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.
whatvictoriaread's review against another edition
Almost halfway through and almost nothing had happened. I adored the first book but this put me to sleep.
riverbarret's review against another edition
3.0
This book is a fine sequel/prequel; I don't feel anything about it. The only character I liked was Stephen, and he's the only reason I got something out of this book. It was okay — nothing more, nothing less.
bookswithbeth27's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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? No
4.5
neverenoughhhh's review against another edition
4.0
Well damn this book was pretty good.
I felt like it stagnated a bit during the middle but it picked back up again and I was left on the edge of my seat until the end.
This definitely merits a read if you're into sci-fi, horror and have read [b:The Girl with All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl with All the Gifts (The Girl with All the Gifts, #1)|M.R. Carey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403033579l/17235026._SY75_.jpg|23753235]
I felt like it stagnated a bit during the middle but it picked back up again and I was left on the edge of my seat until the end.
This definitely merits a read if you're into sci-fi, horror and have read [b:The Girl with All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl with All the Gifts (The Girl with All the Gifts, #1)|M.R. Carey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1403033579l/17235026._SY75_.jpg|23753235]
diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
3.0
The Boy on the Bridge is a very different book from [b:The Girl with All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl with All the Gifts|M.R. Carey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403033579s/17235026.jpg|23753235]. it clashed with my expectations and lost the battle.
Dislikes:
- Slow start. It took almost half the book for the plot to grab me.
- First half was boring. Almost nothing happened.
Likes:
+ Philosophical musings. What makes us human etc.
+ Diverse cast of characters.
+ Epilogue that ties characters from both book together.
While The Boy on the Bridge was not what I expected, I still liked the second half enough, that it didn't put me off from reading another book written by M.R. Carey.
Dislikes:
- Slow start. It took almost half the book for the plot to grab me.
- First half was boring. Almost nothing happened.
Likes:
+ Philosophical musings. What makes us human etc.
+ Diverse cast of characters.
+ Epilogue that ties characters from both book together.
While The Boy on the Bridge was not what I expected, I still liked the second half enough, that it didn't put me off from reading another book written by M.R. Carey.