What should I write about again?: Peps' Reading List: The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

I decided to push it up my reading list ahead of Erin Morgensten's Night Circus and Lev Grossman's The Magicians trilogy since my ongoing reading of the Chronicles of Elantra is pretty much taking care of my fantasy fix for now.

I'm glad I did, though, because The Girl with All the Gifts turned out to be quite an interesting reading experience that began with its intriguing book cover summary.

Melanie is a very special girl. Dr. Caldwell calls her "our little genius."

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.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favorite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up. Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

I chose to use the book's own summary (sourced from goodreads) instead of my own, because it just sets up the novel perfectly. There's something strange about Melanie's way of life and the reasons for it are only touched on every now and then at the start of the book, primarily because it's Melanie's point of view that we have to rely on then. It's not until when the point of view shifts to that of Helen Justineau (and later on Dr. Caroline Caldwell and Sergeant Eddie Parks) that the world and its state is given more shape.

Most of the UK (and probably elsewhere) has been overrun by hungries, humans who have been affected by an aggressive fungus that turn them into flesh eating creatures. With the pandemic on such a large scale and wiping out the population in London, the uninfected flock to safe havens like the Beacon. Attempts are made to understand and find a cure, including the research conducted by Dr. Carldwell at the Hotel Echo base some distance away from Beacon. It is at this facility where Melanie lives and learns, with classes conducted by Miss Justineau and other teachers. Sergeant Parks maintains order at the army camp, keeping out the hungries and junkers (human survivors who refuse to live in government run settlements like Beacon), as well as ensuring that Melanie and the other children are kept secure and that they are prevented from showing their true natures.

It doesn't take long to figure out what Melanie truly is and what Dr. Caldwell's plans for her are. Nor is it too much of a leap to understand why Miss Justineau feels the compulsion to save her from those plans.

Melanie is special. That is a given. It's interesting to note, however, how different the two older women's perception of that word can be. You see, Melanie is a hungry, but one who belongs in a small population that features near human attributes. While most who are infected are reduced to raving flesh eaters when uninfected humans are near but also catatonic when perceived food is nowhere in sight, Melanie and the other infected children constantly move and are able to actually understand. In the classroom setting at the base, they are taught many subjects and are conversant. And among them, Melanie is deemed the most intelligent.

I had debated whether to include the fact that Melanie is a hungry, albeit a rather different kind of hungry, in this post, but a quick search online will immediately reveal that particular spoiler. Heck, goodreads even has the book listed under the categories horror and zombies. Then, I remembered realizing that the particular reveal is actually just the beginning of what makes The Girl with All the Gifts such a great read.

Melanie's own understanding of just how special she is doesn't begin until after an incident at the base with both hungries and junkers that cause her to go on the run with Miss Justineau, Dr. Caldwell, Sergeant Parks and Private Kieran Gallagher. With the shocking realization regarding her true nature and her exposure to the world outside the base, Melanie begins her own journey of discovery.

For the most part, The Girl with All the Gifts is a survival story. For the group as a whole, and for each individual that comprise it. Miss Justineau finds herself protective of Melanie, regardless of the fact that the girl could very well make a meal out of her. Dr. Caldwell only has eye on the discovery prize, intending to survive the trek to beacon in order to continue her research and finally understand what makes Melanie so different, while gaining fame for her efforts. Sergeant Parks just wants to do his job the best way he knows how, using his expertise to get the group to safety. Private Gallagher just wants to live. And Melanie... well, she wants to understand everything. And not want to eat Miss Justineau.

The narrative voice changes in each chapter, with each of the five taking turns to tell the succeeding parts of their collective journey. This allows readers to understand the nature of each one, even if you don't really end up liking all of them. Their journey is fraught with danger, from both junkers and hungries alike, and traveling together isn't always harmonious. But the story will always return to -- and is the most compelling when the story focuses on -- Melanie. Despite her most unusual nature, she is still a child, and her journey with the others is also significant in the shedding of her innocence. By the end of their journey, she makes decisions that might be in parts selfish, but ones that you know are wholly mature in their consideration and understandable if you empathize with her.

With the way author M.R. Carey writes The Girl with All the Gifts, empathizing is a given. And just like Miss Justineau, you will find it hard not to love Melanie too.

Happy reading!!