ailsahatton's review against another edition
4.0
How to write a prequel! Felt a little convenient in parts but ended in a very satisfying way.
staleyouth's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was fine. I'm glad I read it, especially because I loved its predecessor, The Girl With All the Gifts, so much. The *epilogue* was the best part of the book but it doesn't seem right to bump up my rating because of an epilogue..
swyant42's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
hvega91's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
darla78's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
pennymine's review against another edition
3.0
I adored "The Girl with all the Gifts" and this book was just not as good for me. Still a solid book with well developed characters...but I had fallen in love with Melanie and a book set in her universe but that didn't feature her was just not as satisfying.
Also, why do we not get to find out what happened to the baby, Sam?
Also, why do we not get to find out what happened to the baby, Sam?
princessraya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
cuddlycuddlefish's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
dyerra's review against another edition
2.0
I read this book because I was so enamored with The Girl With All the Gifts . Unfortunately, despite being a prologue to that title, it carried none of its charms. In The Boy on the Bridge , I felt the character development was hasty, and as a result, throughout the duration of the book I struggled to keep crew members straight and was continually confused about who was whom. Because I was reading an e-book, it was difficult to flip back to the page where the author had listed and described all of the crew members - a definite faux pas of character development. Where as The Girl had characters that were given an opportunity to develop over time, in The Boy, The characters were literally just listed and described, and then we didn't learn much more about them as the action progressed.
Additionally, The Girl was rich with allegory, fused with a tale of Pandora's Box in the post-apocalyptic future. It deeply explored ideas about what makes someone human, and looked at the question from multiple facets. The Boy had multiple opportunities to reach that level of richness, but failed every time.
Finally, I felt that the main character was forced. He allegedly "would have been diagnosed with Autism in another time." and while some of his struggles and gifts seem realistic, the book spends much of the time inside of his head, and I am just not convinced that Mr. Carey knows autism well enough for that to work well. I am not sure what his research base was, but I feel that he would have benefited from interviewing individuals on the Autism spectrum, and feel like he took liberties taking on that role with this character.
The one highlight of this book was the epilogue, which takes place AFTER the end of The Girl with All of the Gifts where we are reunited with some familiar characters.
Overall, This book was OK, but NOTHING like its predecessor in terms of richness or complexity.
Additionally, The Girl was rich with allegory, fused with a tale of Pandora's Box in the post-apocalyptic future. It deeply explored ideas about what makes someone human, and looked at the question from multiple facets. The Boy had multiple opportunities to reach that level of richness, but failed every time.
Finally, I felt that the main character was forced. He allegedly "would have been diagnosed with Autism in another time." and while some of his struggles and gifts seem realistic, the book spends much of the time inside of his head, and I am just not convinced that Mr. Carey knows autism well enough for that to work well. I am not sure what his research base was, but I feel that he would have benefited from interviewing individuals on the Autism spectrum, and feel like he took liberties taking on that role with this character.
The one highlight of this book was the epilogue, which takes place AFTER the end of The Girl with All of the Gifts where we are reunited with some familiar characters.
Overall, This book was OK, but NOTHING like its predecessor in terms of richness or complexity.