** spoiler alert ** 
 I was duped. 
 I thought The Girl With All the Gifts was about a girl who had "all the gifts" and was somehow a modern Lilith (say, like, Lilith in Supernatural as the little girl) and would bring about the apocalypse if she didn't learn to control her gifts. 
 I was duped. Hard. 
 And I'm glad I was. I'm glad the premise on the back of the book gave absolutely nothing away, only that we were going to meet a young girl by the name of Melanie, a genius and a very special girl. I'm glad that every detail about the book kept what's inside hidden away for the reader to discover alone - Pandora's box, if you will. And I don't really care that I was duped. Because The Girl With All the Gifts was a breakout so far for 2014, and I surely will be recommending M. R. Carey's sensational and engrossingly written novel for anyone that dares to question it's worth in the speculative scene. 
 Opening Pandora's box and unleashing what's inside is the major theme of M. R. Carey's The Girl With All the Gifts, something we should do throughout our lives, unafraid of change or disturbances. Or it could even just mean being open to things in life that contradict your beliefs. This theme existed throughout the story arcs of each of the characters of The Girl With All the Gifts, from young 10-year old Melanie, to the teacher Miss Helen Justineau, Sergeant Parks, Dr Caldwell, and Private Kieran Gallagher. 
 Carey's credit as a comic and film writer surely does make The Girl With All the Gifts a force to be reckoned with - The Girl With All the Gifts is a thrilling page-turner comprising of fully-realised characters, each with their own aspirations, fears, and pasts. This book is one word: Alive. 
 Additionally, Carey's zombies, his "hungries," are much different than what is currently on the shelves for zombie enthusiasts. The hungries and the actual biological science behind their manifestations are highly original and intriguing. The hungries are increasingly fascinating as we discover more about the parasite/protozoan that plague the bodies as Dr Caldwell does, as she conducts her experiments, stubbornly and without any outward thought for ethics. 
 Melanie and the other children in her "school," kept restrained and locked in cells, are infected with the fungus and exhibit behaviours of the fully-formed hungries, yet what makes these children different is that the brain has not been conquered by the fungus. This allows Melanie and the children to be able to emote and think like any ordinary human being, with a conscience. Although Melanie desires human flesh, she controls the hunger. Melanie's ability to experience feelings and emotions allows a bond to form between her and her teacher Miss Justineau. Then the research establishment that the "school" is located within - where Melanie is locked away; where Miss Justineau teaches; where Dr Caldwell conducts her research; where Sergeant Parks orders - is attacked and razed, and this band of individuals, along with Private Gallagher, a group consisting of individuals as incompatible as dogs and cats, must learn to trust and rely on each other if they are to survive and reach Beacon alive, which is perhaps the only remaining town still intact in England. 
 The relationship between Melanie and Miss Justineau is the heart of this novel - it is beautiful and full of hope and compromise. The narrative is thought-provoking and fast-paced, a lethal combination for any reader after a solid and eventful story. The Girl With All the Gifts is a fantastic addition to the zombie genre and I look forward to reading more from M. R. Carey, particularly his Felix Castor series and the various comics including Lucifer and The Unwritten.