The Boy on the Bridge

[b:The Girl With All the Gifts 17235026 The Girl With All the Gifts (The Girl With All the Gifts #1) M.R. Carey https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403033579s/17235026.jpg 23753235] was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of book: smart science, interesting existential quandaries. The Boy on the Bridge is the Girl With All the Gifts redux. But unfortunately, literally: the smart but loving female scientist, and the precocious but different kid and they travel with a small crew who are deadset against them, all together exploring a land laid waste by the zombie plague. Unfortunately with all of the clever twists done already in The Girl, there wasn't much new and I felt like The Boy largely dragged. That's not to say there weren't well-drawn characters and emotional beats – there were, but it really hit basically all the same emotional, plot and character notes as The Girl did.

I received a free copy of this book courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I haven't read “Girl With All the Gifts,” and I am only vaguely aware that there is a movie for it. However, I found that “The Boy on the Bridge” can stand alone just fine. It is technically a prequel, but the way that it is written makes it very accessible to readers not familiar with the series. I enjoy Carey's writing style quite a bit being a big fan of Lucifer and Hellblazer and again he doesn't disappoint. This book could easily fall into the realm of mindless horror, but it doesn't. It has heart and I care about the characters. I definitely recommend.

I enjoyed this continuation/prequel/sequel to [b:The Girl with All the Gifts 17235026 The Girl with All the Gifts (The Hungry Plague, #1) M.R. Carey https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403033579s/17235026.jpg 23753235]. It filled in gaps and back story from the original novel and provided closure on the story in general.

It's an interesting one. I like that the author doesn't shy away from taking things too far and for the most part I liked the book. A very befitting ending. But halfway through it I realised why I was struggling - the characters feel like caricatures. It's hard to believe the emotions behind the words they're uttering and the actions they're committing. For a book that explores what it might mean to be human, that's a shame.

I'm so sad to say I was disappointed by this one! That's not to say I didn't like the story and enjoy reading it, but for me, it lacked the magic that made the first one into a book about zombies that I could like. There was a little too much military drama in this one for me. You had the typical alpha male military character who will do anything to protect himself and his group, and he has the ego to go along with his high rank. There was a good deal of the story centered around the politics of what was going on in Beacon, his fight against it...meh.

There were a couple of characters that saved this for me, including a teen who's definitely on the Autism spectrum (Asperger's) and the woman scientist who adopted him. They had an interesting relationship, and being in the teen's head were definitely my favorite parts of the book. Yes, there was still interaction with child hungries who aren't just walking dead, but the book wasn't from their perspective and they were portrayed a little more like savages, unlike Melanie from The Girl.

I also had a hard time following what time period it was in relation to The Girl, as I didn't read about that beforehand and assumed it was a sequel (until I started reading it, of course). It spans that entire book plus some, so I was just a little confused.

All-in-all, yes, the book was enjoyable to read and the action definitely held my attention, but for me, this one lacked what made The Girl so unexpectedly good. I gave it 3 stars.

For my full review, visit http://www.literaryquicksand.com/2017/07/book-review-boy-bridge/