Before I even opened the book to the first page I thought I had this story all figured out. I mean, it was a book about a girl with "all the gifts", which could only mean a few things like being psychic, telekinetic or something, right? WRONG. Totally and utterly wrong! And the books blurb..."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" had me travelling down a different path - was this kid going to grow up into some sort of murderous psychopath and didn't understand the concept of valuing a human life????

I was under one huge misconception, which was my fault completely but that's what made this book so great. I didn't know what I was in for. I thought I did but I really didn't and was pleasantly surprised when I started reading it and all that jumped out at me was questions. Who is Melanie? Why is she strapped to a chair day after day when she seems to pose no problem to anyone. How could a kid love school so much and yet be considered a threat? What is going on?

So many questions surrounded by mystery. I loved it! Couldn't get enough of it and could barely stop myself from turning page after page to get to the end of the book. Had it not been for having children to look after and a household I probably wouldn't have stopped - that's how captivating the story was.

There are so many more points of this story that make it so great:

Fast-paced all the words and chapters just flow into each other. You cant just put the book down at any chapter or page. You have to find one where you can take a break just like the characters do and that (sometimes) is very hard to do.

Mystery from the beginning. Its the start of the story that has you hooked. Sometimes (with other books) you have to go a chapter or two in before the mystery surfaces. But this one has you jumping into the deep end and even though you figure out one mystery theres another one and then another one after that. It just keeps piling on which makes you want to read and read!

The characters are developed slowly. This might sound like a bad thing, but its not. Its the best thing for this book because you get to know the characters as they change and grow with the story. You get to know them as each character gets to know one another. You see Melanie grow from a meek and curious sort of child into a more mature young adult (despite her age) as she learns who and what she is and comes to accept it. She showed true strength of character when she didnt curl up into a ball and let it destroy her. So you might love/hate some at the beginning and then in the end you might love/hate or at least understand them at the end. Your opinion of them changes, or maybe grows stronger. Either way it made for a fantastic read.

It was a completely different take on the Zombie Apocalypse, it has almost been as done to death as the vampire stories (I mean theres only so far you can go with them nowadays) but this story managed to be spun to the authors advantage.

And last (but not least) you get individual insights into each character through their chaptered P.O.Vs.

My favourite character of this book was Sergeant Parks. You may agree with me or you may disagree. But the reason why I liked him so much was because he seemed more human than the rest of them and no its not because of the fact of what Melanie actually is that I didnt find that in her and it wasnt because I couldnt understand the others point of views in the book either. It was more because he caused such an emotional reaction in me. I hated him in the beginning. I didnt care who or what those children were, they didnt deserve to be treated the way he treated them. But as the book went on I slowly came to understand him a bit more. He showed a vulnerable side to himself his confusion, his regrets, his compassion. In the end I liked him because of the way he was with Melanie, having accepted her for who/what she was. So the emotional connection and understanding with him and me as a reader grew so much more than they did with the other characters.

But to sum it all up if you like a story with mystery after mystery, faced paced and emotionally driven then I suggest you pick it up and give it a whirl. It doesnt matter if youre one of the zombie fanatics or not because this story could be applied in any kind of war/crime situation and the zombie side can almost be forgotten about.