This was the first book written by this author. The title was very interesting and very eye catching. It’s a good but very long novel.

The novel is a sci-fi mystery/thriller and the depth of characters and story line was intriguing. The early chapters were hard to follow as the author tries to explain very clearly what’s happening. Melanie, a 10-year-old girl, is one of the main characters. She is very intelligent, seems sweet and innocent, but has an infectious disease that has taken over the world.  However, the children are infected differently to adults, and are no threat to humans. Melanie is sent to a military base where the adult humans perform tests on her and a lot of other children. Something goes wrong, and Melanie eats human flesh for the first time. It is then a child psychologist and doctor try to help her, as Melanie can provide protection and lead them away from the ‘hungries’ (adult flesh eating humans). The story leads to an ending of survival as the second generation of hungries – ones who are infected by the virus but retain their mental and human behaviour can help rebuild the world.

This sci fi novel has a mixture of themes – good and evil, monsters, mixed with superpowers and thrilling end of world scenarios. The use of these themes created a lot of suspense. The author is inferring that humans can be loving and compassionate people especially to those who are different and that mankind still has hope for survival after disasters.  This can be compared to present day institutions and hospitals which treat people who have an illness or disease.

People would enjoy this book because it was full of suspense.  The highlight of the story was how they got locked up in their rooms and they can’t see anybody else except in class but they can’t talk. When interacting with people the children are locked in their chairs and they only get a shower once a week on Sundays. They do this as the infected pose a threat to healthy humans.

This book would be recommended for children as young as 11 years and for adults who are interested in zombies, thrillers, shooting etc. It is suitable for both males and females. It would be rated a 4 because it’s not the ‘perfect’ book, but it is intriguing and has a good story line to it.

Tegan H., Year 8

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Huge zombie herds, mysterious rooms and suspicious people all pulled together into one book. This is The Girl With all The Gifts.

The Girl With all The Gifts is a mysterious yet hugely intriguing novel to read. The book is written with on point words describing how the character feels, and as you continue to read on, you begin to feel the character’s emotions too.

The Girl with All The Gifts is a novel based on a virus, that spreads throughout the entire world, and there are only a small majority left who are not affected by the virus. But there is one special girl who has the power to remain human, but still be infected at the same time. This “gift” that she has helps her throughout her whole journey, from the dirty cells where she lived every day curious about the outside world to the rotting, decaying buildings that once formed a beautiful city.

This novel is insanely entertaining and is a book you can just never seem to put down. Not only is it exciting, but it really does touch the hearts of the readers. The author, M. R. Carey, describes the exact emotions of the character so it almost feels real. Melanie, the lead character in this novel, would most likely be the most interesting character. The fact that she knows what she is, and has the power and the strength to contain it, really stands out, especially in a world full of war and viruses.

I highly recommend this novel to people who take an interest in mysterious rooms, spine-tingling moments, viruses and jaw-dropping action. The highlight of the story from my perspective is when Melanie comes in contact with humans who are mistreating the person she loves most, her teacher, and uses her infection to save her. Over all, this book gives great description of the character’s emotions and is extremely entertaining. In regard to it being such a good novel, I rate this book a 8/10 would recommend to everyone.

By Emily S., Year 8