The Girl with All the Gifts

I am not a zombie person.  I think zombie movies are usually stupid and poorly done.  That said I've only watched crappy 80s versions of zombie movies because zombies are something that do not interest me.  I also find zombies inappropriate for four year olds but apparently the parents of my students disagree or need to be taking a better look at the toys/shows/games geared at four year olds.  That said, I would have put up a little stink if I would have known this was a 'zombie book' when we decided to make this our final book club pick of 2014.  Surprisingly, for a dystopian zombie book (neither subjects I tend to read) it was pretty darn good.

Description: Not every gift is a blessing...

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class.

When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don't like her. She jokes that she won't bite, but they don't laugh.

The Girl With All the Gifts is a groundbreaking thriller, emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end.

Now, see the description doesn't TELL you that these people are dead.  But they are.  I mean I suppose I could read between the lines but I was maybe a beer or two in and I said, what the heck, sounds good to me.   So I read a book about zombies.

Thankfully, it was good.  Melanie doesn't realize she's a hungry nor does she really fully put together the whole picture of the wierd that is her life because she is taught things about the world that used to exist and is told about hungries and junkers but not really enough to connect all the dots. 

At Hotel Echo, where Melanie lives she has a very limited life.  She lives in a cell and goes to class.  She eats once a week and bathes with her classmates.  She has never seen anything more than the hall she lives in.  Until the day Sergeant Parks retrieves her for Dr. Caldwell and everything she knows changes.

I don't really want to say too much because it gives so much away but it is a book that has some awesomely written characters and a lot of action.  So much action that after it ends I feel like there were loose ends of some of that action that I wanted explained more! But that kind of goes with the book and that information is always changing as is the status quo.  The ending is fantastic by the way. 

So, if you can get past the zombie part (I feel I must point it out because, I mean I didn't know ha) it is a great adult dystopian novel.  If you are looking for a fast paced intense read then check it out.  Then talk to me about it!

Do you like zombies? Are you a horror fan? What about dystopian novels?