The Girl with All the Gifts

By: M. R. Carey

Narrated by: Finty Williams

Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

In the ruins of civilization, a young girl's kindness and capacity for love will either save humanity - or wipe it out in this USA Today best-selling thriller Joss Whedon calls "heartfelt, remorseless, and painfully human."

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 pointed 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.

©2014 M. R. Carrey (P)2014 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Original, thrilling and powerful." (The Guardian)

"One of the more imaginative and ingenious additions to the dystopian canon." (Kirkus)

"A great read that takes hold of you and doesn't let go." (John Ajvide Lindqvist, author of Let the Right One In)

Pretty good read!

Very strong opening, the middle lagged and at some points was quite boring, the ending was very good.

Weird ending

The story moved along nicely in progression that a zombie science fiction novel should. The science behind the story, without revealing too much, was very entertaining and I liked the thrilling aspect of the action sequences. However, the ending was pulled straight from a cheesy horror novel that I didn't see coming. Overall I enjoyed the book and performance but am left questioning the ending.

YOU NEED TO EXPERIENCE THIS BOOK

All I can say is wow! I was hooked from the beginning! Carey wrote a very impressive story, and Williams delivered with the performance.

What a surprise!!

What did you love best about The Girl with All the Gifts?

This story kept me guessing the entire time, just when I thought I knew the answer to some question about the story, It took a left turn. Maybe I was paying to much attention to detail, but that is what this book has. Detail, and lots of it. I was in suspense, and almost frustrated until the end, when I said to myself out loud, "Dang that was a good book."

What did you like best about this story?

Obviously from writing this review, I am not much of a writer. Spelling bad, grammar bad, sentence structure..forget about it. My Dad told me "That is what editors are there for." What I like best about this story is it inspires me to write. The descriptions of sight, sound, smell, touch, and emotion bring me into the story, as if I am a witness.

Which scene was your favorite?

Without a spoiler since it is in the description, a gun is pointed at Melanie while she is being collected for class. Oh..and she is strapped to a wheelchair. The joke she made, that she will not bite, captivated my imagination. That very description is what compelled me to purchase the book in the first place.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I wish I could have listened to this book all in one sitting, I would even go to bed with my ear buds on. Inevitably I would go to sleep, and start from my last chapter the next day.

Any additional comments?

I have the perfect job to enjoy these books. I transcribe for a living, and then there is an editor that takes care of the grammar after. I guess it is muscle memory that allows me to see a word and transcribe it without thinking about it. This book sparked my imagination, it was like a movie playing in my head while I was working!

Realistically creepy and lovable!

I am no fan of fantasy, sci-fi, or horror stories, but the title and the reviews of this book got me interested. I ended up really enjoying it, because the author used a fascinating and creepy discovery reported several years ago in a scientific journal (a fungus that invaded ants' bodies and turned them into 'zombie ants' before the fungal growths exploded out their heads) as the basis for this end-of-the-world story about a creepy fungus taking over human bodies. You don't have to suspend any disbelief, you don't roll your eyes, you won't throw the book down and yell,'Oh my Gawd, that would Never Happen!!', because.....yikes, it already has happened to another species. Weird.
Very well read, Ms. Williams!

Great book!

The book want about what I thought it would be judging by the description, but it was very good. The wiring was great. Seems like the book went by too fast! I'd definitely recommend it.

I did not see that coming.....

Being a bit queasy when it comes to zombie stories and completely unable to manage more than 10 minutes of the movie version of WWZ, I'm not sure why I chose this book. Nevertheless, I was riveted from unlikely beginning to unexpected end. The narrator was perfect for the story and I will look for other opportunities to listen to her. Not sure whether or not I want to sleep tonight.....

I liked it.

As others have said different take on zombie/plague scenario. Pretty logical as far as other examples that happen around us on smaller scales. I do like a British female voice so the narrator was good.

Not your average zombie....

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this because the book has a unique perspective. The story is in the same vein as "Let the Right One In" or the British films, "28 Days Later" and the sequel, "28 Weeks Later." Even though the basic story line is farfetched, the characters are [for the most part] realistic, well drawn, and behave the way people would under extreme situations. I rarely ever rate anything this high, but the story kept me intrigued throughout the reading. And speaking of the reading, it was one of the best I've encountered in audible books. She made very good distinctions between the characters without resorting to stereotypical male, female, child voices. I really hate it when men read a woman part with soft whispery voices - I don't know a single women who speaks that way!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Melanie, the child with all the "gifts," is brilliant, insightful, but still retains a child's awe and wonder of the world around her in spite of the horrors and fears that surround her and her adult companions.

Good Characters but Lacked Depth

A person that loves zombies and post apocalyptic stories will rate this higher because the author's depiction of these is unique and interesting. Some of the imagery was quite compelling but personally, I needed more complexity to the story. It wasn't exactly predictable, but I almost forgot I read it...