Review: The Girl With All The Gifts

Amazon  

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.

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.