The Girl with All the Gifts – Book Review

Finished reading:

The Girl with All the Gifts

by M.R. Carey

★★★★

Expectation

I was hyped into reading this book ever since I’ve seen it as a runner up to the Arthur C. Clarke award. After I’ve read the excerpt I was hooked. I usually don’t like reading dystopian novels and zombie like creatures are a big no-no for me as well. This book has both elements and I still went for it!

“And then like Pandora, opening the great big box of the world and not being afraid, not even caring whether what’s inside is good or bad. Because it’s both. Everything is always both. But you have to open it to find that out.”
― M.R. Carey, The Girl with All the Gifts

Summary

Watching the trailer for the movie made me push up this book to the top of my reading pile since I wanted to read the book before watching the movie. I liked the trailer and actors they picked for the roles. Then I started reading the book…

“Melanie thinks: when your dreams come true, your true has moved. You’ve already stopped being the person who had the dreams, so it feels more like a weird echo of something that already happened to you a long time ago.”
― M.R. Carey, The Girl with All the Gifts

The startling difference in physical appearance of the main characters in book and trailer was more than a little annoying. I understand that certain elements from the book cannot be put to screen and hope when I finally see the movie the actors will make it up for those differences with good acting performances.

The author is very good at writing thrilling and suspenseful scenes.  More than once my eyes were glued to the pages and I was scared what will happen next.

“the horror of the unknown is more frightening than any horror you can understand”
― M.R. Carey, The Girl With All the Gifts

The scientific part of explanation on why the world went into zombie mode was interesting. The steps and actions the government takes made sense more than I like. In this time where we like making up stories on world destruction this was one of the best ones I’ve read.

“Every adult grew from a kid who beat the odds. But at different times, in different places, the odds have been appallingly steep.”
― M.R. Carey, The Girl with All the Gifts

Conclusion

I liked the book but the ending made me feel uneasy. The moral of the story is simple and profound. It is also scary as well. I will willingly watch a zombie movie after a very long time because the book made it worth my while.