alexisgarcia's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? Yes
5.0
this book was so good!!! i absolutely fell into this world and became so invested. i love spore-horror or anything related to mushrooms in books so this was perfect! i even almost cried at the end because i became so invested and the book ended so well!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Gore, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Body horror, and Child abuse
readingwithhippos's review against another edition
3.0
It probably says something about my feelings toward the holidays this year that I happened to be reading The Girl With All the Gifts over Christmas. Isn't the end of December typically the time when we seek out feel-good, family-friendly fare? Not this year, apparently. Instead of curling up by a crackling fire with [b:Little Women|1934|Little Women (Little Women, #1)|Louisa May Alcott|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388269517s/1934.jpg|3244642], I spent my time in between family gatherings in a gray fungal hellscape with a small but scrappy group of survivors, all trying their best to evade tireless hordes of flesh-eating zombies.
A bit out of season though it may have been, I enjoyed the book immensely. The setup is fascinating: a little girl is kept in a locked cell. Every morning, when she is transported from her cell to her schoolroom, she is strapped into a wheelchair that restricts her movements. A guard keeps a gun trained on her until she is fully restrained. She is never allowed to touch anyone. The girl, Melanie, doesn't know why everyone is so afraid of her and the other children in the cell block. She certainly doesn't feel dangerous, doesn't want to hurt anyone.
When the compound is attacked by outsiders, Melanie and a handful of adults escape together, but the danger is just beginning. Their safe haven is gone—and it turns out that Melanie wasn't really safe there to begin with, thanks to As the group journeys through a wasted landscape with monsters hidden at every turn, Melanie starts to realize who—or what—she is.
This book has all the elements of a great action movie: intense fight sequences, a creative setup, bleak dystopian setting, a plucky young protagonist, and just enough ethical shades of gray to keep it interesting. If you've got a bit of a holiday hangover, or just want a fun escape before the new year, The Girl With All the Gifts would be an excellent choice.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
A bit out of season though it may have been, I enjoyed the book immensely. The setup is fascinating: a little girl is kept in a locked cell. Every morning, when she is transported from her cell to her schoolroom, she is strapped into a wheelchair that restricts her movements. A guard keeps a gun trained on her until she is fully restrained. She is never allowed to touch anyone. The girl, Melanie, doesn't know why everyone is so afraid of her and the other children in the cell block. She certainly doesn't feel dangerous, doesn't want to hurt anyone.
When the compound is attacked by outsiders, Melanie and a handful of adults escape together, but the danger is just beginning. Their safe haven is gone—and it turns out that Melanie wasn't really safe there to begin with, thanks to
Spoiler
the efforts of a frighteningly single-minded doctor who wants more than anything to dissect and study her.This book has all the elements of a great action movie: intense fight sequences, a creative setup, bleak dystopian setting, a plucky young protagonist, and just enough ethical shades of gray to keep it interesting. If you've got a bit of a holiday hangover, or just want a fun escape before the new year, The Girl With All the Gifts would be an excellent choice.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
mushuporkchops's review against another edition
3.0
Excellent, witty writing. Fast paced, captivating, intelligent plot with characters you’ll love to hate. Im not a survival story/ zombie book person, but I’d highly recommend this to most people.
barbelizabeth's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
kevin_king's review against another edition
5.0
I adore this book. Rather than write a review I'm going to quote what amounts to one of my all time favorite lines that I have ever read in any book from the very first chapter of GWATG:
"Melanie was new herself, once, but that’s hard to remember because it was a long time ago. It was before there were any words; there were just things without names, and things without names don’t stay in your mind. They fall out, and then they’re gone."
"Melanie was new herself, once, but that’s hard to remember because it was a long time ago. It was before there were any words; there were just things without names, and things without names don’t stay in your mind. They fall out, and then they’re gone."
lucasgarner's review
2.0
This book started out with a creative and intriguing concept, and then delved into stereotypical boring convections shortly thereafter. I was very disappointed.
kaymarie003's review against another edition
Melanie's PoV is just not for me, younger narrators pull me out of the story for some reason most of the time. It's just a little boring and predictable so far.
christy97's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-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? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this book, so much so I watched the film immediately afterwards lol
ezzapea's review against another edition
adventurous
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.5
Terrifying, vivid, horrific
nerdyrev's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fantastic book in the beginning that really slowed down toward the middle and ended with a better than mediocre thud. I loved the way the book opened and it grabbed me right at the beginning of the book. There was a lot of mystery as to what exactly was happening- why guns? why a locked room? Who were the other children? I do not want to give away the book, but once they left the school and moved into a different setting the book became a better than average chase type book. The group was sadly cliched- our main character, a hardened soldier, a new recruit, the caring teacher, and the driven scientist being chased for the last two thirds of the book.
I will give one minor spoiler, simply because there was no pay off with the characters. There are humans covered in tar, who besides the initial outbreak, don't do anything. Why introduce them in the first place, when you have other antagonists to work with? They, as bad guys, disappear except by mention.
By the end, I figured out what was going to happen since it was bound to happen that way. There was no real surprise, especially since a major plot introduction happens in the last act of the story. It was a good summer read, so I gave it 4 stars, but it should be 3.5, but the beginning was too good not to recommend. Trust me, avoid reading spoilers since the first third is written as a build up.
I will give one minor spoiler, simply because there was no pay off with the characters. There are humans covered in tar, who besides the initial outbreak, don't do anything. Why introduce them in the first place, when you have other antagonists to work with? They, as bad guys, disappear except by mention.
By the end, I figured out what was going to happen since it was bound to happen that way. There was no real surprise, especially since a major plot introduction happens in the last act of the story. It was a good summer read, so I gave it 4 stars, but it should be 3.5, but the beginning was too good not to recommend. Trust me, avoid reading spoilers since the first third is written as a build up.