Book #245 of 2017:
The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey
Among the great strengths of author M.R. Carey’s The Girl with All the Gifts are its unique viewpoint character and the gradual way that it eases readers into some key realizations about her world. But given those strengths, it’s hard not to feel let down by this follow-up prequel The Boy on the Bridge, which is far more conventional and straightforward while echoing many of the overall plot points from the original novel.
Reading these books in chronological order would rob The Girl with All the Gifts of some of its impact (especially given the short epilogue to The Boy on the Bridge that jumps forward in time to after that other book), but reading them in publication order just makes this one seem like a weaker copy. Perhaps a third novel would alter that dynamic, but for now, The Boy on the Bridge feels pretty inessential.
★★★☆☆
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