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A review by cheye13
The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I picked this up because I'd heard raving reviews about it, but I have to admit, I don't understand. I'd seen many say this was "more than a regular zombie book," but while I found it a decent "regular zombie book," I didn't find much more within it. I read Warm Bodies earlier this year, and these stories have much in common.
Every zombie book that's caught my interest always has a unique angle on the fictional science as well as social commentary. This one executes the tropes well, but not in a particularly new or fascinating way. The novel also spends the first chunk setting readers up to despise a number of the main characters, so I was lacking a concern or connection to make action scenes impactful. That lack of emotion probably also affected the pacing - I prefer there to be action or suspense to push such a story forward, and this story failed to create that for me.
In general, an entertaining but not very impactful read for me.
Every zombie book that's caught my interest always has a unique angle on the fictional science as well as social commentary. This one executes the tropes well, but not in a particularly new or fascinating way. The novel also spends the first chunk setting readers up to despise a number of the main characters, so I was lacking a concern or connection to make action scenes impactful. That lack of emotion probably also affected the pacing - I prefer there to be action or suspense to push such a story forward, and this story failed to create that for me.
In general, an entertaining but not very impactful read for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse and Gun violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Animal death