The Girl with all the Gifts has multiple setting, the novel first took place in Hotel Echo in a base in London in the future. In the past London experienced a breakdown 20 years ago where a disease named Ophiocordyceps infected almost the whole civilization. Once the breakdown occurred everything became a dystopia. The world full life with video games, money etc, turned into broken society with flesh eating creatures. M. R. Carey began the novel with Melanie and her fellow students strapped in wheelchairs having classes daily then going back into their cells.
The children are numbered and classified as test subjects, and were taught about the past world. They were brought to the base as little children by sargent parks and other military men to be tested why they were able to halt the disease ophiocordyceps from taking total control over their minds. The scientists dissected a couple test subjects and brought Melane the most intelligent subject at the base to the lab. Miss Justineau began to care and love Melanie during classes and went to save her.
An explosion stopped everything, then windows shattered and hungries and junkers bursted in. Miss Justineau along with Dr. Caldwell escaped to the outdoors and noticed Melanie vanished. A pair of junkers pointed gun at Miss. Justineau when Melanie threw herself at them and teared at their flesh. This was the moment Melanie didn’t know herself. The first time she tasted flesh and couldn’t control herself. The three were rescued by Sargent Parks and Private Gallagher and fled the base. The Drs. notes on the disease were left behind, so they decided to keep Melanie.
To keep everyone safe sarge put on her a muzzle to prevent her from harming anyone, and traveled to Beacon further south of London Throughout their journey the five encountered dead hungries and motion still ones including two that human characteristics survived. A lady/hungry strolling a baby, and a man singing and flipping through pictures. They experienced numerous attacks; they had to spray on E-blocker to hide their odors to not trigger hungries, in addition to deaths of members. Gallagher abandoned the group for his own safety when a group of hungry kids pinpointed where he was, and tricked him into being their meal.
He was found half eaten. Dr. Caldwell, Sarge and Miss ). were assulted by the same group of aggresive hungries. Melanie came to the rescue and shot the leader in the head. Dr. Caldwell cut the head off a boy for samples due to the fact that the attackers were different like Melanie. He and other hungry kids developed a bond similar to Melanie’s with Miss Justineau. With the lab materials in the vehicle Rosie they had found from the early days of the break down she was able to get this breakthrough. Near the end of the journey Miss.
J, Melanie and Sarge met face to face to an enormous endless wall. Melanie didnt fear it, and discovered inside it dead hungries sprouting large grey stems in great heights from the their roting bodies connecting to other stems creating the wall. Melanie then knew she wanted to know the whole story on what she truly is, so she went to Dr. Caldwell. Melanie trapped the Dr. in Rosie, read through her notes and forced her to talk. The Dr. discovered Melanie and her kind were born with Ophiocordyceps and formed a partial immunity.
Melanie evolved the ability to engage a profuse amount of behaviors of a human unlike typical hungries that only had one enhanced sense. When Caldwell saw the lady pushing a baby stroller and the man flipping through pictures and singing she reconized human attributes thrived in some hosts, and attained a sample from a boys head. Her mission was now complete. Melanie felt awful Sarge and Miss. Justineau suffered so much so she asked sarge to burn the wall. The pods full of seeds inside the wall opened airborned the disease contaminating anyone left.
Sarge asked Melanie to shot him, Dr. Caldwell was found motionless in Rosie due to blood poisoning fighting off hungries. Nevertheless Melanie gathered hungries for a class. Miss J. knew her life from now on, she cried. Melanie asked her to greet the hungries and to put the enviorment suit on. Melanie saw the start of a new era. “they’ll be different like me and the rest of the kids in the class” she said (p. 399). Melanie was content with what she’s done and happier she had the woman that gave her meaning by her side. The Girl with all the Gifts was a very fascinating book.
Although there’s numerous other books that use similar world corruption diseases spreading and people suffering, and a love story but this book did have it’s originality. The novel was full of surprise attacks sad and gruesome discoveries, but Melanie was the character that had a bit of a frightening, and typical personality and added that realistic part of the fictional story. The most captivating part of the book was when Melanie had burn with a flare gun the enormous grey wall of ophiocordyceps and made the disease airborne infecting every living soul (p. 98).
Melanie saw the reality and that “there’s no cure for the hungry plague but in the end the Plague becomes its own cure”. I would absaloutley recommend this book. The author did an excellent job on exhibiting a true world of mindless creatures, a silent world, and very well incorporated the moral when there’s horrific moments and nowhere to turn there will always be a positive outcome, and a resolution even to the worst. She also had heartwarming moments and very well added her own touch to a cliche zombie story. It kept me realed in till the end.
