Dystopian thriller. Zombie apocalypse. Sounds familiar? Yes, I suppose it does. It's been done, over and over, and I've usually steered happily and carefully in the other direction. The Girl with All the Gifts, however, is not one of those books. It is a dystopian thriller, and there are hungry flesh-eating, zonked-out crazies, but then, there's also Melanie. 
 Melanie has a unique take on the world in which she lives - her daily life consists of being forcibly strapped to a wheelchair, and manoeuvred between a bare cell and a classroom filled with kids 'like her', where she learns Maths and English, and hears of the stories of the past, including Britain's past: the world as we know it. The country has broken down, fallen into ruin, and Melanie believes that she is one of the lucky few being kept safe inside her 'home'; safe from the 'hungries' outside the base fences. 
 (view spoiler)[What she doesn't know is just how similar she is to the very creatures the fences keep out. She is Test Subject Number One in a desperate last-resorts research program to save the human race, and the world Melanie dreams of beyond those fences are so much farther from her reach than she realises. Despite intentions of those around her, Melanie breaks free, and learns, little by little, who and what she is, eventually surpassing the expectations of all who would have her condemned. (hide spoiler)] Her Pandora-like unleashing of 'gifts' onto the world is, at its least, a brave and carefully-calculated move to prolong life, and at most, poetic justice for the innocent. 
 This fresh, new angle on zombies is wonderfully written. Not only does this book open up a closed door into the other side of zombie fiction, but it explores the concepts of a developing child, and her bond with those around her. The type of restraint Melanie displays in the face of her most basic, animalistic instinct is usually only ever depicted in tales of true love of the romantic kind; here, the nurturing and unconditional bond shared between Melanie and her teacher, Helen, is akin to that of a mother and child, and it is refreshingly original in this sense. 
 Overall, if you want to dip your toes into zombie-infested waters, don't hesitate to try this one: it is thrilling and horrifying, and emotionally heart-wrenching all at once, and best of all, it shouldn't give you too many nightmares.