I Believe the Zombie Children Are Our Future

Or, at the very least, they are the future in M.R. Carey’s book, The Girl With All the Gifts.

The book is about Melanie, zombie child extraordinaire. She’s being held, along with several other (albeit less extraordinary) zombie children, at a research facility in England.  At the facility, they attend classes, eat grubs and occasionally get dissected, all in the name of science.  Dr. Caldwell does the dissecting, and Helen Justineau does the teaching.

Below is a song I “wrote” about their adventures (please to be sung to the tune of Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All”):

I believe the zombie children are our are future

Teach them well and they may not eat your brains

Show them all the parasites they possess inside

Disguise your yummy scent to make it easier

 

Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be

Everybody searching for a jugular

Children need someone to look up to

They don’t need anyone to dissect their brains

 

A bloody place to be

So Melanie learned to use her teeth

 

Mel decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadow

If she fails, if she succeeds

At least she’ll reanimate as she believes

No matter what they take from Mel

They can’t take away her strength and speed

Because the greatest hunger of all

Is happening to Melanie

She found the parasite

Inside of her

The greatest craving of all

Is easy to relieve

Learning to eat adults

It is the greatest meal of all

 

I believe the zombie children are our future

Teach them well and they may not eat your brains

Show them all the parasites they possess inside

Disguise your yummy scent to make it easier

Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be

 

Mel decided long ago, never to walk in anyone’s shadow

If she fails, if she succeeds

At least she’ll reanimate as she believes

No matter what they take from Mel

They can’t take away her strength and speed

Because the greatest hunger of all

Is happening to Melanie

She found the parasite

Inside of her

The greatest craving of all

Is easy to relieve

Learning to eat adults

It is the greatest meal of all

 

 And if by chance, that special place

That you’ve been dreaming of

Leads you to zombie kids

Find your strength in teaching

 

Unfortunately, I had more fun writing this song than I did reading the book. The ideas were definitely there, but the writing just didn’t appeal to me at all.  The science was dry as hell, characters like “the junkers” are introduced and then just forgotten and some of the writing is just flat out corny.  I think it’s supposed to be a mix of sci-fi and horror, but for me, it wasn’t scary or suspenseful.  In fact, the only reason I read it so quickly was because I just wanted it to be over. Two stars.