Melanie's life is simple and follows a very set routine. Every morning, the guards come and strap her into the wheelchair. She is wheeled into the classroom with the children who are also all strapped into their respective chairs. There they are taught by different teachers. Melanie's favorite teacher is Ms. Justineau. She tells them stories and one day even brought flowers into the classroom, something the children had never seen outside of books. Melanie's favorite thing is when Ms. Justineau reads them Greek myths. Melanie occasionally thinks about what life might be like outside her school building and what might happen when she grows up but the concepts are so foreign that she doesn't dwell on it long.
Until the day when everything changes.
Junkers use a horde of hungries to break down the walls and invade the compound. Melanie is saved by Ms. Justineau and in turn saves her (just like in her fantasies) but in doing so, she realizes she is different. She had suspected but now, after having a hunger nothing like she has ever known rise up in her as she attacks another person it has been confirmed. She is a hungry but she is not mindless. She can control herself to a great extent but it doesn't change the fact that she is not fully human, nor fully hungry, but something in between. Now as she is traveling with Ms. Justineau, Dr. Caldwell (lead researcher of the facility), Sgt. Parks, and soldier Gallagher back to what has become the remains of civilization in England, Beacon, but the path there will not be easy for so many reasons.
I'm not a huge zombie fan but my oldest son is so as a result I've read a LOT of zombie books. So many of them are the "zombie apocalypse just starting, how do we survive" which is overdone and boring as all crap. As a result, I appreciate new and different takes on the zombie trope. This tale is not a completely new concept in the zombie universe but it was well executed and a compelling read as the characters were well-developed with enough actual backstory to give motivation and depth to them rather than just fitting them into their assigned molds because that was what the story demanded. More interesting was the fact that the story truly centers on the relationship between Melanie and her teacher, Ms. Justineau which leads to a lot more introspection on how human relationships define us. In all, a very enjoyable read.
Page count: 407p/1,657p ytd/293,678p lifetime
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