Review: The Girl with All the Gifts

5/5 stars

The Girl with All the Gifts, by M.R. Carey (2014)

You really need to go into this not knowing much, so this will be short.

Melanie is a 10-year old girl who lives in a small cell underground, and is collected each day to be taken to class, strapped into a wheelchair at ankles, wrists and neck. Sergeant Parks and his men do the collecting - one or more strapping her in, while another keeps a gun aimed at her until she's completely immobilized. They all seem to truly hate her, and she doesn't know why.

In class, there are other students in the same situation. They learn about the world, facts and figures, history... and Melanie loves it all. And what she loves most of all is her favorite teacher, Ms. Justineau, who she tries to impress, and to cheer up when Ms. Justineau seems sad and despondent.

Melanie doesn't understand why she and the other children are kept the way they are, and when a few of them go to see the ominous Dr. Caldwell and never return, Melanie starts to ask questions.

That's all you need to know! If you are a fan of innovative sci-fi &/or post-apocalyptic fiction, go for it! It's truly an action-packed novel, but what I most loved about this book is the introspective natures of Melanie and Ms. Justineau, examining what it means to be human, and how to accept who you are even if what you are is a monster.

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UP NEXT: Tantrum, by Rachel Eve Moulton