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A review by lauraa_mariee
The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey
5.0
What can I say about this book that will give it justice?
It had, perhaps, the most perfect ending I have ever read. Some good characters died. Some bad characters died. But the two best characters did not die in vain. If you have also read the previous book "The Girl with all the Gifts" you should be picking this book up solely for the epilogue which is set 20 years late. Yep. Melanie is in it, 30 years old and as precious as always.
But, if we pretend the epilogue didn't exist, it would still be a perfect ending. Spoilers ahead on why:
Carlisle could have gone back to Beacon. He could have taken Rosie back to Beacon. He could have let the Doctor live... but he chose against all of those things, and I believe those choices are the ones which made him a well rounded character. I didn't like him very much in the beginning, but his character arc was one of the best in the novel. It was summed up very well with an obvious "case closed" stamp at the end. He also gives me faith in humanity, which is what I believe both of the books have been about.
Both of the books have made me ask myself "what makes us human?" Are the hungry children still, technically, human? Why wouldn't they be, really? I mean, they have a language. Even if Melanie didn't speak English, the others created a language. They had emotion. The thing is, their bodies and behaviour just became the primitive version of what we are now.
I would recommend this book to anyone. For people who like zombies, for general literature-lovers, and even people who hate anything with just a small drop of blood. This has something for literally everyone, and I'm so glad I picked it up and had the amazing experience of reading it.
It had, perhaps, the most perfect ending I have ever read. Some good characters died. Some bad characters died. But the two best characters did not die in vain. If you have also read the previous book "The Girl with all the Gifts" you should be picking this book up solely for the epilogue which is set 20 years late. Yep. Melanie is in it, 30 years old and as precious as always.
But, if we pretend the epilogue didn't exist, it would still be a perfect ending. Spoilers ahead on why:
Carlisle could have gone back to Beacon. He could have taken Rosie back to Beacon. He could have let the Doctor live... but he chose against all of those things, and I believe those choices are the ones which made him a well rounded character. I didn't like him very much in the beginning, but his character arc was one of the best in the novel. It was summed up very well with an obvious "case closed" stamp at the end. He also gives me faith in humanity, which is what I believe both of the books have been about.
Both of the books have made me ask myself "what makes us human?" Are the hungry children still, technically, human? Why wouldn't they be, really? I mean, they have a language. Even if Melanie didn't speak English, the others created a language. They had emotion. The thing is, their bodies and behaviour just became the primitive version of what we are now.
I would recommend this book to anyone. For people who like zombies, for general literature-lovers, and even people who hate anything with just a small drop of blood. This has something for literally everyone, and I'm so glad I picked it up and had the amazing experience of reading it.