NOT EVERY GIFT IS A BLESSING.
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 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.
Book Review:
There's a moral code I live by when it comes to buying books: If you want to read it, it will eventually go on sale. I got this sucker for $1.99!
I've had TGWATG on my TBR list for most of the year, and the hum around this book made it even more enticing to read. When one of my bookish friends told me how amazing it was, I had to get my hands on The Girl With All the Gifts. I wasn't expecting a zombie apocalypse setting, with the title of this book I was expecting more of a superhero vibe. But, this was a pleasant surprise. The first half of this book was definitely intriguing. Eventually it turned into the typical run-for-your-life-the-zombies-are-coming apocalyptic novel. But the zombie origins storyline made this unique and wonderful. I really loved the underlying story of a motherless girl and her beloved teacher. Our main character, Melanie is super smart, a lover of greek mythology, and intuitive when it comes to figuring out what she really is. There were more great storylines, the mad scientist wanting to cut children's brains apart, and the stone faced soldier trying to hold shit together. Overall, this was a great read. The ending was a bit gloomy, but what do you expect with the zombie apocalypse?
5/5 stars
What comes with every great book... a movie.
Tor.com released this announcement:
Glenn Close and Gemma Arterton to Star in The Girl with All the Gifts Movie
Stubby the Rocket
M.R. Carey will adapt his 2014 novel The Girl with All the Gifts for film, The Hollywood Reporterannounced today. Retitled as She Who Brings Gifts, the movie will star Glenn Close, Gemma Arterton, and Paddy Considine, and will be directed by Colm McCarthy (Sherlock, Doctor Who).
These stars will likely play the three central adult roles in the film: We’re assuming Arterton is idealistic young teacher Miss Justineau, who must teach special children in the wake of a worldwide fungal infection; Considine will bring the muscle as Sergeant Ed Parks, terrified and disgusted by his charges; and Close must be Doctor Caroline Caldwell, who will sacrifice as many test subjects as she needs to in order to find a cure.
But what about Melanie, the girl who will bring gifts? The casting directors will probably be looking for an unknown to play the precocious Melanie, who knows that something is wrong with her but also yearns for love and acceptance. In a press release, producer Angus Lamont talked a little bit about the film’s emotional core:
Melanie’s story is a completely unique take on a much loved genre, seamlessly blending together a lonely child’s search for love and family with a terrifying journey where she controls the fate of the last adult humans on earth.
Filming will begin in the UK in May 2015; no release date has been announced yet.
