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) 

Not as expected but a nice, easy audio book

The narrator has a British accent which made the book different and the story was really interesting but the middle to end of the story drug on a bit. The "gifts" the girl has weren't what I was expecting.

Okay, but Audie Winner for Best Paranormal???????

STORY (paranormal fantasy) - The Girl with All the Gifts is set in England sometime in the future after a strange infection has turned people into "Hungries." Not zombies, but very similar in that they eat humans, and there are very few humans left on earth. I'm not a zombie fan, but I was drawn to this book by the awards and the fact that it is supposedly written with a different slant on the genre. That is true to some extent. Don't want to give too much away, but one of the main characters is a Hungry, which gives a different perspective, and there's more interesting science in this book than in the usual zombie story. (But then I've only listened to two or three.)

I like the first and last of the book the best, the first because you don't really know what's going on, and the last because -- well, let's just say it's chilling and somewhat unexpected! There are some parts in between that are exciting and parts that are sweet, but for the most part it's just the usual zombie cr@p. Excuse me, they're called "Hungries" in this book.

PERFORMANCE - Miss Williams has a lovely voice and a British accent. She does a very good job.

OVERALL - I suppose men would like this book, but I think it might have a little too much girly stuff in it for some guys (like my husband). It's an easy listen, as there are only a few main characters to keep straight. Lots of zombie killing and gore and quite a bit of bad language as well. Very mild sexual references.

Hours in, restarted so husband could listen too!

Would you listen to The Girl with All the Gifts again? Why?

Yes ... because the writing, the characters, the story, the ending, and the performance were all so satisfying. Thank you, Mike and Finty!

What did you like best about this story?

So much ... impossible to choose. None of Carey's characters is a cartoon; all are fully and wonderfully drawn. The story is full of little, almost offhand turns of phrase that just resonate through you, again and again ... little chilling chords that mimic the author's equally skillful carving and direction of plot. In a world overfull of zombie apocalypse stories, Carey has created one that is truly exceptional and non-formulaic. I was so sorry to see this book end!

What about Finty Williams’s performance did you like?

Everything, everything, everything. After several years of listening to narrated books, I have so much respect and admiration for truly exceptional narrators, and Finty Williams goes to the top of my all-time favorites list. Intonation was perfect, for every character, scene, and situation. Never too slow, too maudlin, too dramatic ... never grating, never monotone. Just wonderful. Thank you, Finty, for taking an already wonderful book and adding yet another layer of perfection to it!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending both moved and surprised me ... I didn't see it coming, and while it made me uneasy and uncomfortable, I could not, at the same time, argue with the characters' rationale.

Any additional comments?

I bought this book after reading a sample chapter or two, but of course, not knowing really what to expect. The book bounces around in a third-person omniscient way, which is a perspective that I sometimes find tricky for authors ... but it is particularly well-done here.

I would not describe myself as a connoisseur of "zombie books," though I have read a few, and I didn't come to this book with more than light "genre story" expectations. I was pleasantly and poignantly surprised. Five hours in, I started the book over so my husband and I could listen to it together (something I have only done with one other book in 7 years). In short order, Carey introduced us to characters we genuinely cared about, set in a scenario a bit outside the typical one ... and when, all too soon, we reached the end of this amazing story, he gave us an ending that manages to be somehow both entirely unexpected and inevitable.

Highly, highly recommended. I'm going on to check out some of Mike Carey's previous books now.

A bit predictable

Slow to start for my tastes. Author clearly spent a lot of time researching the brain and biology. I just wish they had given as much time for developing the characters. Still, it was entertaining enough for me.

Worth it, 10x over!

Would you listen to The Girl with All the Gifts again? Why?

Probably. But the emotional roller coaster was exhausting-- so not for a while. The characters are built so well, that I even disregarded my totally irrational but debilitating fear of zombies, and listened to it all in ONE day.

Have you listened to any of Finty Williams’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I will be checking them out for sure!! The performance was astounding. I never got confused between characters, and she attuned to the emotional turmoil within each character flawlessly.

Any additional comments?

If anything, please at least READ this book. I felt that listening to this book made it resonate even more with me. I found myself feeling despair, disgust, overwhelming tenderness, and anger with every bit of this novel. I never saw anything coming, and that made the experience even more intense. I was disappointed with the ending, not because it didn't fit well, or was cut off too soon. No, I was disappointed because I loved and hated every character. I felt betrayed along with some characters too. If I have so many emotions throughout a book, I know that this is one I will recommend endlessly to everyone.

FLEETWOOD MAC

PANDORA
The first 25 chapters are stunning. A Zombie novel written with intellect. The main character is a ten year old Zombie girl, who is sweet, a genius and just wants to be loved. She has spent most of her life in restraints and has no idea that she is a Zombie or that her life is not normal. She is rolled to class tied to a wheelchair. Her arms, legs and head or restrained. In her class are about thirty other Zombie kids. She loves learning. You will fall in love with this little Zombie and will be sicken in how she is treated. At about the 24th chapter there is a scene similar to UNSTRUNG.

I'M NOT TAKING YOUR MUZZLE OFF
After the 25th chapter the book does not get bad, it just becomes more like the other Zombie novels. The school is attacked and a small group of people with the Zombie girl in tow, most travel some distance through dangerous lands to get to safety. This of course is the bread and butter of most post apocalyptic novels. I just hated to see what was one of the most unique and well written Zombie novels go the common route. It was still well written during this adventure.

IF SHE STAYS SHE'S DOGMEAT
Even during the adventure part, there is that added aspect of these people traveling with what could be a dangerous Zombie. The girl is just finding out what she is and living with people is all she has ever known. Living in restraints is also all she has ever known. The debate among the survivors makes this part most important.

SQUARING THE CIRCLE
As the story gets to the end, we find that Carey is not done with his intellectual imagination. He comes up with a couple of more twists, not seen in similar books. The ending along with the work up to it, is fantastic.

THE HUNGRIES
This is a pet peeve of mine and does not affect the rating and that is the non use of the word Zombie. No where in this book will you hear the word Zombie. I believe just once you hear the word Undead. Several authors do this, they try to make a new word and act as if the general public is going to use that word. It is almost as if they feel they are going to have to pay a royalty to Romero, if the use the word Zombie. The word Zombie has been around a long time, even before Night of The Living Dead, if anything like this was to ever happen, the afflicted are going to be called Zombies by the general public, not THE HUNGRIES or the infected or any of the other names authors keep trying to make their own, so use the word, Zombie, cause that is what the reader is saying in his head.

The narrator does a really good job especially in the beginning, but I will say during action scenes, not so good. It is not bad enough to detract, just not up to the standards of some better narrators and that is action scenes only.

Over 10,000 people have bought, listened and rated this at audible so far, you are missing out if you don't check this out.

Spoiler-free review below - Amazing book!

Where does The Girl with All the Gifts rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Near the top. The narration isn't perfect, but the story is so fabulous, this is in my top five.

What other book might you compare The Girl with All the Gifts to and why?

I don't want to give too much away. I would say if you like science fiction or horror with really excellent characterization, relationships, and well-earned emotion, you will love this. People who like John Scalzi, or Let Me [the Right One] In will probably love this.

Also, this story is chock full of female characters who are fully realized and not valued primarily for their sex appeal. I don't feel like Carey set out to write a feminist novel by any means, but he seems to respect and like women and realize that we are people too, and can carry a story that will appeal to both sexes. It was a delight to read a gripping story that passed the Bechdel test effortlessly, without feeling strained or political about it.

Have you listened to any of Finty Williams’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

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

YES! I looked forward to waiting in line or doing menial chores, so I would have more opportunities to listen.

Any additional comments?

Finty Williams does a very good job overall. She gives the correct emotional tone to each passage, and the characters are easy to differentiate. The one thing that bugged me to no end was her pronunciation of Justineau (which is one of the most common words in the novel, unfortunately). I don't know if it was a bad attempt at a really authentic French accent, or ignorance of how "eau" is pronounced, but it comes out "Justinoo" and it annoyed me throughout.

Read This Book!

This isn't a genre I normally read, but it transcends any genre. Like other reviewers, I wont tell you what it is about or what happens except that it is a story of a remarkable child and the people around her. I read all 13+ hours without stopping except when absolutely nescessary. This is a special and suprising story with lots of twists. It might give you nightmares, but you won't soon forget it!

It was good, not great

Upon reading the other reviews of this book on Audible, I'm apparently going to be a slightly dissenting voice. This book was good, it was entertaining, but it was predictable, and sloppy in places and didn't stretch my mind and imagination as much as I'd wished it would.
During the big "action" scenes of the book, the characters did some dumb things that made me roll my eyes--obvious set-ups for big confrontations to come.
The attempt at creating depth of the characters was poorly done and felt pasted-in by an editor, there were several scenes that just didn't fit with the rest of the story.
I enjoyed the ending, it wrapped up in a creepy, ominous way, but I even it was a little predictable.
The book was good. It was a fun ride, and worth four stars. But don't expect a mind blowing new look at a post-apocalyptic story.

Do I recommend? Meh, yeah, I guess.

A boxful of great, icky, and terrifying surprises

I didn't think there were any more possible takes on zombies. I was wrong. I like the genre, but I never saw THIS coming.

Melanie lives in a facility with some other "special" kids. She loves pictures, history, Greek myths, and especially her favorite teacher, Miss Justineau. Each day of learning is fun--and all days are just like the others. Until one day when everything changes.

I won't give more details: they wouldn't be spoilers, exactly, but the events of the book unfold in such an unconventional way that each reader should experience it individually. This is well-trodden ground, and yet that's the genius of this book: just when you're expecting a familiar chain of events, something completely new shows up and puts you way off course.

Most books I've read in this genre focus exclusively on humans; you don't get much of the other point of view, and you wouldn't expect it to be so nuanced--or scary. Melanie's like any kid, but she's also NOT like any kid, and the comparison can be very creepy.

Melanie alone was enough for four stars from me. The book does have flaws--for one thing, it takes a while to really get rolling. The opening sections aren't boring, fortunately, but they felt static, and I began to wonder when something was going to happen. The character development also felt a little slow, and Carey's prose style, while literary, doesn't have the exciting flow I'm used to from other suspense and horror authors.

But as the story developed, I began to get more and more interested with every horrible little surprise that came up. By the end, I was completely glued to my player, all the way through to the absolutely chilling end--yikes! The last hour was utterly and completely different from what I had expected, in a very good way.

The narration by Finty Williams is fantastic, especially the voice for Melanie--little-girlish, and yet also terrifying when necessary. Highly recommended for those looking for a more thoughtful (but still scary) zombie experience!