This follow up novel introduces a whole new set of characters but in the same world. Some of the issues raised about the rise of a new kind of people are explored further and while the first novel ends with a sort of horror about the end of life as we know it, this one ends with hope - the ability of human kind to find "out of the box" solutions wins in the end. ( )

I didn't like it quite as much as Girl with all the Gifts. It didn't quite have the emotional connectiom (except the end). Still it was a good book and I will continue to read Carey's novels. ( )

[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. ( )

4.5 stars for me. This was very good. Details and history that make me want to go back and reread TGWATG's immediately. ( )

Wowsa. Zombie fungus is still hella gross, but what an amazing study of what it means to be human. I was tearing up a little, especially at the end.

I don't recommend reading this without first reading [b: The Girl With All the Gifts|17235026|The Girl with All the Gifts|M.R. Carey|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403033579s/17235026.jpg|23753235], but you could. This book doesn't spoil much of anything that happens in the other one, but reading this and knowing how the first book ends is really quite something. ( )