A zombie lover’s dream

I have always enjoyed good vampire novels dating back to the 19th century story, Vampyre by Dr John Polidori. Anne Rice’s vampire series beginning with Interview with a Vampire from which Lestat becomes a hero hooked me on vampire literature. One of the best vampire novels I have ever read happened to be Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot.

The only other zombie novel I ever read was World War Z: an Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. Admittedly, this novel is so well written, I often forgot it was fiction.

When I say I took a chance on vampire literature, I mean I really took a chance because The Girl with All the Gifts is one of those books that people felt fit to review without revealing any of the plot. In other words, everyone wrote that this is a great novel, but I can’t tell you what it is about.

Usually I avoid books like that because I am inevitably disappointed. I want to know what a book is about, but in this case, the glowing reviews lured me into this zombie novel.

Unlike other reviewers, I’m going to talk about the plot, but I promise not to reveal too much. The Girl with All the Gifts is the story of Melanie and a class full of “hungries”, which are really zombies.

Melanie and her classmates have questions about people and the unknown environment from where they come. The children are hungry for stories – especially Greek myths—but the problem is they are zombies so they are hungry for everything – including humans. These children have been infected years ago, but they still have some human feelings. That’s why they are being studied.

Carefully and with great skill, Carey sucks readers into the novel by creating empathy for the children. Restrained and strapped into chairs while they attend class, the children seem to be horribly abused. Of course these are precautions that are being taken because zombies are not to be trusted. But their kind teacher, who feeds them stories seems to trust the children. At least she trusts Melanie.

By the time readers realise that these children are dangerous, it is too late. We have let our guard down, and we really want Melanie to survive. Carey constantly plays with readers’ feelings. As she reveals more and more of Melanie’s emotions, readers want to believe that Melanie can be a child again. I found The Girl with All the Gifts to be a fascinating story filled with vivid description; compelling characterisation and nail-biting tension.

The lessons are simple, but profound exercises in trust. The Girl with All the Gifts is a book about taking chances and giving people chances. In many ways it’s a book that tests our belief in whether or not people can change. Is there a point of no return in our lives? This zombie story is a metaphor for many of the issues that drive our lives. The Girl with All the Gifts is the first in a series. That’s good news for those readers who can’t get enough of zombies.