The Girl with All the Gifts

One Friday, Dr. Caldwell enters the cellblock and chooses two children for a new test. When Parks suggests Melanie, Caldwell declines, saying that she will save their “little genius” for something special. Instead, she chooses Marcia and Liam. Parks’s staff prepares them and wheels them down the corridor toward the heavy steel door that separates the cellblock from the outside world. Melanie waits for them to come back so she can hear about what lies beyond the door, but the day passes and they never return. By the following Monday, Melanie fears she may never see them again.

On the first day of spring, Justineau brings wildflowers and tree branches from outside the cellblock—things the children have never seen before. They marvel at the complexity and beauty of nature. Miss Justineau explains the significance of the vernal equinox as a balance between night and day and between life and death. After placing the flowers and branches around the room, she reads the class poems about nature. Now that she knows the date (March 21), Melanie decides to keep track of the days. The knowledge gives her a feeling of control, something she’s never had.