occasionally and abruptly in one direction or the other. But there's enough weight given to the moments of individual choice to balance the camera-ready action scenes.

The Girl with All the Gifts is grotesque and grimly hopeful by turns, underscored by lovingly detailed infection in both metaphorical and very literal terms: Spores and hopelessness are equally contagious. It's the creeping inevitability of many a zombie story, with which this book is right at home.

Genevieve Valentine is the author of Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti . Her latest book is The Girls at the Kingfisher Club .

ADMIN AREA MY BOOKSHELF MY DASHBOARD MY PROFILE SIGN OUT SIGN IN

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS

by M.R. Carey ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 10, 2014

One of the more imaginative and ingenious additions to the dystopian canon.

Carey offers a post-apocalyptic tale set in England in a future when most humans are "empty houses where people used to live."

Sgt. Parks, Pvt. Gallagher, Miss Justineau and Dr. Caldwell flee an English military camp, a scientific site for the study of "hungries," zombielike creatures who feast on flesh, human or otherwise. These once-humans are essentially "fungal colonies animating human bodies." After junkers—anarchic survivalists—use hungries to breach the camp's elaborate wire fortifications, the four survivors head for Beacon, a giant refuge south of London where uninfected citizens have retreated over the past two decades, bringing along one of the study subjects, 10-year-old Melanie, a second-generation hungry. Like others of her generation, Melanie possesses superhuman strength and a superb intellect, and she can reason and communicate. Dr. Caldwell had planned to dissect Melanie's brain, but Miss Justineau thinks Melanie is capable of empathy and human interaction, which might make her a bridge between humans and hungries. Their philosophical dispute continues in parallel to a survival trek much like the one in McCarthy's On the Road. The four either kill or hide from junkers and hungries (which are animated by noise, movement and human odors). The characters are somewhat clichéd—Parks, rugged veteran with an empathetic core; Gallagher, rube private and perfect victim; Caldwell, coldhearted objectivist ever focused on prying open Melanie’s skull. It may be Melanie's role to lead second-generation hungries in a revival of civilization, which in this imaginative, ominous assessment of our world and its fate, offers cold comfort.

Pub Date: June 10, 2014

ISBN: 978-0-316-27815-7

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Orbit/Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: April 1, 2014

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2014

DYSTOPIAN FICTION | SCIENCE FICTION | GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION | GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

Share your opinion of this book

More by M.R. Carey

BOOK REVIEW

by M.R. Carey

More About This Book

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

by Max Brooks ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 16, 2020

A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy.

Are we not men? We are—well, ask Bigfoot, as Brooks does in this delightful yarn, following on his bestseller World War Z (2006).

A zombie apocalypse is one thing. A volcanic eruption is quite another, for, as the journalist who does a framing voice-over narration for Brooks’ latest puts it, when Mount Rainier popped its cork, “it was the psychological aspect, the hyperbole-fueled hysteria that had ended up killing the most people.” Maybe, but the sasquatches whom the volcano displaced contributed to the statistics, too, if only out of self-defense. Brooks places the epicenter of the Bigfoot war in a high-tech hideaway populated by the kind of people you might find in a Jurassic Park franchise: the schmo who doesn’t know how to do much of anything but tries anyway, the well-intentioned bleeding heart, the know-it-all intellectual who turns out to know the wrong things, the immigrant with a tough backstory and an instinct for survival. Indeed, the novel does double duty as a survival manual, packed full of good advice—for instance, try not to get wounded, for “injury turns you from a giver to a taker. Taking up our resources, our time to care for you.” Brooks presents a case for making room for Bigfoot in the world while peppering his narrative with timely social criticism about bad behavior on the human side of the conflict: The explosion of Rainier might have been better forecast had the president not slashed the budget of the U.S. Geological Survey, leading to “immediate suspension of the National Volcano Early Warning System,” and there’s always someone around looking to monetize the natural disaster and the sasquatch-y onslaught that follows. Brooks is a pro at building suspense even if it plays out in some rather spectacularly yucky episodes, one involving a short spear that takes its name from “the sucking sound of pulling it out of the dead man’s heart and lungs.” Grossness aside, it puts you right there on the scene.

Pub Date: June 16, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-9848-2678-7

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Del Rey/Ballantine

Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2020

GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | SCIENCE FICTION

More by Max Brooks

by Max Brooks

BOOK TO SCREEN

THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA

by TJ Klune ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 17, 2020

A breezy and fun contemporary fantasy.

A tightly wound caseworker is pushed out of his comfort zone when he’s sent to observe a remote orphanage for magical children.

Linus Baker loves rules, which makes him perfectly suited for his job as a midlevel bureaucrat working for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth, where he investigates orphanages for children who can do things like make objects float, who have tails or feathers, and even those who are young witches. Linus clings to the notion that his job is about saving children from cruel or dangerous homes, but really he’s a cog in a government machine that treats magical children as second-class citizens. When Extremely Upper Management sends for Linus, he learns that his next assignment is a mission to an island orphanage for especially dangerous kids. He is to stay on the island for a month and write reports for Extremely Upper Management, which warns him to be especially meticulous in his observations. When he reaches the island, he meets extraordinary kids like Talia the gnome, Theodore the wyvern, and Chauncey, an amorphous blob whose parentage is unknown. The proprietor of the orphanage is a strange but charming man named Arthur, who makes it clear to Linus that he will do anything in his power to give his charges a loving home on the island. As Linus spends more time with Arthur and the kids, he starts to question a world that would shun them for being different, and he even develops romantic feelings for Arthur. Lambda Literary Award–winning author Klune ( The Art of Breathing , 2019, etc.) has a knack for creating endearing characters, and readers will grow to love Arthur and the orphans alongside Linus. Linus himself is a lovable protagonist despite his prickliness, and Klune aptly handles his evolving feelings and morals. The prose is a touch wooden in places, but fans of quirky fantasy will eat it up.

Pub Date: March 17, 2020

ISBN: 978-1-250-21728-8

Page Count: 352

Publisher: Tor

Review Posted Online: Nov. 10, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019

GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | FANTASY

More by TJ Klune

by TJ Klune

PERSPECTIVES

Discover Books Fiction Thriller & Suspense Mystery & Detective Romance Science Fiction & Fantasy Nonfiction Biography & Memoir Teens & Young Adult Children's
News & Features Bestsellers Book Lists Profiles Perspectives Awards Seen & Heard Book to Screen Kirkus TV videos In the News
Kirkus Prize Winners & Finalists About the Kirkus Prize Kirkus Prize Judges
Magazine Current Issue All Issues Manage My Subscription Subscribe
Writers’ Center Hire a Professional Book Editor Get Your Book Reviewed Advertise Your Book Launch a Pro Connect Author Page Learn About The Book Industry
More Kirkus Diversity Collections Kirkus Pro Connect My Account/Login
About Kirkus History Our Team Contest FAQ Press Center Info For Publishers
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Reprints, Permission & Excerpting Policy

Popular in this Genre

Hey there, book lover.

We’re glad you found a book that interests you!

Please select an existing bookshelf

Create a new bookshelf.

We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!

Please sign up to continue.

It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!

Already have an account? Log in.

Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.

Almost there!

Industry Professional

Welcome Back!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

Don’t fret. We’ll find you.

Magazine Subscribers ( How to Find Your Reader Number )

If You’ve Purchased Author Services

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up.

Newsletters
Account Activating this button will toggle the display of additional content Account Sign out

The Girl With All the Gifts , a zombie novel of ideas.

Illustration by Eleanor Davis

Most zombie stories follow the same formula: Brawny dudes use guns and makeshift weapons to protect nerds, women, and children from the ravenous dead and from other survivors. Yawn.

M.R. Carey’s The Girl With All the Gifts is a terrifying zombie novel, but not in the expected way. The real enemy here isn’t the walking dead or even the crafty parasite that rules them. It’s evolution.

The Girl With All the Gifts opens in Britain about a decade after a zombie apocalypse left small numbers of humans hiding from the undead. Lots of walking-dead stories in recent years have offered a biological explanation for the plague—for instance, 28 Days Later or Brad Pitt’s big-screen adaptation of World War Z , whose pandemic story line felt tacked on—but the science often takes a back seat to the flesh-eating. Carey switches the formula, spending much more time on the infection and humanity’s attempts to conquer it than on bloodbaths. The result is a story that makes your brain feel at least a little nibbled on.

The book’s monsters are steered by a mutant version of the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis —which you may know as the parasite behind “ zombie ants .” As the novel explains, an infected ant is hijacked and forced to “climb to the highest place it can reach—to a leaf fifty feet or more above the forest floor.” From there, the fungus bursts forth from the poor ant’s head in the form of a sporangium that allows “thousands of spores” to “spread for miles,” with the help of the wind.

Let that penetrate your innocent, free-willed mind. This actual fungus cements the ant to a plant. Its sporangium grows inside, and then explodes out of, the insect’s head.

Courtesy of the author

Carey imagines the species-climbing Ophiocordyceps spilling over from infecting ants to humans. (In a nice touch, scientists in The Girl With All the Gifts screen a horrifying David Attenborough–narrated segment from Planet Earth to explain the cause of the zombie apocalypse to the laity.) For most of the infected, this means a pretty normal, albeit more scientific-sounding, zombiedom: the staggering, the biting, the quick infection turning a normal human into a cannibalistic shell. In Britain, at least, most of the remaining humans huddle in a fortified zone, where they are safe from the saliva-transmitted infection. They also don’t have to see the particularly gross zombies that, after infection takes hold, have fungus burst from their bodies. Pretty standard horror stuff.

But then something odd(er) happens. Military excursions into zombie-infested turf begin finding normal-looking children who can speak, learn, and think, but are nevertheless infected with Ophiocordyceps . Rounded up into a lockdown boarding school, the infected kids live in individual cells, leaving only for weekly shower-and-grub sessions (and yes, those are literal grubs), and for class, where they are strapped and locked into chairs. It is there that we meet Melanie, the girl with all the gifts, who excels in the classroom and who has a macabre sense of humor: When two handlers come to load her into a chair—one points a gun at her while the other secures her—she jokes, “Don’t worry, I won’t bite.” They don’t laugh, because a single whiff of human is all it takes to whip the gentle-seeming girl into a feeding frenzy that she cannot control.

But bright, eager Melanie, who doesn’t quite understand the nature of her disease, is incapable of turning bitter; the highlight of her life is Helen Justineau, the kindest of the rotating cast of teachers whose job it is to see how much they can teach these sort-of humans. It’s like Roald Dahl’s Matilda but with zombies: A teacher bonds with a precocious, cheerful child with amazing abilities who hasn’t been soured by the cruelty of her circumstances.

The most intriguing character is Caroline Caldwell, a researcher dedicated to finding a cure for Ophiocordyceps . Caldwell digs into the brains of Melanie’s classmates without remorse, because she sees their chatter and smiles and attempts at emotional connection as pure evolutionary chicanery—tricks the fungus plays to facilitate its spread. When a colleague balks at sawing into a child’s head, Caldwell scolds her: “Please remember, Doctor, that the subject presents as a child but is actually a fungal colony animating a child’s body. There’s no place for sentiment here.”

Caldwell is motivated by her desire to save humanity, of course. But there’s also a chip on her shoulder: During the start of the Breakdown, as it’s called, the country’s top scientists were sent out into infected zones in two buses kitted out with the latest in protective technology. Humanity’s hopes went with them on their field-research journey. (This is one spot where Carey chooses plot over logic. Why send all of your best men and women out into the horde?) Caldwell just missed the cut—meaning that she was the top scientist left when both vehicles vanished.

If she can’t find the answers that eluded her colleagues, she thinks, no one can. That’s quite a burden, and quite an ego. “If the road to knowledge was paved with dead children,” Carey writes of Caldwell, “she’d still walk it and absolve herself afterwards.”

When the military complex where Caldwell, Miss Justineau, and Melanie all live is compromised—right before Melanie’s about to lose her brain to science—the three, along with a couple of military men, must band together (with heaps of suspicion on all sides) to try to find their way to another outpost of humanity. And along the way, they discover just how clever Ophiocordyceps really is—and how long the game is it’s really playing. I don’t want to spoil anything here, but suffice it to say that the zombies are a means, not an end.

Miss Justineau and Caldwell do battle throughout the novel, with Miss Justineau’s compassion and eventual love for Melanie contrasting with Caldwell’s hunger for the girl’s brain. (Who’s the zombie again?) During one argument, Caldwell rants:

You should ask yourself … why you’re so keen on thinking of me as the enemy. If I make a vaccine, it might cure people like Melanie, who already have a partial immunity to Ophiocordyceps . It would certainly prevent thousands upon thousands of other children from ending up the way she has. Which weighs the most, Helen? Which will do the most good in the end? Your compassion, or my commitment to my work? Or could it be that you shout at me and disrespect me to stop yourself from having to ask questions like that?

The Girl With All the Gifts is crossover horror at its best: a book that can appeal to readers like me who are interested in the altered social dynamics of a collapsed society, but who are inclined to skim over lengthy descriptions of dull, gory battles. (This is a lazy reading practice that, on more than one occasion, has left me confused, only to realize that I missed the death of a main character.) There’s bloodshed and some battle, sure, but they take a back seat to mind-bending questions of research ethics in the midst of crisis, the clash of pragmatism and humanity, and the idea of individual free will.

It’s a welcome shift from the focus of many zombie stories. While the cinematic World War Z , 28 Days Later , and even The Walking Dead (remember the brief visit to the CDC?) offer glosses of science and lip service about ethics, their primary attraction is action. As is often the case with action storytelling, the moral conundrums in these tales are straightforward, dull—there’s almost always a clear right and wrong.

Carey’s complicated novel, however, makes it impossible to pick a side: Caldwell or Justineau? Melanie or humanity? Is Caldwell’s quest for answers truly scientifically pure, or is it just another example of an animal’s innate drive to protect itself from extinction? The Girl With All the Gifts turns eating brains from the usual empty-calorie snack into a full, complex, palate-challenging meal.

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey. Orbit.

See all the pieces in this month’s Slate Book Review . Sign up for the Slate Book Review monthly newsletter .

The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey – Book Review

Few books grabbed me as instantly as this post-apocalyptic thriller. It doesn’t quite live up to the promise of its striking opening and strays into over-familiar genre territory, but it remains a riveting read and, like all good science fiction, raises some intriguing moral conundrums.

Melanie is a bright and imaginative ten-year-old girl who adores books and Miss Justineau, her favourite teacher. Her world is very small indeed: her cell, the corridor outside the cell, the classroom and the shower room. Every morning, Melanie is strapped into the wheelchair, then taken to her lessons along with other children in her class who are likewise restrained. Melanie is curious and wistful about the outside world, but she’s also glad she’s living behind a big steel door keeping everybody safe.

The opening is dynamite: gripping, disorienting and disturbing, leaving the reader unsure what on earth is going on. Soon, we discover that Melanie and other children are kept at an army base, guarded from the ‘hungries’, former humans turned into mindless bloodthirsty killing machines by a parasitic fungus. Almost equally dangerous are ‘junkers’, non-infected humans who made a choice to take their chances in the wild after the near-total societal breakdown caused by the fungus a few decades ago.

I really loved the first hundred pages or so of this book, and Melanie’s point of view especially. As a protagonist, she’s instantly sympathetic and endearing, even as the breadcrumb trail of unsettling details warns the reader that Melanie is not a normal little girl she innocently believes herself to be. You’re also introduced to the perspectives of other major characters: Helen Justineau, a psychologist and teacher conflicted about her role at the base; rough and tough Sergeant Parks, the man in charge; and Caroline Caldwell, the scientist determined to solve the mystery of the fungus by any means possible – even if it means cutting into small children’s skulls.

Every day follows the same routine for Melanie, until one day when disaster strikes and everything changes. From then on, the novel turns into a road trip, with a small group of survivors including Melanie, Justineau, Caldwell, Parks and young private Gallagher making their way to Beacon, one of the last remaining human strongholds. They only need to make it through the miles of urban desolation, with hordes of hungries waiting to catch their delicious human scent… and even worse things than that.

Carey’s writing is vivid, fast-paced and action-packed. I still couldn’t help feeling that, after the early slow-burn intrigue, it did slip into some very familiar zombie apocalypse survival territory: 28 Days Later , The Last of Us , take your pick. It is also disappointing that Melanie’s unique perspective gets lost in the shuffle. There’s still some wonderful stuff as Melanie finally finds herself outside the base, slowly comes to understand and accept her true nature, and grapples with her place in the world, but she’s somewhat overshadowed by the adults who become more prominent and make most of the important decisions.

Which is not to say that any of this stopped me from devouring the book like a hungry. The tension never lets up and as the journey progresses, you end up learning more about the hungries and the pesky Cordyceps fungus; the various stages of the latter are especially fascinating, painstakingly detailed and offer some truly grotesque imagery. While I’m rarely affected by gory and gruesome scenes in books, there’s one particular sequence in The Girl with All the Gifts that genuinely creeped me out and made my skin crawl.

You also learn more about the other lead characters, who in the end are essentially stock figures, but stock figures with conflicting goals and clashing interests, especially where Melanie is concerned. In particular, the moral quandary is explored through the opposing views of Helen Justineau and Dr Caldwell: one empathetic and deeply invested in Melanie’s well-being, another entirely cold and stripped of emotion, focused only on the big picture and the possibility of saving the entire humankind.

There was a point when it became obvious what kind of story this was going to be; without spoiling anything let’s just say that the novel goes out with a bang and blaze, even if I wasn’t sold on all of the details of the ending. I had other nitpicks concerning characters’ actions that on a couple of occasions come off as implausible and poorly motivated, but overall this book was a fast, exciting and thought-provoking read.

‘The Girl With All the Gifts’ Review: A Thrilling Zombie Movie With Brains

Share on Facebook
Share to Flipboard
Share on LinkedIn
Show more sharing options
Submit to Reddit
Post to Tumblr
Print This Page
Share on WhatsApp

The scariest aspect of most zombies movies is the way they transform the familiar human visage into a grotesque, unthinking, carnivorous beast. “ The Girl With All the Gifts ,” director Colm McCarthy’s smart and elegant adaptation of M.R. Carey’s novel, inverts that formula by turning one zombie into the star of the show and giving her the innocent face of a child. As Melanie, the infected adolescent at the center of this minimalist thriller, newcomer Sennia Nanua delivers a startling performance by bringing a gentle quality to horrific circumstances.

The term “zombie” is pliable, and Carey’s original premise bends it especially well: While much of the world has been transformed into thoughtless flesh-eaters, the young children under imprisonment at a research facility continue to behave like normal people. But the adults in charge, headed by the stern Dr. Caldwell ( Glenn Close , in an underwritten but effective turn as the story’s main antagonist), take no chances. The children remain locked up and tied to wheelchairs, even when they’re brought into a classroom for daily instruction from the kindly Helen (Gemma Arterton).

Related Stories ‘The Becomers’ Review: ‘Body Snatchers’ Marries ‘The Lovebirds’ in Zach Clark’s Alien Rom-Com ‘Mountains’ Review: This Haitian Immigrant Drama Is One of the Year’s Best Debut Features

READ MORE: Locarno Film Festival 2016: ‘The Girl With All the Gifts’ and 4 More Must-See Films

There’s good reason for the caution. Despite their seemingly normal brain function, the children transform into chattering little monsters eager for blood as soon as they get a whiff of their human overlords. When hordes of zombies—or, as the survivors in this movie call them, “Hungries”—storm the gates of the facility at the end of the first act, the grownups still standing must hit the road.

While far from achieving the masterful tension of “28 Days Later,” McCarthy and Carey (who adapted the screenplay) retain a similarly contained approach, developing a taut atmosphere as a handful of characters attempt to survive while their situation grows increasingly hopeless. Holed up in a tank, the cast boils down to a quartet of main characters: Helen dotes over young Melanie, who’s eager to learn more about the world and why she’s regarded as such a threat, while Close’s Dr. Caldwell keeps trying to dissect the girl in search of a cure for the disease. Rounding out the group, the scowling Sergeant Parks (Paddy Considine) mainly throws his gun around and barks ham-fisted dialogue at the more intellectual members of the group (“Our mission is to keep ourselves off the fucking menu!”).

Despite some of inventive additions — “blocker gel” to ward off the undead, a giant infectious plant that sprouts out of the zombies when they reach critical mass — the ensuing survival tale adheres to pretty standard territory, but Melanie’s role complicates the proceedings. The petite killer goes from quiet observer to starving hunter, a duality that initially works in the group’s favor as she manages to ward off other less sentient zombies that stand in their way.

In the process, however, she develops a greater sense of individuality that sets the stage for a fascinating climactic showdown. The result echoes Richard Matheson’s post-apocalyptic vampire saga “I Am Legend,” in that both evoke sympathy for the source of humanity’s demise rather than antagonizing it. A thrilling zombie movie with brains, “The Girl With All the Gifts” strengthens its traditional qualities a greater element of surprise.

READ MORE: Meet the Locarno Critics Academy Class of 2016

Still, the movie falls back on some token ingredients, including yet another scene of survivors tip-toeing through the mindless undead as they stand around in a clueless stupor. And there are the inevitable moments where discardable characters wind up alone in quiet places where it’s so obvious they’ll meet their doom the scenes may as well end midway through with a title card that reads, “et cetera.”

However, in adhering to the classical tropes of the zombie genre, “The Girl With All the Gifts” delivers. Chilean composer Cristobal Tapia de Veer’s pounding soundtrack creates a constant sense of uneasiness, while the film’s vibrant imagery pairs immersive master shots of the empty landscapes with telling closeups that hint at divided allegiances. In the spectacular finale, the movie takes on the haunting, expressionistic dread of a Bosch painting.

Of course, no visuals can fully obscure the usual beats in play. From “The Night of the Living Dead” to “The Walking Dead,” so much of this material has been mined dry that it has gotten harder to distinguish when it’s actually done well. But “The Girl With All the Gifts” really does offer up a fleshed-out world rich with eerie implications, saving the biggest one for the memorable finale. As Melanie grows more confident in her understanding of the threat around her, she begins to take control in ways her human peers can’t anticipate, and her defiance creates a complicated moral base for the story. Ultimately, “The Girl With All the Gifts” suggests that the end of the world is relative.

“The Girl With All the Gifts” premiered on the opening night at the Locarno Film Festival. Saban Films will release it in North America in 2017.

Most Popular

Book review: The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey

Melanie, according to the invitingly brief dust jacket blurb of The Girl With All the Gifts (based on the Edgar Award-nominated short story Iphigenia in Aulis ), “is a very special girl”.

And the novel of which she is the moral and emotional core, is extraordinary too, a highly original take on the zombie apocalypse, of which you might think there is not much left to say.

Most occupants of this genre followed a fairly well worn path – a contagion breaks out, the majority of humanity are reduced to rage-filled living nightmares, or the re-animated deceased, and as civilisation crumbles into an orgy of Darwinian survival of the fittest and Mad Max opportunism, the plucky and desperate remnants of what was once the human once do their best to avoid annihilation.

And to be fair there are elements of all of these things in The Girl With All the Gifts , so named because of Pandora of Greek myth, she of the overly curious nature and a box full of the sensibly-imprisoned evils, which graphically paints a picture of a world largely leached bare of all the things we know and love.

“The infection was still spreading, and global capitalism was still tearing itself apart – like the two giants eating each other in the Dalí paining called Autumn Cannibalism . No amount of expertly choreographed PR could prevail, in the end, against Armageddon. It strolled over the barricade and took its pleasure.” (p. 48)

Hungries, as the zombies are rather prosaically referred to by the survivors, swarm though the cities, and to a lesser extent the more sparsely populated countryside, Junkers, surviving feral humans who are reduced to a brutally paternalistic life of basic survival and little else prey on the weak and inattentive, while the rump of civilised humanity have barricaded themselves in walled, totalitarian enclaves, doing their best to keep the flame of self-aware humanity burning.

It is a bleak, almost hopeless existence, life circumscribed at all times by the need to simply survive with very little chance of actually enjoying life save for isolated moments here or there, a siege mentality the order of very long and anxiety-filled days.

What sets M. R. Carey’s novel apart from the undead pack – the author’s name is a pseudonym “for an established British writer of prose fiction and comic books” – is the attention it pays to the characters that fills its pages and its steely-eyed focus on the many and varied ways they react to a world they no longer recognise or feel comfortable in.

Each of the four principal characters are beautifully fleshed out, no pun intended, given fully-realised three dimensional distinctive personas and the chance to express them over the course of the novel, a thriller with no real promise of a happy ending.

Quite what the ending is, obviously, I cannot say except to say that it is heartbreakingly poignant and necessary, but so well brought forth are the main characters that and so deeply invested in their precarious fate are you that you almost wish you could put off the inevitable in perpetuity.

“Yesterday she thought that the hungries were like houses that people used to live in. Now she thinks that every one of those houses is haunted. She’s not just surrounded by the hungries. She’s surrounded by the ghosts of the men and women they used to be.” (Melanie, p. 234)

Melanie, the protagonist and epicentre of the story, is to all appearances a bright, happy and extremely intelligent blond-haired 10 year old girl, armed with a voracious appetite for Greek myth, of which she is a obsessive fan, and knowledge of all kinds.

But unlike pretty much all other 10 year olds, she spends much of her days and nights confined to a windowless cell underground, her arms and lengths strapped down, everyone steering a wide berth around her because despite her protestations that she won’t bite, there is ever life-ending chance that she will.

For Melanie, all humanity aside, is a Hungry, driven into insatiable lust for flesh whenever she sniffs the unmasked pheromones of those foolish enough not to slather themselves in the vital E-blocker which masks all traceable odours of humanity and is a vital part of any survivor’s toolkit in the apocalyptic age.

The only person unperturbed by this, some misgivings aside, is her adored Miss Justineau, a clinical psychologist drafted in by the fearsomely dedicated researcher Caroline Caldwell, as a teacher in a bid to see what the act of learning does to the still higher-unfctioning brains of Melanie and the incarcerated children like her.

The Girl With All the Gifts has attracted a swathe of glowing reviews (image via comicbookjesus.com)

A particularly close bond develops between Melanie and her much-loved teacher, and soon the intriguingly abnormal young girl, who glories in learning about now useless knowledge like the population of Manchester, who over time come to fill needs in the other to parent and be parented.

Of course Caroline Caldwell, consumed with her appointed role of finding a cure for the fungus-based plague, and Sergeant Parks, who oversees the security of the base they occupy far out in the English countryside (far from the haven of Beacon, south of London, where rump humanity clings on), see Melanie purely as a test subject and an insidious threat respectively.

It is only when events force them to depend far more closely on each other than previously, that they discover the true extent of Melanie’s nascent humanity and gaping deficiencies in their own.

Thus The Girl With All the Gifts is less about the cataclysmic downfall of civilisation, although that is addressed in chillingly evocative detail, and more about what it really means to be human, especially in an age when all trace of that concept are growing more nebulous and uncertain by the second.

“But she [Melanie] doubts now that the princes she once imagined fighting for her exist anywhere in this world, which is so beautiful but so full of old and broken things. And she already misses Muss J, even though they’re still together.” She doesn’t think she’ll ever love anyone else quite this much.” (p. 257)

This dissection of the nature of Homo Sapiens sentience, and its often flawed expression, is distilled into the touching, mutually rewarding relationship between Miss Justineau, and the young genius Melanie, and forms the core of what is that rare creature indeed – a novel that is both a part of, and a radical departure from the genre to which it belongs.

And in so doing, it draws you into caring for this highly unusual young girl, who though heartbreakingly aware what she is, is nonetheless consumed and delight by everything around her, including most of all, her adored and much loved Miss J.

While every bit a thriller, with the sort of shocks, scares and impossible to escape situations that make The Walking Dead and 28 Days Later such compelling viewing, The Girl With All the Gifts is at its heart the profoundly moving, and thought-provoking tale of one young thoroughly different girl who simply wants to be loved, and the woman who overcomes a myriad of fears, to give her that love.

It is never mawkish or overly-sentimental – its setting puts paid to any temptation to render the relationship in those terms very early on – always staying true to the idea that humanity could survive the apocalypse, just not in the way we imagined.

Book review: how high we go in the dark by sequoia nagamatsu, book review: everything is beautiful by eleanor ray, book review: the circus infinite by khan wong.

The Girl With All the Gifts by MR Carey – review

T he biggest tropes in fiction get worked into the ground. Vampires, conspiracy theories, BDSM erotica: it's hard to tell new stories in these genres, and even harder to write something that captures the public imagination as the originals did.

Over the last couple of years, we've been exhausting another imaginative seam: zombies. Having risen to popularity thanks to George A Romero's films in the 1970s, they were wheeled out every few years to shamble and moan and eat brains. Recently, there have been some innovative treatments: Seth Graham-Smith's Pride and Prejudice and Zombies retconned them into Austen's world; 28 Days Later , The Walking Dead and World War Z concentrated on the human side of what happens when zombies take over the world; and Colson Whitehead's incredible novel Zone One showed the brutality of a world forced to react to such an outbreak. But is there any meat left on the corpse?

I'd assumed not, but The Girl With All the Gifts proves how wrong I was. MJ Carey has written as original, thrilling and powerful a novel as anything I've read in a long time.

Melanie is a little girl who goes to school, has friends, loves books. She is incredibly intelligent, and, we discover, lives underground in an army base with 20 or so other children her age. She is muzzled occasionally, and chained to her desk; and all the classes are tests, to see what information the children retain and understand. But she is a normal child, right up until the moment she smells human flesh too closely – and turns into a feral monster. Melanie, like the other children she lives with, is a zombie; the planet has been overrun, and these intelligent kids are the only possible way for its remaining scientists to find a cure.

We see this world not only through Melanie's eyes, but also those of Miss Justineau, her favourite teacher, who introduces her to Greek myths (including the story of the original girl with all the gifts, Pandora, and the box she opens). Then there's Sergeant Parks, the man in charge of the base, and Caroline Caldwell, the scientist who wants to open up Melanie's skull to find out why she's so intelligent when the rest of the zombie population is of the standard droolingly mindless variety.

Make no mistake, this isn't a book about the zombie outbreak itself, or the world left in its wake (though both are covered, and are fascinating in their own right); it's about this very specific group of people. The way the characters are drawn is reminiscent of classic horror novels such as Richard Matheson's I Am Legend or early Stephen King, but the novel itself isn't a horror. If anything, it's a parental love story – about a child deprived of parents and an adult who wishes to fulfil that role, and how they go about learning to trust each other.

Were the characters not so strong, the book might fall apart. The plot is rather slight (and reminiscent, inevitably, of so many other zombie tales), and the ending feels a little rushed; but the characters – especially Melanie and Miss Justineau – are so well drawn and so human that it's impossible not to feel for them. That's a testament to Carey's skill: not every writer can make you feel emotionally attached to a genius-level undead 10-year-old. But then, not every zombie novel can make you forget that you were sick of the genre in the first place.

Science fiction books

Comments (…)

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

The Girl With All the Gifts Hardcover – June 10, 2014

Part of series Girl With All The Gifts
Print length 416 pages
Language English
Publisher Orbit
Publication date June 10, 2014
Dimensions 6 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10 0316278157
ISBN-13 978-0316278157
See all details

Editorial Reviews

Her name is Melanie. It means "the black girl", from an ancient Greek word, buther skin is actually very fair so she thinks maybe it's not such a good name forher. She likes the name Pandora a whole lot, but you don't get to choose. MissJustineau assigns names from a big list; new children get the top name on theboys' list or the top name on the girls' list, and that, Miss Justineau says, isthat.

There haven't been any new children for a long time now. Melanie doesn't knowwhy that is. There used to be lots; every week, or every couple of weeks, voicesin the night. Muttered orders, complaints, the occasional curse. A cell doorslamming. Then, after a while, usually a month or two, a new face in theclassroom–a new boy or girl who hadn't even learned to talk yet. But theygot it fast.

Melanie was new herself, once, but that's hard to remember because it was a longtime ago. It was before there were any words; there were just things withoutnames, and things without names don't stay in your mind. They fall out, and thenthey're gone.

Now she's ten years old, and she has skin like a princess in a fairy tale; skinas white as snow. So she knows that when she grows up she'll be beautiful, withprinces falling over themselves to climb her tower and rescue her.

Assuming, of course, that she has a tower.

In the meantime, she has the cell, the corridor, the classroom and the showerroom.

The cell is small and square. It has a bed, a chair and a table. On the walls,which are painted grey, there are pictures; a big one of the Amazon rainforestand a smaller one of a pussycat drinking from a saucer of milk. SometimesSergeant and his people move the children around, so Melanie knows that some ofthe cells have different pictures in them. She used to have a horse in a meadowand a mountain with snow on the top, which she liked better.

It's Miss Justineau who puts the pictures up. She cuts them out from the stackof old magazines in the classroom, and she sticks them up with bits of bluesticky stuff at the corners. She hoards the blue sticky stuff like a miser in astory. Whenever she takes a picture down, or puts a new one up, she scrapes upevery last bit that's stuck to the wall and puts it back on the little roundball of the stuff that she keeps in her desk.

When it's gone, it's gone, Miss Justineau says.

The corridor has twenty doors on the left-hand side and eighteen doors on theright-hand side. Also it has a door at either end. One door is painted red, andit leads to the classroom–so Melanie thinks of that as the classroom endof the corridor. The door at the other end is bare grey steel and it's really,really thick. Where it leads to is a bit harder to say. Once when Melanie wasbeing taken back to her cell, the door was off its hinges, with some men workingon it, and she could see how it had all these bolts and sticking-out bits aroundthe edges of it, so when it's closed it would be really hard to open. Past thedoor, there was a long flight of concrete steps going up and up. She wasn'tsupposed to see any of that stuff, and Sergeant said, "Little bitch has got waytoo many eyes on her" as he shoved her chair into her cell and slammed the doorshut. But she saw, and she remembers.

She listens, too, and from overheard conversations she has a sense of this placein relation to other places she hasn't ever seen. This place is the block.Outside the block is the base, which is Hotel Echo. Outside the base is region6, with London thirty miles to the south and then Beacon another forty-fourmiles further–and nothing else beyond Beacon except the sea. Most ofregion 6 is clear, but the only thing that keeps it that way is the burnpatrols, with their frags and fireballs. This is what the base is for, Melanieis pretty sure. It sends out burn patrols, to clear away the hungries.

The burn patrols have to be really careful, because there are lots of hungriesstill out there. If they get your scent, they'll follow you for a hundred miles,and when they catch you they'll eat you. Melanie is glad that she lives in theblock, behind that big steel door, where she's safe.

Beacon is very different from the base. It's a whole great big city full ofpeople, with buildings that go up into the sky. It's got the sea on one side ofit and moats and minefields on the other three, so the hungries can't get close.In Beacon you can live your whole life without ever seeing a hungry. And it's sobig there are probably a hundred billion people there, all living together.

Melanie hopes she'll go to Beacon some day. When the mission is complete, andwhen (Dr Caldwell said this once) everything gets folded up and put away.Melanie tries to imagine that day; the steel walls closing up like the pages ofa book, and then ... something else. Something else outside, into which they'llall go.

It will be scary. But so amazing!

Through the grey steel door each morning Sergeant comes and Sergeant's peoplecome and finally the teacher comes. They walk down the corridor, past Melanie'sdoor, bringing with them the strong, bitter chemical smell that they always haveon them; it's not a nice smell, but it's exciting because it means the start ofanother day's lessons.

At the sound of the bolts sliding and the footsteps, Melanie runs to the door ofher cell and stands on tiptoe to peep through the little mesh-screen window inthe door and see the people when they go by. She calls out good morning to them,but they're not supposed to answer and usually they don't. Sergeant and hispeople never do, and neither do Dr Caldwell or Mr Whitaker. And Dr Selkirk goesby really fast and never looks the right way, so Melanie can't see her face. Butsometimes Melanie will get a wave from Miss Justineau or a quick, furtive smilefrom Miss Mailer.

Whoever is going to be the teacher for the day goes straight through into theclassroom, while Sergeant's people start to unlock the cell doors. Their job isto take the children to the classroom, and after that they go away again.There's a procedure that they follow, which takes a long time. Melanie thinks itmust be the same for all the children, but of course she doesn't know that forsure because it always happens inside the cells and the only cell that Melaniesees the inside of is her own.

To start with, Sergeant bangs on all the doors and shouts at the children to getready. What he usually shouts is "Transit!" but sometimes he adds more words tothat. "Transit, you little bastards!" or "Transit! Let's see you!" His big,scarred face looms up at the mesh window and he glares in at you, making sureyou're out of bed and moving.

And one time, Melanie remembers, he made a speech–not to the children butto his people. "Some of you are new. You don't know what the hell you've signedup for, and you don't know where the hell you are. You're scared of thesefrigging little abortions, right? Well, good. Hug that fear to your mortal soul.The more scared you are, the less chance you'll screw up." Then he shouted,"Transit!" which was lucky because Melanie wasn't sure by then if this was thetransit shout or not.

After Sergeant says "Transit", Melanie gets dressed, quickly, in the white shiftthat hangs on the hook next to her door, a pair of white trousers from thereceptacle in the wall, and the white pumps lined up under her bed. Then shesits down in the wheelchair at the foot of her bed, like she's been taught todo. She puts her hands on the arms of the chair and her feet on the footrests.She closes her eyes and waits. She counts while she waits. The highest she'sever had to count is two thousand five hundred and twenty-six; the lowest is onethousand nine hundred and one.

When the key turns in the door, she stops counting and opens her eyes. Sergeantcomes in with his gun and points it at her. Then two of Sergeant's people comein and tighten and buckle the straps of the chair around Melanie's wrists andankles. There's also a strap for her neck; they tighten that one last of all,when her hands and feet are fastened up all the way, and they always do it frombehind. The strap is designed so they never have to put their hands in front ofMelanie's face. Melanie sometimes says, "I won't bite." She says it as a joke,but Sergeant's people never laugh. Sergeant did once, the first time she saidit, but it was a nasty laugh. And then he said, "Like we'd ever give you thechance, sugar plum."

When Melanie is all strapped into the chair, and she can't move her hands or herfeet or her head, they wheel her into the classroom and put her at her desk. Theteacher might be talking to some of the other children, or writing something onthe blackboard, but she (or he, if it's Mr Whitaker, the only teacher who's ahe) will usually stop and say, "Good morning, Melanie." That way the childrenwho sit way up at the front of the class will know that Melanie has come intothe room and they can say good morning too. Most of them can't see her when shecomes in, of course, because they're all in their own chairs with their neckstraps fastened up, so they can't turn their heads around that far.

This procedure–the wheeling in, and the teacher saying good morning andthen the chorus of greetings from the other kids–happens nine more times,because there are nine children who come into the classroom after Melanie. Oneof them is Anne, who used to be Melanie's best friend in the class and maybestill is except that the last time they moved the kids around (Sergeant calls it"shuffling the deck") they ended up sitting a long way apart and it's hard to bebest friends with someone you can't talk to. Another is Kenny, who Melaniedoesn't like because he calls her Melon Brain or M-M-M-Melanie to remind herthat she used to stammer sometimes in class.

When all the children are in the classroom, the lessons start. Every day hassums and spelling, and every day has retention tests, but there doesn't seem tobe a plan for the rest of the lessons. Some teachers like to read aloud frombooks and then ask questions about what they just read. Others make the childrenlearn facts and dates and tables and equations, which is something that Melanieis very good at. She knows all the kings and queens of England and when theyreigned, and all the cities in the United Kingdom with their areas andpopulations and the rivers that run through them (if they have rivers) and theirmottoes (if they have mottoes). She also knows the capitals of Europe and theirpopulations and the years when they were at war with Britain, which most of themwere at one time or another.

She doesn't find it hard to remember this stuff; she does it to keep from beingbored, because being bored is worse than almost anything. If she knows surfacearea and total population, she can work out mean population density in her headand then do regression analyses to guess how many people there might be in ten,twenty, thirty years' time.

But there's sort of a problem with that. Melanie learned the stuff about thecities of the United Kingdom from Mr Whitaker's lessons, and she's not sure ifshe's got all the details right. Because one day, when Mr Whitaker was actingkind of funny and his voice was all slippery and fuzzy, he said something thatworried Melanie. She was asking him whether 1,036,900 was the population of thewhole of Birmingham with all its suburbs or just the central metropolitan area,and he said, "Who cares? None of this stuff matters any more. I just gave it toyou because all the textbooks we've got are thirty years old."

Melanie persisted, because she knew that Birmingham is the biggest city inEngland after London, and she wanted to be sure she had the numbers exactlyright. "But the census figures from—" she said.

Mr Whitaker cut her off. "Jesus, Melanie, it's irrelevant. It's ancient history!There's nothing out there any more. Not a damn thing. The population ofBirmingham is zero."

So it's possible, even quite likely, that some of Melanie's lists need to beupdated in some respects.

The children have lessons on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. OnSaturday, they stay locked in their rooms all day and music plays over the PAsystem. Nobody comes, not even Sergeant, and the music is too loud to talk over.Melanie had the idea long ago of making up a language that used signs instead ofwords, so the children could talk to each other through their little meshwindows, and she went ahead and made the language up, which was fun to do, butwhen she asked Miss Justineau if she could teach it to the class, Miss Justineautold her no, really loud and sharp. She made Melanie promise not to mention hersign language to any of the other teachers, and especially not to Sergeant."He's paranoid enough already," she said. "If he thinks you're talking behindhis back, he'll lose what's left of his mind."

So Melanie never got to teach the other children how to talk in sign language.

Saturdays are long and dull, and hard to get through. Melanie tells herselfaloud some of the stories that the children have been told in class, or singsmathematical proofs like the proof for the infinity of prime numbers, in time tothe music. It's okay to do this out loud because the music hides her voice.Otherwise Sergeant would come in and tell her to stop.

Melanie knows that Sergeant is still there on Saturdays, because one Saturdaywhen Ronnie hit her hand against the mesh window of her cell until it bled andgot all mashed up, Sergeant came in. He brought two of his people, and all threeof them were dressed in the big suits that hide their faces, and they went intoRonnie's cell and Melanie guessed from the sounds that they were trying to tieRonnie into her chair. She also guessed from the sounds that Ronnie wasstruggling and making it hard for them, because she kept shouting and saying,"Leave me alone! Leave me alone!" Then there was a banging sound that went onand on while one of Sergeant's people shouted, "Christ Jesus, don't—" andthen other people were shouting too, and someone said, "Grab her other arm! Holdher!" and then it all went quiet again.

Melanie couldn't tell what happened after that. The people who work for Sergeantwent around and locked all the little screens over the mesh windows, so thechildren couldn't see out. They stayed locked all day. The next Monday, Ronniewasn't in the class any more, and nobody seemed to know what had happened toher. Melanie likes to think there's another classroom somewhere else on thebase, and Ronnie went there, so she might come back one day when Sergeantshuffles the deck again. But what she really believes, when she can't stopherself from thinking about it, is that Sergeant took Ronnie away to punish herfor being bad, and he won't let her see any of the other children ever again.

Sundays are like Saturdays except for chow time and the shower. At the start ofthe day the children are put in their chairs as though it's a regular schoolday, but with just their right hands and forearms unstrapped. They're wheeledinto the shower room, which is the last door on the right, just before the baresteel door.

In the shower room, which is white-tiled and empty, the children sit and waituntil everybody has been wheeled in. Then Sergeant's people bring chow bowls andspoons. They put a bowl on each child's lap, the spoon already sticking into it.

In the bowl there are about a million grubs, all squirming and wriggling overeach other.

The children eat.

In the stories that they read, children sometimes eat other things–cakesand chocolate and bangers and mash and crisps and sweets and spaghetti andmeatballs. The children only eat grubs, and only once a week, because–asDr Selkirk explains one time when Melanie asks–their bodies arespectacularly efficient at metabolising proteins. They don't have to have any ofthose other things, not even water to drink. The grubs give them everything theyneed.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orbit; First Edition (June 10, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316278157
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316278157
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.16 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches
#3,747 in Dystopian Fiction (Books)
#5,867 in Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction (Books)
#10,774 in Science Fiction Adventures

Videos for this product

Click to play video

Merchant Video

About the author

M. r. carey.

M. R. Carey has been making up stories for most of his life. His novel The Girl With All the Gifts was a word-of-mouth bestseller and is now a major motion picture based on his own screenplay. Under the name Mike Carey he has written for both DC and Marvel, including critically acclaimed runs on Lucifer, Hellblazer and X-Men. His creator-owned series The Unwritten appeared regularly in the New York Times graphic fiction bestseller list. He also has several previous novels, games, radio plays, and TV and movie screenplays to his credit.

Customer reviews

5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 49% 34% 12% 3% 1% 49%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 49% 34% 12% 3% 1% 34%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 49% 34% 12% 3% 1% 12%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 49% 34% 12% 3% 1% 3%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 49% 34% 12% 3% 1% 1%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and start strong. They find the content thought provoking, touching, and optimistic. They describe the book as inventive, inventive, and polished. Readers find the plot entertaining, haunting, and twisty with galore. They praise the writing style as powerful, meticulously plotted, and fast-paced. They also find the characters compelling and the emotional tone intense. Customers also describe the story as engaging, funny, and heart-wrenching.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the plot entertaining, unique, and haunting. They also say the book exemplifies the cyclical nature of life. Readers also say it's riveting, with no plot holes.

"...This is a zombie story that I will not be forgetting anytime soon.This book is told from Melanie's point of view...." Read more

"...It sounded intriguing and different from my recent reads... I’m actually glad I didn’t read the reviews in this case because I can guarantee you, if..." Read more

"...It has a very good plot , with the characters doing realistic things, instead of most characters making the wrong decision every time...." Read more

"...It starts off believable before Melanie turns into some super soldier on a dime flip...." Read more

Customers find the book well-developed, refreshing, and a good Halloween/October read. They also say the author did a very thorough job providing a description.

"...All of the key characters in this book were really well developed and added something important to the overall story...." Read more

"...and it's easy to miss something, but it's overall an enjoyable book to take your time reading ...." Read more

"It started off strong and by 1/3 of the way through I’m fighting not to skip large sections...." Read more

"...But for all of that, it’s a blast to read , and more than that, it’s a reminder that even the most tired of genres can still be brought back to life..." Read more

Customers find the writing style powerful, unique, and well explained. They also say the book is hard to put down and oozing with wonderful detail. Customers also say it's fast-paced and has an interesting twist in perspective.

"...I thought her voice was very pleasant and she brought a lot of excitement to the story...." Read more

"...The main characters that you follow through the story are very well fleshed out , (pun intended) they weren’t just one dimensional...." Read more

"...This is the kind of book to read slowly , the action scenes move fast and it's easy to miss something, but it's overall an enjoyable book to take..." Read more

"...The Girl with All the Gifts does a phenomenal job at giving a unique voice to each of the main characters...." Read more

Customers find the characters compelling, thrilling, powerful, and very human. They also say Miss Justineau is lovable and the other characters are well-rounded.

"...Melanie was a fantastic character . I would never have imagined that she would turn out to be so easy to relate to but she was...." Read more

"...that there could be such detailed, description character writing ...." Read more

"...It's one of the more terrifying things about this novel. Miss Justineau is lovable , too, and the other characters are well-rounded and believable...." Read more

"...Melanie, the main character is certainly gifted and intelligent and pulls at your heartstrings...." Read more

Customers find the book extremely engaging, with an innocent curiosity. They also say the book never feels episodic, with fascinating creatures.

"...It is a different kind of zombie story that was highly entertaining and hard to put down...." Read more

"...It was smart. It was heartbreaking. It was hopeful. It kept my brain ticking . It made me glad that I had made my way through the story...." Read more

"...And yet, the book never feels episodic ; thematically, it’s rich fare, with questions being raised about the nature of the zombie virus, and the..." Read more

"...This is definitely entertaining , and Melanie's encounter with a partially conscious zombie sitting on a bed, singing and leafing through photos is..." Read more

Customers find the content thought-provoking, intelligent, and well-researched. They also say the book holds their attention and deserves a second read. Customers also mention that the characters are multi-dimensional and have realistic motives for their behaviors. They say the horror genre tackles some big issues like morality and what it means to be human. Customers appreciate the constant changes in perspectives between characters.

"...You would never guess this ending, it wasn’t the obvious route. It was smart . It was heartbreaking. It was hopeful. It kept my brain ticking...." Read more

"...haters out there that can find fault with anything, but the science is real enough that you can get lost in the story without arguing with the..." Read more

"...they aren't the typical kind: more like the vampire or werewolf, they're conscious , self-aware, capable of learning and some level of restraint...." Read more

"...written, with depth and intense emotion, and it compels the reader to truly care what happens to the characters...." Read more

Customers find the book inventive, unique, and emotive. They also say it's beautifully developed, with distinct voices. Readers also mention that the challenges are both believably harrowing and surmountable. Overall, they say the story has a fresh and horrifying spin.

"...; while Girl has some flaws and shortcomings, it’s gripping and imaginative , and so much fun – and so different – that it’s not hard to overlook..." Read more

"...Overall, I still think the concept was unique , and when the story works it works incredibly well." Read more

"...their appearance in this novel is completely believable and really quite inventive , I'm tired of seeing these "people" show up...." Read more

"...The Girl With All The Gifts is imaginative , thrilling, powerful and very human. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️" Read more

Customers find the emotional tone of the book intense, bright, and lifelike. They also say the book is a tale of love and courage inside the wrapper of an undead world. Readers also mention that the relationships are present throughout the book and very developed.

"...It was smart. It was heartbreaking . It was hopeful. It kept my brain ticking. It made me glad that I had made my way through the story...." Read more

"...but this zombie book is intelligently written, with depth and intense emotion , and it compels the reader to truly care what happens to the..." Read more

"...buys it, but this book is tighter, simpler, richer, and frankly more heart-wrenching ...." Read more

"...But the emotion seems somewhat forced , almost like the author was aware that the emotion should be there, but there wasn’t any emotional build up...." Read more

Reviews with images

Wasn't that fun? In a gory sort of way

Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

About Amazon
Investor Relations
Amazon Devices
Amazon Science
Sell products on Amazon
Sell on Amazon Business
Sell apps on Amazon
Become an Affiliate
Advertise Your Products
Self-Publish with Us
Host an Amazon Hub
› See More Make Money with Us
Amazon Business Card
Shop with Points
Reload Your Balance
Amazon Currency Converter
Amazon and COVID-19
Your Account
Your Orders
Shipping Rates & Policies
Returns & Replacements
Manage Your Content and Devices

Conditions of Use
Privacy Notice
Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
Your Ads Privacy Choices

December 23, 2017 in Authors M-Z // Thrift Store Finds: Save the Last Dance for Me
October 23, 2017 in Authors A-L // ‘Death Rituals’ by Josh Hancock (Review)
May 20, 2017 in Featured Articles // When in Paris, Revisit Gaston Leroux’s Timeless Masterpiece ‘The Phantom of the Opera’
August 11, 2016 in Interviews // Interview: Jack Ketchum Talks Horror Roots and New Book ‘The Secret Life of Souls’
August 3, 2016 in Featured Articles // ‘The Dice Man’ Still on its 45 Year Roll
July 30, 2016 in Featured Articles // 5 Horror Novels That Deserve a Video Game Adaptation
April 20, 2016 in Featured Articles // Jonathan Maberry, Ramsey Campbell and 16 Other Amazing Horror Authors Tell Us What Books Terrify Them!
April 1, 2016 in Featured Articles // Is Stephen King Really the Greatest Horror Contributor of All Time?
January 17, 2016 in Featured Articles // Here are 10 Classic Scary Stories to Read for Free!
January 17, 2016 in Featured Articles // 5 Horror Authors You Have to Read and Follow in 2016!
January 13, 2016 in Featured Articles // Ranking Every Stephen King Novel, From Worst to First!
January 1, 2016 in Featured Articles // Slenderman Video: Author Lee McGeorge Explores the Home of Slenderman!
December 30, 2015 in Featured Articles // Top 10 Horror Novels of 2015
December 28, 2015 in Featured Articles // Fear the Future: 10 Great Post-Apocalyptic Horror Novels
October 31, 2015 in Fiction // Read Kevin Wetmore’s ‘Halloween Returns’ Contest Winning Story “Ben Tramer’s Not Going to Homecoming!”
October 22, 2015 in News // Download the ‘Halloween Returns: A Fan Fiction Anthology’ Now for Free!
June 4, 2015 in Featured Articles // Five Reasons Drunks Will Always Survive Horror Stories
April 29, 2015 in Bloody Good Writing // Bloody Good Writing Volume 2: Does Sex Sell?
March 10, 2015 in Featured Articles // 5 Zombie Novels that Don’t Bite
February 16, 2015 in Movie Editorials // [Movie Talk] Top 5 Creepy Episodes of Anthology Shows
February 8, 2015 in Horror Story of the Week // Horror Story of the Week – Mark Allan Gunnells: I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
January 9, 2015 in Authors A-L // Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Francesco Francavilla ‘Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale’ Review
November 21, 2014 in Featured Articles // Five Vampire Novels that Don’t Suck
November 17, 2014 in Authors A-L // Joe R. Lansdale ‘Prisoner 489’ Review
October 2, 2014 in Featured Articles // The 100 Scariest Horror Novels of All Time
May 20, 2024 in Authors M-Z // Book Review for The Devil’s Lieutenant by Shervin Jamali
May 13, 2024 in Authors A-L // Book Review for Welcome to Your Body: Lessons in Evisceration, edited by Ryan Marie Ketterer
May 6, 2024 in Authors M-Z // Book Review for Pieties by Marc Ruvolo
April 29, 2024 in Authors M-Z // Book Review for The Witches of Wildwood Cape May Horror Stories and Other Scary Tales from the Jersey Shore by Mark Wesley
April 24, 2024 in Authors A-L // Book Review for Whispers of Apple Blossoms by Brett Mitchell Kent
April 15, 2024 in Authors M-Z // Book Review for The Dreamer by Travis McBee
April 8, 2024 in Authors M-Z // Book Review for What Happened at Hawthorne House by Hadassah Shiradski
April 1, 2024 in Authors A-L // Book Review for Conjuring the Witch by Jessica Leonard

M.R. Carey ‘The Girl with All the Gifts’ Review

Posted on June 23, 2014 in Authors A-L // 3 Comments

Written by: Paula Limbaugh

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey is quite the story. Just when I thought I had read it all when it comes to zombies, this comes along and blows me away. A brilliant story, told so very well. M.R. Carey is the pen name of a well known British author, who has penned both fiction and comic books. His books have appeared on the New York Times graphic fiction bestseller list regularly. He has also written for DC and Marvel and even has a Hollywood screenplay under his belt!

From the first page I was caught up in the story of Melanie, a precocious ten year old. Melanie lives on a protected base called Hotel Echo outside of London. All the children there live in cells and are only taken out for school classes. The children are special and while under the “care” of Dr. Caldwell they are being examined to see what it is that makes them so special. One of the teachers, Miss Justineau has formed a strong bond with little Melanie and it is this bond that will eventually save them both.

It’s been 20 years since the hungries first appeared. When the government realized they could no longer control the spread of the hungries, they began rounding up the normal people to live on protected bases. Some people refused to go and have tried fending for themselves, these folks are the junkers. Over time the junkers have become little more than savages, fending only for themselves.

One day when some soldiers go out on patrol they run into a few junkers and the encounter ends badly with a couple of junkers dead. The junkers are angry and out for revenge, so they herd the hungries and launch an attack on the base. Barely escaping with their lives are Melanie, Miss Justineau, Dr Caldwell and two soldiers, Sergeant Parks and Private Gallagher.

As they try to make their way to another base some 40 miles away, we are taken through the wastelands on an incredible journey. It’s a journey of self discovery and startling revelations, both terrifying and beautiful. Yes, there may be zombies in the story but it’s not the zombies that are the story. Don’t miss this one!

Order it here .

Rating : 4.5/5

About The Overseer ( 1669 Articles )

3 comments on m.r. carey ‘the girl with all the gifts’ review.

I’m not a big zombie reader but this one sounds different. I especially like the cover because it’s so different from the usual zombie images–provokes a literary feeling.

Definitely a different take here. This feels like an opportunity to read a well done zombie story. Thanks ….just me…Vitina

Yes, I this, I thought it was a great read. Definitely a different take on the Zombies. Great review.

Book Review: The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

Author: M.R. Carey

Genre: Horror, Post-Apocalypse, Dystopia, Speculative Fiction, Zombies

Publisher: Orbit Publication Date: January 2014 (UK) / March 2014 (US) Paperback: 416 Pages

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 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 favourite teacher all the things she’ll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn’t know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

Stand alone or series: Stand alone novelization of the short story Iphigenia in Aulis

How did I get this book: e-ARC from the Publisher

Format (e- or p-): Ebook

Why did I read this book: I am not exaggerating when I say that this is one my most highly anticipated books of 2014, and that I have been ridiculously eager to get my hands on a copy. When the UK publisher approached us about being a part of the release of this title, I was ecstatic.

Her name is Melanie, although she wishes it was Pandora.

She’s a very special girl, with pale, pale skin, and sharp eyes. Melanie’s world is small, like her: she has her cell, the corridor outside her cell door, the classroom, and the shower room. She hopes that one day she’ll be able to visit Beacon, the great city warded against the onslaught of hungries, or even just to go outside, but for now, she waits and follows the routine. Each day she is strapped in to her chair, taken to class, then back to her cell (she listens to music on Saturday, and then chow-time and shower time every Sunday). Miss Justineau is Melanie’s favorite teacher, and she makes the days worth it – Miss Justineau tells the class stories about Greek gods and legends, she reads them poems and books from before the breakdown, and she asks and listen to the childrens’ opinions.

Melanie’s favorite days are Miss Justineau days.

So life goes on for little Melanie. But one day everything changes, and the hungries and the human junkers from the outside world come tearing down their camp. Melanie is outside for the first time, with her beloved Miss Justineau by her side, but the world will never be the same. Like her favorite Greek myth – Pandora, the “girl with all the gifts” – Melanie will change the world.

Before I properly dive into this review, I should note one very important thing up front, because I know there’s some confusion around what this book actually is about: The Girl with All the Gifts is, in fact, a zombie novel. The z-word isn’t ever used (“hungries” being the preferred terminology), but it is indeed a zombie apocalypse novel. The description of the book doesn’t make this point clear, but I don’t mind because, well, the discovery and the growing sense of unease presented in that first haunting chapter is totally worth it. Largely told from Melanie’s perspective (not in the first person, but filtered through her thoughts nonetheless), one starts The Girl with All the Gifts on uncertain footing. One doesn’t know what exactly is going on, or why Melanie – who by all accounts seems like an imaginative, clever, kind girl – lives in a cell and has to be strapped into a chair by terrified soldiers. Then, breadcrumb by breadcrumb, Melanie reveals unsettling facts – like the fact she only eats once a week, and unlike the children in the fairy tales she’s read about who eat cakes and chocolates, she only eats live grubs.

You see, Melanie is not just any normal ten year old, but she’s not quite the same as the mindless “hungries” in the world outside, either. When most adult humans are infected with the deadly fungus Cordyceps , the delicate connections between brain cells are destroyed until nothing is left but the fungus’ single-minded urge to propagate (i.e through blood and saliva, finding new hosts at an exponential rate). Melanie, however, retains a genius-level IQ; she and her fellow classmates are all capable of learning and communicating, of cognitive development, of even possibly refusing the mindless hunger of the infection. This makes Melanie and her cohorts incredibly valuable to what remains of humanity, and the desperate need to find and develop a cure.

This, of course, raises all sorts of ethical questions, and is the source of the underlying conflict in the book. Is it morally acceptable that Melanie and her fellow little hungries are lab subjects, ripe for imprisonment, observation, and dissection? For the good of the entire human race (or what’s left of it 20 years after the apocalyptic fall of civilization), is it ok to cut into childrens’ skulls? The moral quandary is presented without being ham-handed or too didactic, through two opposite points of view – that of Doctor Caldwell, who runs the experiment and has no qualms when it comes to cutting open subjects’ skulls, and that of Helen Justineau, psychologist, teacher, and deeply invested in the well-being of her students (whether they are technically living/human or not). The sentient zombie is a familiar humanizing trope, so you’d think that making thinking child zombies would be a cheap trick to develop sympathy and humanity – but I assure you it’s not. Carey does a brilliant job of making Melanie a sympathetic protagonist without falling into the trap of sticky sentimentality – you see, Melanie doesn’t know she’s not a normal little girl, and she certainly has no knowledge that she’s one of the monsters she’s learned about. It’s Melanie’s narrative that drives this book, that makes The Girl with all the Gifts so moving; filtering the narrative through Melanie’s (and select other characters’) perspective makes her journey of self-discovery that much more profound. At the onset of the novel, Melanie’s narrative is sweetly, blithely oblivious; by novel’s end, she has seen and understood the world, and makes her choice for the future with ruthless compassion.

While Melanie’s self-awareness changes over the course of the book, one thing that remains constant throughout is the love story. See, earlier when I said this was a zombie story, I also should have said that this is a love story. I’m not talking about a romantic love between a sentient boy zombie and a sweet human girl, I’m talking about the unconditional love that Melanie has for the one person who has expanded her mind and listened to her opinions. I’m talking the love between a child and her hero, Miss Justineau. And, by that same token, it’s the love story between an adult who cares deeply for a child, and will do anything to protect her. This trust and love is at the heart of The Girl with All the Gifts , and is one of the most compelling things about this remarkable book.

Also remarkable is Carey’s take on the zombie apocalypse – unlike other stories in the walking dead canon, The Girl with All the Gifts cites a fungal origin of infection, and proceeds to describe the pathogen in pretty awesome detail. (Not quite Mira Grant Newsflesh levels of detail, but still pretty darn impressive.) The progression of the Cordyceps fungus is laid out in painstaking, fascinating glory – including the unique history of the fungus, its cross-species jump, the infection’s lifespan characteristics, and its terrifying mature, future state. It’s all very well done, and I’m very impressed – this might just be my favorite alternate scientific premise for the zombie apocalypse. (On an aside, it’s totally reminiscent of that season 2 X-Files episode, “ Firewalker ” – except, you know, not buried in the heated depths of the earth.)

Characterization beyond Melanie and Miss Justineau, however, isn’t quite as impressive as the rest of the book – the other lead characters are, essential, stock figures. There’s the (literally) scarred, rough-and-tumble military command figure; the green footsoldier yearning to impress; the doctor who will stop at nothing (hey, it’s FOR SCIENCE!). The characters behave in familiar, archetypal patterns, leading to what seems to be a fairly basic “find the cure” plot… but that’s where the good stuff kicks in again with a twist.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say that The Girl with All the Gifts goes out in a blaze of glory, a burning funeral pyre for the world as it once was that is both devastating and hopeful. Even if I don’t want to live in that world, I certainly enjoyed the visit.

In other words: this book is worth the hype, folks. Absolutely recommended, and already in the running for my best of 2014 list.

Notable Quotes/Parts: Read excerpts of the novel by visiting the official facebook page HERE .

Additional Thoughts: For more on The Girl with All the Gifts , make sure to read our Q&A with author M.R. Carey HERE . And check out the official trailer below:

Rating: 8 – Excellent

Reading Next: The Martian by Andy Weir

Buy the Book:

(click on the links to purchase)

Ebook available for kindle US , kindle UK , nook , Google Play , Kobo & iBooks

Thea James is one half of the maniacal duo behind The Book Smugglers. She is Filipina-American, but grew up in Hawaii, Indonesia, and Japan. A full-time book nerd who works in publishing for her day job, Thea currently resides in Astoria, Queens with her partner and rambunctious cat. COOKING FOR WIZARDS, WARRIORS & DRAGONS (available August 31, 2021) is her first cookbook.

This just got put on the top of my TBR pile, cannot wait to get my hands on it!

The Avid Reader

I cannot understand how I was not aware of this book until now! Not sure how I will manage to wait months to read it!

Normally I’m not interested in zombie culture, but the more I read about this book, the more I’m convinced that I need it in my life ASAP.

I’d purchased and read the anthology (“An Apple for the Creature”) that the original short story was in. The story blew me away — and I normally HATE zombie novels and avoid reading them. Wow.

Victoria Van Vlear

I’m not usually big on zombies, but you’ve done a great job convincing me that not all zombie stories have to be mindless or violent. The discussion of what it means to be human seems to be central here, as it is in a lot of sci-fi or post-apocalyptic books. Thanks for the review.

Bonnie @ For the Love of Words

OMG too freaking funny. Reading this totally made me think of that X-Files episode too!

I just read this book and I am planning to do a review on my own blog. It was one of the best books I’ve read and this post described it perfectly.

SO YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD? (A BOOK LIST) – The Pune Library

[…] Read the review here. […]

Follow @booksmugglers on Instagram

Ftc disclaimer.

The Book Smugglers purchase books for review on this site, but also receive free review copies from authors, publishers, and other third parties.

Review: The Girl With All The Gifts

I’m not a big fan of things that involve zombies, dystopia, or the apocalypse. In fact, I go out of my way to actively avoid anything with zombies (baring the occasional film). I had no idea what the contents of this book entailed when I picked it up, except for the sticky note from the EBR editor that said for me to “Read First.” I was pleasantly surprised when I dug into this book. It’s not your standard apocalyptic journey and survival story in any way. The story enclosed in the book was a unique experience for me on a reading level. The story is very winding and tied together, so it’s hard to give a review without giving spoilers but I’ll do my best.

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS ( Amazon ) takes place in the future, where a zombie apocalypse has wiped out a majority of the human population. What’s left is holed up in enclaves and attempting to discover a cure and rebuild society.

It’s here that the deviation from the generic zombie tropes begin. We’re introduced to a wide range of incredibly deep and developed characters. There’s a wide range of characters who begin as sympathetic, and become characters we loathe. Or characters whom we consider awful, terrible human beings, whom we learn to understand and even empathize with. The writing is expert and the author’s experience clearly shows through.

M.R. Carey takes the zombie apocalypse and breathes new life into the genre with THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS. A unique and well-told adventure.

However, the real twist comes in the handling of the zombies. The unique aspect the author has infused these trope-laden and overwrought with an inspired new life. The zombies are each unique, with personality and character that propels the story. Truly, the zombies are the protagonists of the story in so many ways. Like many tropes related to zombies, the humans must utilize a captured zombie for a cure, but in this case, the zombie (a little girl) has genius level intelligence, and possibly more answers to the problems facing mankind then mankind does.

To tell you more details–or espouse the specifics of the book–would deprive you of what is perhaps one of the best, most enjoyable, and unique adventures I’ve read in any sort of genre.

Recommended Age: 16+
Language: Same level as what you'd see on
Violence: Nothing that jumped out at me
Sex: Some mild sexual tension

Series links: Hungry Plague

# 1: The Girl With All The Gifts — This Review — Amazon — Audible
# 2: The Boy on the Bridge — Amazon

Author Links:

M.R. Carey — Website — EBR Reviews

LATEST POSTS

Residue by Steve Diamond updated and re-released
Warriorborn
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter
The Dragon's Promise
Six Crimson Cranes
The Far Reaches
Legionnaire
The Heirs of Babylon

Review Tags

Select your cookie preferences

We use cookies and similar tools that are necessary to enable you to make purchases, to enhance your shopping experiences and to provide our services, as detailed in our Cookie notice . We also use these cookies to understand how customers use our services (for example, by measuring site visits) so we can make improvements.

If you agree, we'll also use cookies to complement your shopping experience across the Amazon stores as described in our Cookie notice . Your choice applies to using first-party and third-party advertising cookies on this service. Cookies store or access standard device information such as a unique identifier. The 96 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. Click "Decline" to reject, or "Customise" to make more detailed advertising choices, or learn more. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences , as described in the Cookie notice. To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy notice .

Science Fiction & Fantasy
TV, Movie, Game Adaptations

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

The Girl With All The Gifts: The most original thriller you will read this year (The Girl With All the Gifts series)

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

The Girl With All The Gifts: The most original thriller you will read this year (The Girl With All the Gifts series) Paperback – 19 Jun. 2014

'ORIGINAL, THRILLING AND POWERFUL' - Guardian 'HAUNTING, HEARTHBREAKING' - Vogue The phenomenal word-of-mouth bestseller that is now a BAFTA Award-nominated movie NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING

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 is a very special girl.

Emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end, THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS is the most powerful and affecting thriller you will read this year.

'A great read that takes hold of you and doesn´t let go' - John Ajvide Lindqvist, author of LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

*Return to the world of THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS in M. R. Carey's stunning new novel THE BOY ON THE BRIDGE - out now!*

Part of series Girl With All The Gifts
Print length 512 pages
Language English
Publisher Orbit
Publication date 19 Jun. 2014
Dimensions 12.6 x 1.88 x 19.81 cm
ISBN-10 9780356500157
ISBN-13 978-0356500157
See all details

Product description

Book description, from the inside flap, from the back cover.

NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING 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 is a very special girl. Emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end, THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS is the most powerful and affecting thriller you will read this year.

About the Author

Product details.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0356500152
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Orbit; 0 edition (19 Jun. 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780356500157
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0356500157
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.6 x 1.88 x 19.81 cm
872 in TV, Movie, Video Game Adaptions
973 in Horror Fantasy
1,599 in Horror Thrillers

About the author

M. r. carey.

Customer reviews

5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 5 star 51% 32% 12% 3% 2% 51%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 4 star 51% 32% 12% 3% 2% 32%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 3 star 51% 32% 12% 3% 2% 12%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 2 star 51% 32% 12% 3% 2% 3%
5 star 4 star 3 star 2 star 1 star 1 star 51% 32% 12% 3% 2% 2%

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

Customers say

Customers find the book very well-written, easy to love, and well-paced. They also appreciate the great characters and plot. Opinions are mixed on the absorbing quality, with some finding it hooked throughout and intense, while others say it's not as gripping or exciting as the hype suggests. Readers also have mixed feelings about the emotional tone, with others finding it real, likeable, and unlikeable, while other find it gruesome and drawn out.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Customers find the plot of the book interwoven, with a distinct voice. They also describe it as a post-apocalyptic novel with feelings, a thriller, horror, and sci-fi. Readers say the book makes them think and feel, with twists and turns. They say it has the perfect balance of innocence and inquisitiveness.

"...an emotional rollercoaster, with moments of gentle melancholy, heart-pounding horror , intense sadness and humour borne of both darkness and innocence." Read more

"...Because it's beautifully written. It has pace and excitement, intrigue and dynamics ...." Read more

"...It is a clever intricate story that works well. Its threads get into your mind and bind you to it!" Read more

"...It's a sophisticated and clever take on the zombie-trope, fungal zombies, human civilisation sliding into that all too familiar dystopian rust-fest..." Read more

Customers find the book very well-written, skillful, and quick. They also say it wastes no words, is a great introduction to sci-fi, and is beautifully executed. Customers also mention that the tenderness within the book is ridiculously easy to love.

"...isn’t only a horror novel, and the tenderness within it is beautifully well-executed and appealing...." Read more

"...So why have I given it 4 stars? Because it's beautifully written . It has pace and excitement, intrigue and dynamics...." Read more

"...The writing is crisp and economical, no words wasted , nothing you can skip or skim or even put down...." Read more

"...What a great pitch! MR Carey is an undoubtably very accomplished writer with a great turn of phrase and his prose skittered somewhere between the..." Read more

Customers like the characters in the book.

"...The characters themselves are mostly very well-drawn , and develop convincingly, even when they take an unexpected turn - my favourite character by..." Read more

"...It has pace and excitement, intrigue and dynamics. The characters are very 3 dimensional and you do care about them...." Read more

"...The other characters are portrayed with equal clarity , their obsessions and their preoccupations, and after Melanie, I think my favourite is the..." Read more

"...The different characters are interesting and engaging and the writing is very easy to follow...." Read more

Customers find the pacing of the book well-paced, engrossing, and powerful. They also say the story slowly unfurls to the reader, having piqued their interest with little clues.

"...Because it's beautifully written. It has pace and excitement , intrigue and dynamics...." Read more

"...I really enjoyed this book; it was well written, fast paced , filled with action and made me think...." Read more

"...The big shift in pace . For a brief time near the beginning I was worried that the book might lack pace...." Read more

"... Some parts felt way too rushed , as if the author were just trying to get them out the way (Justineau's backstory) and I did think the end was a bit..." Read more

Customers find the book very hard to put down. They also say it's charming and uncomplicated.

"...has a determination and loyalty about her that is charming and uncomplicated ...." Read more

"An easy and enjoyable read. I find no fault whatsoever with the writing of this book...." Read more

"...I was captivated my Melanie who was believable and easy to respond to , and the thought of what lay ahead for her is what kept the pages turning...." Read more

"Found it very difficult to put this down as the author drags you in to this post apocalyptic world where we as a race are finished." Read more

Customers find the plot very different.

"...But this was disctintively different and I liked that. Could definitely read it over and over again, and I don't say that a lot!" Read more

"...Cannot ruin the story so cannot say more. Different and enjoyable." Read more

"...just to say its an emotional roller coaster, well written, engaging, different , clever, funny, terrifying I could go on this book has everything;..." Read more

"Really enjoyed this book, it was a bit different and kept me wanting to read just one more page at 3am!!" Read more

Customers are mixed about the emotional tone. Some find the book interesting, sad, and funny. They also mention the characters are understandable, believable, and flawed. Others however, find the story gruesome, insufferable, and drawn out. They say the book never really retrieves the intriguing tone that made them buy it.

"...It is, to use a cliché, an emotional rollercoaster, with moments of gentle melancholy , heart-pounding horror, intense sadness and humour borne of..." Read more

"...giving it more stars is one of the main characters, Miss J. Such an insufferable , annoying and horrible person!..." Read more

"...are all distinct and defined, evolving and believable, understandable if not sympathetic , and flawed...." Read more

"... Not an easy book to read gruesome , cruel full of despair but also of love and hope...." Read more

Customers are mixed about the absorbing quality of the book. Some mention they were hooked throughout, it was gripping from page one, relentless, and faithful to the drives and motivations of the characters. However, others say it's not as gripping or exciting as the hype suggested, hard to keep reading, and doesn't always hold their attention.

"...All five voices are beautifully rendered, faithful to the drives and motivations of the characters yet allowing each one to grow and adapt to teh..." Read more

"...to make it stand above the derivative masses, but it didn't always hold my attention ...." Read more

"...This very original story is a true thriller which kept me glued to every page with cliff-hangers that had me begging for more...." Read more

"...time she speaks you realise it's just a story and you're no longer absorbed into the book ...." Read more

Reviews with images

Fast furious and full of fear. A great read which, for a Zombie book, has a lot of depth.

Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

UK Modern Slavery Statement
Amazon Science
Sell on Amazon
Sell on Amazon Business
Sell on Amazon Handmade
Associates Programme
Fulfilment by Amazon
Seller Fulfilled Prime
Advertise Your Products
Independently Publish with Us
Host an Amazon Hub
› See More Make Money with Us
The Amazon Barclaycard
Credit Card
Amazon Money Store
Amazon Currency Converter
Payment Methods Help
Shop with Points
Top Up Your Account
Top Up Your Account in Store
COVID-19 and Amazon
Track Packages or View Orders
Delivery Rates & Policies
Returns & Replacements
Manage Your Content and Devices
Amazon Mobile App
Customer Service
Accessibility

Conditions of Use & Sale
Privacy Notice
Cookies Notice
Interest-Based Ads Notice

The Girl with all the Gifts by MR Carey

The Girl With All The Gifts by M. R. Carey is a stand-alone zombie apocalypse novel that has plenty of action and adventure as expected, but also takes time to focus on ethical dilemmas in a post-apocalyptic world. The Girl With All The Gifts asks the question "How far would you go to save the world?" and the answers given by the characters are wide, varied, ethical and unethical. What's the harm in a little human experimentation if it could save the rest of the world?

A mutation of the cordyceps fungus, the real-world parasitic mind-controlling fungus that essentially turns ants into zombies, has resulted in the widespread infection and zombification of the world's human population (known as hungries, because calling them zombies would be weird or something...). People who are exposed have a short incubation period before the cordyceps fungus has completely ravaged their brain, but there are some children who are resistant to the fungus, and some who are enhanced by it. The story follows Melanie, an enhanced hungry, exploring her life as an unwitting test subject, and exploring the lives of others who quickly become dependent on Melanie for survival.

As I mentioned at the start, The Girl With All The Gifts plays with the ethics of experimentation in a post-apocalyptic environment. The resistant and enhanced children are like no other infected people, so logically it is assumed that the answer to the cure is buried somewhere deep inside of them. On the one hand you have Miss Justineau who is studying these children as a psychologist, trying to learn as much as she can through observation. On the other hand you have Dr Caldwell, who will pick children at random and start carving up different parts of their body in an attempt to learn about the infection at a cellular level. Sometimes she carves them up while they are still living, just to see if it makes a difference. Caldwell and Justineau are extreme opposites, and Carey makes sure to put them into conflict as many times as he can throughout the story. It makes for some compelling confrontations, exploring the idea of experimentation that serves the greater good, but at the cost of your humanity.

One of the facets Carey plays with in this book is the symbiotic relationship between Melanie the girl and the fungus that makes her want to desperately feed on human flesh. Melanie is imbued with the innocence of a child, and shows genuine wonder and amazement at just about every new thing she learns. These qualities provide quite the contrast to the fear and loathing she receives from the non-infected humans in the laboratory. Carey makes Melanie so endearing, and makes us want to protect her, which makes the impact of those scenes where Melanie goes full hungry so much harder. It doesn't matter how hard she tries because Melanie will always be feared for the threat that she represents, so the strength she shows by fighting the cordyceps and the behaviours it tries to force on her is so impressive and meaningful.

The Girl With All The Gifts is an action-centric book, but it somehow seems to move at a very slow pace. I found it very easy to get into and read through the first hundred pages in no time, but then the pace of the story slowed down to a crawl, and reading the book became a chore. There seemed to be a lot of words expended for not much gain. There seemed to be a lot of repetition. The arguments between Caldwell and Justineau seem to cover the same ground quite frequently. This is a great story, but it could have easily covered the same ground and provided the same thought experiments at a much shorter length.

As far as zombie apocalypse novels go, The Girl With All The Gifts is one of the best I've read. In a tired genre, Carey is able to offer something fresh, and while this book has many similarities to the Naughty Dog game The Last Of Us, I feel that they both offer something different and are both leading the way in showing that there can be more to zombie apocalypse stories than simple shambling humanoids moaning for brains. Ryan Lawler, 8.9/10

The Girl with all the Gifts is a dark story of survival in a post-apocalyptic world. A fungus mutates from infecting and controlling insects to infecting humans, making them zombie like creatures who are nicknamed “hungries” due to their uncontrollable hunger for human flesh. This story focuses on a small group of survivors in a military base in the countryside.

Zombies and a military base – I’m sure you’re thinking: Haven’t we heard this story before? Well, yes and no… mostly no though as this is the story of Melanie, a bright little girl who enjoys going to her classes and living in her small world. But who is Melanie and why is it that she and her classmates are prisoners in the base, locked into wheelchairs reminiscent of those used to render Hannibal Lector incapable of harm?

This is the novelty of The Girl with all the Gifts as this is Melanie’s and our own journey to discover who she really is and whether she will be of any use to save what is left of humanity. Although this book is set in the UK (albeit taking liberties geographically) it does seem like the rest of the world is also suffering from this same disaster, and whether it is human-made or nature’s own way of mass extermination is as yet unknown.

There are various other characters that Melanie interacts with whom she has very strong feelings about and who treat her in various different ways. Miss Justineau is seen as a sympathetic teaching figure that the children idolise as she tells them stories in her classes, Sergeant Parker is the stern authoritarian figure and Dr Caldwell is the cold and distant researcher. Although these are generalisations seen through a child’s eye these characters all have strong motivations as to why they are acting the way they do and why they are withholding secrets from the children, as well as each other.

The book is very well written and kept me constantly engaged throughout the story. The Girl with all the Gifts changes from one character’s perspective to another during the course of the book and you will constantly have to decide who the victims of this story are, or even whether anyone deserves the honorific “victim”? As we get to know the characters better we see them tested for integrity, resourcefulness and other strengths as well as see their weaknesses shine through.

The Girl with all the Gifts is a book that asks us questions about humanity, whether people are twisted by circumstances beyond their control? I would recommend it to anyone who has a thirst for post-apocalyptic stories or even those who have a passion for zombies as this story will drag you in and hold onto you until the end. Michelle Herbert, 8.8/10

Buy on Amazon

Reviews by Ryan Lawler and Michelle Herbert

1 positive reader review(s) for The Girl with all the Gifts

MR Carey biography

Jo from England

While this should be a great delve into humanity surviving after apocalyptic events with a focus on the children they may have to butcher, unfortunately it simply ends up as a subpar zombie book. All of the characters aside from Melanie are one dimensional and serve merely as plot devices, their emotions and actions not explained apart from simply being put down to "that's who they are". The ending was probably the most rushed aspect of the book, leaving me with a lot of unexplained questions.

7.5 /10 from 2 reviews

All MR Carey Reviews

The Girl with all the Gifts
The Book of Koli (The Rampart Trilogy: Book 1)

Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time

Looking for great fantasy books? Take a look at the 100 pages we rate highest

Fantasy Series We Recommend

There's nothing better than finding a fantasy series you can lose yourself in

Fantasy Books Of The Year

Our fantasy books of the year, from 2006 to 2021

The Girl with All the Gifts

In many ways, Melanie ( Sennia Nanua ) is just another ordinary girl. She goes to school every day, where she’s grown affection for her teacher Ms. Justineau ( Gemma Arterton ). And she’s at that age where she’s figuring out what’s important to her, and how to navigate through the world of adults around her. But Melanie is not an ordinary girl. She will soon be a mindless, soulless zombie, a braindead creature who responds only to a desire to kill and eat people around her. In fact, with the right triggers—like if the adults around her forget to wear their scent-disguising lotion—she could become that right now. Just when you thought the zombie genre was out of ideas, along comes Colm McCarthy ’s smart and engaging “The Girl with All the Gifts,” a film with echoes of George A. Romero , Danny Boyle , and Robert Kirkman but one that also feels confidently its own creation, a unique take on responsibility, adulthood, and a new chapter in evolution.

Melanie isn’t alone. She lives with a number of other zombie-children like her in a bunker beneath a military facility, where she’s being studied and experimented on by Dr. Caroline Caldwell ( Glenn Close ), in the hope that they could provide the antidote for what has essentially ended normal human existence. Melanie is one of several second-generation flesh-eaters called “hungries,” babies who literally ate their way out of their parents but are not behaving in precisely the same way as the brain-dead speedsters that have destroyed humanity. Whenever a child is found in the wild, they’re taken to this facility, where Dr. Caldwell can experiment on them and Sgt. Eddie Parks ( Paddy Considine ) can work to control them. Said control involves leg, arm and head restraints whenever the children are anywhere near that oh-so-enticing human flesh.

But Melanie seems so normal and is clearly learning empathy. The good doctor sees that as well, and even starts to loosen some of the restraints keeping Melanie more of an object than a person. Then one day Dr. Caldwell comes for Melanie, ready to dissect her and see exactly what she can learn from this unique child the hard way. Before Dr. Justineau can save her, all hell breaks loose and the facility is overrun. A small group of survivors is forced to travel to another sanctuary city in the hope that it’s still being run by people who don’t eat flesh. Melanie goes with them, and proves to be pretty useful.

One of the major strengths of “The Girl with All the Gifts” is evident early in McCarthy’s tactile, believable world-building. Much as Romero paid close attention to such details, the set design, costumes, and the world of “Gifts” feels lived-in and genuine. And it’s a nature-based aesthetic (dirt on walls, costumes that look worn, etc.) that continues and even strengthens once this ragtag crew is forced from safety and into the dangerous world. There’s a visceral, emotional impact to the horror and action of “The Girl with All the Gifts” that resonates because the characters and the world they live in feels real to us. It’s hard to overstate how important this to a horror movie, especially one set in a post-apocalyptic world. If we don’t believe the world is genuine, we won’t care what happens in it.

Of course, performance goes a long way to amplify this believability as well, and it’s not often you see a horror film with a cast this strong. Close could have gone showy with her doctor with a heart of ice but she plays it straight, again conveying the believability of the moment more than the B-movie archetype this character could have become. Considine and Arterton perfectly convey authority and warmth, respectively, although they’re good enough to make these people into more than mere plot devices. And Nanua is a find, again never giving her performance with a knowing wink. So she’s a zombie child who could be the evolutionary key to the future—this just happens to be her reality.

The traveling band aspect of “The Walking Dead,” the cities and landscapes empty of human existence of “ 28 Days Later ,” the military aspect of “ Day of the Dead ”—it’s easy to pick apart the influences of “The Girl with All the Gifts.” But just as Melanie marks something altogether new in this world—a zombie with a conscience—the film about her feels inspired by what came before but also good enough to inspire those that come after.

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

Anthony Welsh as Dillon
Paddy Considine as Sgt. Eddie Parks
Glenn Close as Dr. Caroline Caldwell
Fisayo Akinade as Kieran Gallagher
Sennia Nanua as Melanie
Anamaria Marinca as Dr. Selkirk
Eli Lane as Kenny
Gemma Arterton as Helen Justineau
Dominique Tipper as Devani
Colm McCarthy
Cristobal Tapia de Veer
Matthew Cannings

Writer (novel)

Cinematographer.

Simon Dennis

Now playing.

Close Your Eyes

The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat

The Becomers

Strange Darling

Between the Temples

Blink Twice

Caligula: The Ultimate Cut

Venice Film Festival 2024: Prepping for the Biennale

Locarno Film Festival 2024: Wrap-Up of a Special Event

Albert Brooks Enriches Criterion Collection with “Real Life” and “Mother”

The Ambition of “Star Wars Outlaws” Overwhelms Its Flaws

The best movie reviews, in your inbox.

Books of Brilliance

The latest book reviews and book news, the girl with all the gifts: book review.

The Girl With All The Gifts book summary and review

While checking the list of zombie books I have read over the years, I was shocked to learn that this list was much smaller that I realizes. So, I did what any sane person would do in the situation and read more zombie books. And that is how I ended up reading The Girl With All The Gifts by M.R. Carey

The Girl With All the Gifts Summary

Humanity is on the brink of extinction because of a zombie outbreak. This zombie outbreak which took place twenty years ago, wiped out most of civilization and has led to a breakdown in society. All the cities have collapsed and humans are mostly living in bases, hiding behind fences.

A military base houses children that are zombies but different. They can think and act normal until a person comes near them. One of these zombie children is Melissa. She, along with other zombie children are bound and wheel-chaired to classroom where they are tied to the desk and taught about the world.

Their teacher Helen Justineau treats them more like people then zombies and thus she wins over their affection. Sergeant Eddie Park is in charge of the military base and of everyone’s safety. Head scientist Dr. Caroline Caldwell researches the fungus that is responsible for the zombie outbreak. She is also experiments on the children, killing them in the process.

One day, Melissa is chosen to be Caldwell’s next test subject . But before the doctor can experiment on her, the military base is invaded. A bunch of junkies (humans in the wild) lead the zombies to the base, which leads to the base being overrun by zombies.

A fight ensues and Justineau, Parks, Melissa, an injured Caldwell, and private Kieran Gallagher escape together in a truck. Melissa is bound because she is a half zombie and smelling people awakens her zombie urges.

As the group makes their way through the desert, they form a bond (not all of them) and come to trust each other enough to survive. But two big discoveries force the group to face an enemy that they cannot conquer easily.

Reading this novel and seeing a new take on zombies was refreshing. It is not an ideal zombie novel nor does it try to be. What we do have are various monsters and seeing what really defines a monster.

No matter where you stand on the zombie morality, you will be angry and sad when reading this book. It also determines what the outcome is and why it has to be that way. The characters in this novel were interesting and while they could be a little more detailed, it wasn’t something that I would complain much about.

I am still going to read a few more zombie novels before I make my list. Maybe even rank them in another piece. With that said, I would recommend this novel and its take on a common trope.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook !

Share this:, 10 thoughts on “ the girl with all the gifts: book review ”.

Add Comment

Pingback: Two Favorite Novels of 2021 From Three Book Bloggers - Books of Brilliance

This is such an interesting title! I’m so weak on picking up adult sci-fi, but the fusion of the paranormal zombie element with a more dystopian look at a devastated future is really enticing as a concept. I don’t think I even considered how much potential there is in zombie novels until I encountered your reviews!

This one was pretty good and I definitely recommend it. A good author can make any topic interesting imo and so far I haven’t been disappointed. I do avoid the bad ones if I can so there’s also that.

Great review! I also don’t mind when characters and storylines aren’t completely resolved, it can give it a more plausible narrative. I totally want to read this now 🙂

It’s an interesting book with a good plot. I enjoyed it and I think most people will too

Pingback: The Forest of Hands and Teeth Book Review - Books of Brilliance
Pingback: Station Eleven: Book Review - Books of Brilliance
Pingback: 10 Books to Read After The Last of Us – Books of Brilliance
Pingback: 8 Dystopian Novels That Everyone Should Read - Books of Brilliance
Pingback: The Best Zombie Books of All Time - Books of Brilliance

'The Girl with All the Gifts' Review: Reviving an Undead Genre

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

The 10 Most Rewatchable Romance Movies, Ranked

The 10 most rewatchable oscar best picture winners, ranked, the 10 best war satire movies, ranked.

As far as narrative archetypes go, the viral zombie is a relatively new one. While tales of vengeful voodoo ghouls date back to the early 20th Century, our modern concept of the flesh-hungry undead didn't take shape until decades later when George Romero borrowed liberally from Richard Matheson 's I Am Legend , reframed the creatures as the shambling unstoppable undead, and boom, zombies as we know them were born in the black-and-white bloodshed of 1968's Night of the Living Dead . And yet, for such a modern narrative construct, the zombie genre has been all but wrung to death in the 21st century through an onslaught of sloppy retreads and remakes. And of course, 7 years of The Walking Dead .

Thanks in no small part to AMC's unkillable series, zombies are arguably more popular than ever, but take a look at their native home in the cineplex and you'll find a depressing scarcity of worthwhile lineage. Fortunately, every once in a while, a film comes along that's willing to take risks, evolve the formula, and give the stagnant genre a jolt in the ass. The Girl with All the Gifts is one of those films

Directed by Colm McCarthy , best known for his British TV work on series like Peaky Blinders , The Girl with All the Gifts is a zombie pic that plays comfortably in its home genre, but never takes comfort in playing by the rote rulebook. It takes the zombie genre back to its sweet spot -- the peculiar meeting ground between science and humanity and all the terrors and wonder that unfold there -- and then it veers a hard left toward. Working from a script by Mike Carey (adapting from his novel of the same name), McCarthy matches genre conventions with bold and unusual narrative choices in pursuit of a commentary that feels like a sharp prod to bruised soft tissue when taken in context with the sociopolitical discord sweeping the globe right now.

We enter the world of The Girl with All the Gifts through Melanie ( Sennia Nanua ), a precocious and incredibly quick-witted young girl with an eerie efficiency. Melanie is eager to learn for the love of learning; a young woman passionately embracing all the knowledge life has to offer her with genial enthusiasm. Which is what makes it so strange when she's strapped into a wheelchair at gunpoint by soldiers who clearly despise her. They call her an "abortion" to her face, when they deem to speak to her at all. Restrained in her chair, Melanie is wheeled to and from class, where the kind but conflicted Miss Helen ( Gemma Arterton ) leads a class full of children just like Melanie. Well, not quite like Melanie. She's clearly the teacher's pet, and while the other children are not half as quick and lacking her composure, they're all strapped tightly in their wheelchairs, clad in matching orange jumpsuits, hoping Miss Helen will tell them a story instead of drilling them on the periodic table of elements just like any kid would.

In short order, we learn that Melanie and her classmates are not kids at all, at least not as we know them. They're "Hungries," the flesh-hungry spawn of a deadly contagion that is wiping out the human race. They're not like the conventional zombies we know. They can talk and learn and smile and maybe even love, judging by how Melanie looks at Miss Helen, but if they catch a whiff of fresh meat, they'll jut out their jaws, snap their teeth, and rip out your neck a whole lot faster than you can debate the ethics of killing a child. Likewise, they're not really in school, but prisoners and test subjects inside a military encampment where Dr. Caroline Caldwell ( Glenn Close ) is willing to sacrifice each and every one of them in the search for a vaccine against the deadly plague.

To reveal much more would be unfair and undermine the pleasure of such a refreshing spin on the genre, but suffice it to say the military compound doesn't survive very long thanks to a horde of traditional zombies who overwhelm the fences and ravage everything in their path. There's no fanfare leading up to the assault and McCarthy keeps the focus on the characters until the action literally comes bursting through the window and pushes them out into the chaos. From there, with the illusion of safe walls behind them, Melanie, Helen, and Dr. Caldwell form an uneasy alliance with Sgt. Eddie Parks ( Paddy Considine ) and hit the road.

McCarthy has assembled a first-rate cast to carry the dramatic weight of the film, which is light on blood and guts, but heavy on ideas and character drama. Close is chilling but relatable as the moral relativist of the bunch, and Arterton does her best work since The Disappearance of Alice Creed. The two serve as opposite pivot points for a classic moral debate -- how much is a single life worth when weighed against the many? Both actresses do fine work hashing out the guilt and grit of their moral standpoints, but the clear scene-stealer is Nanua who gives a staggering film debut as Melanie. She's alternately enchanting and terrifying, giving you a gut instinct to both embrace her and recoil at the same time.

There's no denying that the film borrows from familiar sources. As the small team navigates through the post-apocalyptic terrain, we see hallmarks of the genre everywhere -- the city reclaimed by nature, the resurgence of primitivism, etc. The Girl with All the Gifts riffs freely on 28 Days Later and Children of Men aesthetically, and there's a whole heap of I Am Legend in the narrative thematics, but ultimately McCarhty and Carey are able to drive it home to a new destination. The Girl with All the Gifts has a holistic strangeness about it, and if it borrows from the greats, it's always rearranging their parts into something unusual and fresh.

Most importantly, The Girl with All the Gifts , puts the audience back in touch with the scariest thing about zombies—that they are not monsters at all, just human beings altered by the unstoppable tide of nature's will. And that the base instincts that make them so terrifying might simply be reflections of our own.

Rating: B+

The Girl With the Gifts is currently available on VOD and playing in select theaters.

Gemma Arterton

The Little Sunflower Library

Book Review #6: The Girl with all the Gifts

I will not lie, I finished this book a week ago and have had to allow it to fester before writing a review. There are times where I need to write the review as soon as I finish a book, but this book had such an impact I needed to think before writing it.

I first discovered this book when I watched its film counterpart in 2017. When watching it I fell in love because it was so different to the usual zombie franchise: it felt almost innocent if that makes any sense at all.

For a good while the film was one of my go to zombie related films to watch just because I was unexplainably drawn to it. But after reading the novel it was based on, I have to say that I am more drawn to the book than the film (shocker!)

Summary of the book

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.

Summary taken from the blurb

My thoughts: The layout of the book

I read this book in its physical format and it was so floppy which was amazing! Not sure if all the copies of the book are floppy editions, but it is uncommon in the UK to find a floppy book!

The novel is spread out over 72 chapters with different varying chapter lengths. Within each chapter you normally get the point of view of one of the characters, but it is all written in the third person perspective. I sometimes find that the third person perspective can make it harder to connect to the characters in comparison to the first person perspective, but for this novel I felt so attached to the main 5 characters that we follow.

Seemingly, dystopia is not an uncommon theme for M. R. Carey to write about seeing as he has worked on several of Marvel’s flagship comics such as the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. The main hungry we follow is Melanie, and, although this may be a stretch, I can see some similarities in her character to super hero characters which may be the influence Carey had from his previous Marvel works.

The main point of view we have is Melanie’s, so it is told in more of an innocent perspective due to her age and lack of real knowledge of the outside world. She has obviously learnt a lot from her classes about the world in general, but she has never truly experienced it, never truly been outside. Because we are discovering everything with her and through her point of view it made it that much more enjoyable as it felt like we were connecting as she progressed through her life.

Throughout the book I did not feel like there were any particular slow points or times that I had to put the book down – other than some of the thrilling sections of course! I really enjoyed the writing style and the way that he would describe certain elements were beautiful. I am a sucker for amazing descriptions, and Carey has nailed them!

At the very end of the book there are 10 bookclub questions that when skimming through were quite though provoking – especially the question linking this novel with another one of my favourite novels Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. These questions will be answered in a future blog post because I love answering questions… nothing really more to it!

My thoughts general

My general thoughts is that this book is amazing. I loved every single page of it and honestly I wish that I could have my memory wiped so that I could experience reading it for the first time again!

The main characters that we follow in this book are:

A young Hungry who is incredibly curious and interested about everything in life. Her favourite thing to do is listen to Miss Justineau’s stories in class, especially the one about Pandora and about her box!

Miss Helen Justineau

She is a teacher hired by Beacon to educate the children, to make them in a way more human like to help Dr Caldwell with her studies. There are multiple teachers, but Justineau is the main one we follow who is also Melanie’s favourite.

Sergeant Eddie Parks

He is the main man in the base, the one in charge to ensure that everyone is protects and to ensure that Dr Caldwell has all the samples and things necessary to continue her research into finding a cure.

Dr Caroline Caldwell

Our scientist who is looking to find a cure for the zombie virus that has taken over the world. She is in charge of the project whereby she cultivates Hungry samples to work to find a vaccine to reverse the zombie virus or to protect other people from catching/spreading it.

Kieran Gallagher

I could not find a photo on his own from the film, so let’s have him with his best friend Sargent Parks! Kieran is a young man who was born after the initial outbreak, meaning that he has never experienced the world without there being zombies.

The pictures that I have used are from the films as the first way I found out about the book was through the film, so it only made sense to use the film!

I have to say the one over arching thing that I loved about this book was the science Carey used. Back in the day when I had a different blog I created an indepth post about ‘real life zombies’ looking at the different types of zombie that we have today. This included Zombie Ants, which is what Carey based the Hungry infection on and is discussed within the book. See! Strange interests can benefit you in understanding the science within some books!

When first presented with the characters, there were some I instantly did not like and others I loved, but as the novel progressed there were some changes thanks to the major character arcs.

I would have to say that my favourite character arc had to be the one with Sergeant Eddie Parks. When I first started the book, I will not lie I hated him. He just made me so angry at the way he was treating all of the hungry children and how he would talk about them would grind my gears.

But as the novel progressed we began to see a different side to him, slowly warming up to Melanie and showing a more humane side rather than his strict soldier persona that we mainly saw towards the beginning of the story. He is probably one of my favourite characters within the novel, which is why it crushed me how his story ended. I was praying that he survived, but as soon as his teeth began chattering it was clear that he wasn’t going to have the future with Helen that I am sure many of us were hoping for.

Caroline Caldwell however deserved her death. I know she was saying her research was for the greater good of the people, but I hated her. At the beginning I slightly disliked her, but when she finally died from her blood poisoning I felt relief more than anything. I did not want her to be alive for fear that she would try to continue her testing on Melanie.

I think the only thing I would say that I did not like about the book was the very ending. If I talk about it though it would be a major spoiler, but let’s say for the non-spoiler it felt very quick and maybe a little rushed. I understand that it was the major build up to this moment, but it just felt quick.

I am going to ramble about it here in this spoiler section so feel free take a look!

So in the previous chapter (71) we end with the death of Parks after they have released the spores into the air, with Parks seemingly regretting the decision as he realises that he has just made any uninfected human now infected by helping the disease now airborne.

After this happens, we get onto chapter 72 where Justineau wakes up after the events, where she may have been unconscious for hours or days – this is unclear. However when she wakes up she realises what has happened and what Melanie and Parks have done, but feels reassured because Melanie has voiced that she will take care of her. Melanie shows up and presents her with a class of Hungries, and Justineau then just begins to teach them the alphabet.

A. Surely she would have been hungry after being unconscious for whatever length of time? I am always hungry which is why I have said this, so the same may not apply to everyone! And also the logistics of eating… would she now have to try and use up all the supplies of food leftover in the shops? Will it be a case of teaching these ten year olds how to farm?

B. Wouldn’t she have a little bit of sadness? She has basically been confined to Rosie for life as if she leaves she will become infected and therefore become a Hungry. If I was told that I would have to stay confined to a room for the rest of my life and not be able to ever go physically outside, I think I might at least cry.

C. I just question how complacent she was about the whole situation, but I guess it leaves room for a sequel to follow life after the spread?

On the other hand there is something that I adored about the ending. I do not know if he did this on purpose but if he did he is a legend. It is a spoiler though (sorry) so it is hidden once again!

So as we know, Parks and Melanie release the spores into the atmosphere and then the the very end is Miss Justineau teaching the young Hungries. That is the brief context that you, and how it relates to the story of Pandora’s Box.

If you do not know the story about Pandora’s Box, Dr Oliver Tearle from Loughborough University summarises it in this post . The story of Pandora’s Box is intertwined with the story of Prometheus, with Pandora being a gift from Zeus as the first woman on earth. She find a Box in possession by Prometheus’ brother Epimetheus and opens it. When doing so however, she releases all of the evil in the world. What remains in the box is a slither of hope, which is why according to Greek Mythology we humans always have hope even when times are dark.

Now how does this relate to the end of the book? Well, the way I interpret the end of the book is that Melanie is releasing Pandora’s Box to the world by releasing all of the zombie spores into the Earth’s atmosphere. This is the equivalent to releasing all the sickness and darkness from the original story. The hope that we are provided with is through Justineau’s character and the fact that she is teaching the children at the end of the book. It gives hope that there will be a future generation to take over post the infection.

I LOVE THIS!

I apologise for all the spoiler sections, but there is just so much to talk about that would inevitably give away aspects of the book that may ruin the reading experience. It just means that you will need to read the book in order to find out my true feelings!

Favourite quote

Now usually I pick out one or two quotes to feature in this section of the blog post if the book was really enjoyable. With this book however there were so many quotes that I absolutely adored, and this can be seen through the fact that I placed tags all throughout the course of the novel.

If I had to choose 3 of my favourite non-spoiler quotes though, I would have to say it would be the following:

Melanie hopes she’ll go to Beacon some day. When the mission is complete, and when (Dr Caldwell said this once) everything gets folded up and put away. Melanie tries to imagine that day; the steel walls closing like the pages of a book, and then…something else. Something else outside into which they’ll all go! It will be scary. But so amazing! Melanie, The Girl with all the Gifts, M. R. Carey

“Not everyone who looks human,” he says. “No,” Miss Justineau agrees. “I’m with you on that one.” Sergeant Eddie Parks, Miss Helen Justineau, The Girl with all the Gifts, M. R. Carey

Especially when Miss Justineau explains that the little green balls are buds – and they’ll turn into leaves and cover the whole tree in green, as though it’s put a summer dress on. Melanie, The Girl with all the Gifts, M. R. Carey

Ok so all of these were chosen towards the beginning of the book so that it does not give too much away so that you can uncover it yourselves!

“His hands circle each other, searching for a meaning that evades them. After a while he goes very still, until the sound of a bird singing on a wire between the houses makes him sit bolt upright and swivel his head, left and then right, to locate the source of the sound. His jaw starts to open and close, the hunger reflex kicking in sudden and strong.

Melanie pulls the trigger. The soft bullet goes into Sergeant’s head and doesn’t come out again .” page 457.

Book vs Film

Now I must preface this by saying I loved the film! I remember vividly watching it with my mum and we both really enjoyed it. I have watched it several times since and still really enjoyed watching it.

But then I read the book.

The book, as is almost always the case, fleshed out a lot more of the scenes in comparison to the film. Some of the scenes mentioned within the book never made it to the big screen, and some of the scenes in the film were never in the book. I also felt like the book was so much more impactful and emotive whilst being thrilling, I got emotional whilst reading the book, but I do not think I ever cried when watching the film.

To be fair, I have not watched the film in a couple of years so I think I will have to re-watch the film to be able to gather my thoughts. It is a post that I plan on doing in the future so keep your eyes out for it!

Would I recommend the book?

If you like science fiction, zombies, and thrillers, then YES! There are some gruesome scenes throughout the book because well zombies, but I loved this book.

I am so glad that I had the chance to read it, it is definitely going on a future ‘favourites of all time’ shelf! I just wish I could erase my memory to be able to re read it all without knowing what happens.

One of the easiest 5 stars I have been able to give!

Published by Louise

View all posts by Louise

6 thoughts on “Book Review #6: The Girl with all the Gifts”

Pingback: Random Number Generator chooses how many hours I read for! – The Little Sunflower Library
Pingback: February Monthly Wrap up and Stats – The Little Sunflower Library
Pingback: My 5 star predictions – The Little Sunflower Library
Pingback: Book Review #23: Heroes of Greece and Troy – The Little Sunflower Library
Pingback: Mid year check in: Smash or pass – The Little Sunflower Library
Pingback: Mid Year Freakout Book Tag – The Little Sunflower Library

book review the girl with all the gifts

IMAGES

COMMENTS

Book Reviews

The Girl With All the Gifts

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS

THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA

Please select an existing bookshelf

Please sign up to continue.

Almost there!

Sign in using your Kirkus account

The Girl With All the Gifts , a zombie novel of ideas.

The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey – Book Review

Few books grabbed me as instantly as this post-apocalyptic thriller. It doesn’t quite live up to the promise of its striking opening and strays into over-familiar genre territory, but it remains a riveting read and, like all good science fiction, raises some intriguing moral conundrums.

Share this:

‘The Girl With All the Gifts’ Review: A Thrilling Zombie Movie With Brains

Most Popular

Book review: The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey

Related Post

The Girl With All the Gifts by MR Carey – review

Comments (…)

Sorry, there was a problem.

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

The Girl With All the Gifts Hardcover – June 10, 2014

Editorial Reviews

Product details

Videos for this product

About the author

Customer reviews

Customers say

Reviews with images

Wasn't that fun? In a gory sort of way

Top reviews from the United States

Top reviews from other countries

M.R. Carey ‘The Girl with All the Gifts’ Review

Share this:

About The Overseer ( 1669 Articles )

Leave a comment Cancel reply

Book Review: The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

Buy the Book:

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

The Avid Reader

Victoria Van Vlear

Bonnie @ For the Love of Words

SO YOU WANT TO READ ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD? (A BOOK LIST) – The Pune Library

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Follow @booksmugglers on Instagram

Review: The Girl With All The Gifts

Series links: Hungry Plague

Author Links:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

LATEST POSTS

Review Tags

Select your cookie preferences

Sorry, there was a problem.

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

The Girl With All The Gifts: The most original thriller you will read this year (The Girl With All the Gifts series) Paperback – 19 Jun. 2014

Product description

About the Author

About the author

Customer reviews

Customers say

Reviews with images

Fast furious and full of fear. A great read which, for a Zombie book, has a lot of depth.

Top reviews from United Kingdom

Top reviews from other countries

The Girl with all the Gifts by MR Carey

All MR Carey Reviews

Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time

Fantasy Series We Recommend

Fantasy Books Of The Year

The Girl with All the Gifts

Brian Tallerico

Writer (novel)

Leave a comment

Close Your Eyes

The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat

The Becomers

Strange Darling

Between the Temples

Blink Twice