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The Girl with All the Gifts

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The Girl with All the Gifts

By: M. R. Carey
Narrated by: Finty Williams
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About this listen

Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award 2014

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.

Melanie loves school. She loves learning about spelling and sums and the world outside the classroom and the children's cells. She tells her favourite teacher all the things she'll do when she grows up.

Melanie doesn't know why this makes Miss Justineau look sad.

Emotionally charged and gripping from beginning to end, The Girl with all the Gifts is the most powerful and affecting thriller you will listen to this year.

The phenomenal word-of-mouth best seller The Girl with all the Gifts is now a major film on widespread distribution starring Glenn Close, Gemma Arterton and Paddy Considine.

2015, Arthur C Clarke Awards, Short-listed

2015, James Herbert Award for Horror Writing, Short-listed

2015, US Audie Awards, Winner

©2014 M. R. Carey (P)2014 Hachette Audio Adventure Dystopian Horror Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Scary Exciting Funny

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Editor reviews

‘Not every gift is a blessing.’ In M. R. Carey’s thrilling audiobook, Melanie is a special child – The Girl with All the Gifts. She has an unusually high IQ, and yet she does not understand why she is subject to such high security – cared for at gunpoint, locked in a cell, strapped to a wheelchair. She loves school and tells her teacher, Helen Justineau, what she plans to do when she grows up, but Miss Justineau just looks sad. Narrated by the wonderful Finty Williams, The Girl with All the Gifts is available for download from Audible.
All stars
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I loved everything about this book. The story was gripping from start to finish, the characterisation pulled me in from the beginning and Carey rapidly built a world I wanted to know more about. The genre was familiar but this was such a different take that it never felt clichéd, and the very British nature of the story also made it more haunting for me. And the ending - perfect.
I had never heard this narrator before but she captured the voices and the tone perfectly and really added to the novel.
I admit that I was sad that there was no new Felix Castor but if this is an example of what we can expect from Carey in the future then I'm very happy indeed.

An interesting twist on a horror classic.

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There are some books that defy categorisation. This could be described as a genre story, and the genre will be very familiar to some listeners. The joy is the completely unexpected and fresh angle this book takes on every familiar story beat. Its not just that this is a new perspective on a familiar type of story, it pulls off an extraordinary feat in making that story both horribly believable and peopled with totally realised and imagined characters with complex emotions. And the writing is both spare and elegant in its power but lyrical and poetic in its description. Really good. And Finty Williams is a reader I will now seek out just for the pleasure of her performance.

Delivers

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When I began listening to this story I worried that it would turn out to be a fairly bog standard tale of people being chased around by armies of mindless zombies. The opening chapters suggest that might be true but I strongly urge you to stick with this. This is the story of a young girl incarcerated because of the dangers she presents and the possibility that she may provide the answer as to why the world is in the state it is in. The adult characters seem to fall neatly into the 'good guy, bad guy' mode but as things progress you realise their motives are far more complex. This is a world on the cusp of evolutionary change and this presents a vision that is terrifying but also believable.

The narration was great and very well paced. A totally 5 star experience.

Strangely credible

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If you could sum up The Girl with All the Gifts in three words, what would they be?

A good Pandora?

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Girl with All the Gifts?

There so many memorable moments:When her favourite teacher touches her for the first time.When the Girl realises what she is.When the operation is interrupted.

What does Finty Williams bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The voice of the Girl. Her voice when she is thinking or speaking is so clearly the voice of a little girl, which contrasts with the clarity of thought and wisdom she possesses.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Save the world.

Any additional comments?

It is difficult to review the book without spoiling some of it, I recommend you just read it. (Listen to the Audible version)

Just a little girl, or is she?

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In my humble opinion, this is one of, if not, the best stories I have listened too. Superb narration, total immersion in the lives of the characters, and for a pure fiction tale, makes you think... Highly recommend this audio book

Why did it have to end....Soooo good

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Would you listen to The Girl with All the Gifts again? Why?

Absolutely! But probably not for a while as I have only just finished it.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Girl with All the Gifts?

When i understood what was happening and why

Which character – as performed by Finty Williams – was your favourite?

Melanie

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yes, but I don't want to spoil it for new readers by saying what it was

Any additional comments?

There is no way this story can be second-guessed! I have never read anything like it before, and the ending was awesome and in no way could it have been predicted. I loved it and if you need to be totally engrossed in a book like no other, then this is the one for you!!!

Oh WOW!!!

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Fantastic characters. Wonderful plot. Couldn't stop listening until it was done. Beautifully descriptive. Every scene set perfectly. I was drawn in to the story from the first few lines.

Thrilling!

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Would you listen to The Girl with All the Gifts again? Why?

What a story, twist and turns and utterly captivating, 10 out of 10.

Who was your favorite character and why?

you cant pick a favorite character they are all fantastic.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If i could i would have listened from start to finish in one go, but life got in the way.

Any additional comments?

If you only have one credit left use it on this book.

Captivating

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What was one of the most memorable moments of The Girl with All the Gifts?

The satisfying ending.

Which character – as performed by Finty Williams – was your favourite?

I have not, but I hope to in the future!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes absolutely. Definitely very Moreish! You wanted to listen to just one more chapter...

Any additional comments?

This book is not something I would normally read. I am not much into any sort of Sci-fi or zombie fiction however this book caught me. The blurb was well written because it allowed me to consider the general story rather than just the zombie or 'hungry' plot line. I suppose I just wanted to know what was happening to this little girl and if she was as dangerous as everyone seemed to believe. The infection plot line came secondary to that so I was completely drawn in, unaware.

The characters are few but well written and the individual stories are raw and believable. Nothing too drastic. The ending (which I will not spoil) was well thought out and left me satisfied.

“And then like Pandora, opening the great big box of the world and not being afraid, not even caring whether what’s inside is good or bad. Because it’s both. Everything is always both. But you have to open it to find that out.”
― M.R. Carey, The Girl with All the Gifts

A wonderful book and well worth a read... especially if it's not your usual kind of story!

AUDIBLE AUDIO:

The voice acting by Finty Williams fits perfectly with the story. Her performance is wonderful throughout. She has the perfect tone for such an eerie book and really brings the story out. I saw in a previous review or two that she had been described as "monotone". I'm not sure that I agree with that. I think she gave each character a voice, a way of speaking that was distinct from the next.

The Audio itself was a bit lacking. I thought it a bit "Tinny", harsh and sharp to the ear especially on 's' and 'T' sounds. The quality just didn't seem too great no matter what earphones I used!

A Surpising Treat

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Gripping good story, great narration. A lot of book for your money. Scary nights to be had!

Awesomeness

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