Book of the Week(end): The Girl with All the Gifts
I just finished reading one of the creepiest fiction titles I've read in a while. If you're not BBQing, off to the cottage or doing otherwise summery things, I suggest you get your hands on this as fast as you can.
The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Melanie isn't like most other little girls. She's extremely bright and unusually kind, but she's also strapped into a high-security wheelchair each morning and locked into a special classroom. The scowling Sargeant and the lovely Miss Justineau are a few of the handful of adults she sees as her days go by. Why is the Sargeant pointing a gun at her as he wheels her out of her room? And why is Miss J's smile so beautiful, yet so sad?
When her carefully scheduled life is interrupted one day by a sudden, vicious turn of events, Melanie slowly becomes aware of who- and what – she truly is.
I imagined Melanie to be some sort of superhero, alien or exceptional genius, but she's all these things and more. At just over 450 pages long, there are no wasted words in this book. Every scene and every interaction is necessary, gripping and memorable. I was completely sucked into how dark and twisted this novel could get. Saying any more could really spoil it for you, so I'll just say that if you like speculative, creepy fiction, this is definitely a title to add to your reading list this summer.
Itching for a copy yet? Place a hold on The Girl with All the Gifts!
6 thoughts on “Book of the Week(end): The Girl with All the Gifts”
The author actually released a small portion of it earlier this year as a teaser. When I first discovered it I thought it was a short story. It was so good that I read it a few more times before realizing that there would soon be more to the story.
It will be exciting to finally read the whole book!
I didn’t realize there was a teaser for this before the release! I would have felt the same, I’m sure. It’s totally worth the wait – such a well paced and atmospheric read – I’m really glad I picked it up.
I’m glad to hear that. 🙂
Hey, if Joss Whedon says this is a wonderful book, that’s good enough for me. (And he does.)
Oh…absolutely! One of his lines of praise just wrapped it all up so well: “It left me sighing with envious joy, like I’d been simultaneously offered flowers and beaten at chess.” Perfect!
I found this book absolutely terrifying – I could only read it in short spurts LOL! As a consequence, I only got halfway through before I had to return it (and am now back on the wait list to finish it).
Hopefully, now he can finish the Felix Castor series!