Fellside by M.R. Carey

I read my first M.R. Carey book, The Girl With All The Gifts, about a year ago while pregnant. The storyline combined with pregnancy meant that I woke up screaming in the night, thinking there was someone standing over me. Needless to say, I loved that book.

Since I was such a fan of that book, naturally I also wanted to try more - this time, I went for Fellside.

I started this book without reading the summary; I just assumed I'd like it and it'd be along the same thread as the previously read book. Fellside is not a continuation, but rather a whole new story. It also has a sci-fi/supernatural theme, but not the zombie-esque theme of Girl With All The Gifts.

Fellside follows Jess Moulson, who might spend the rest of her life in prison at Fellside. She is contacted by a little boy with a message for her. The book takes us along with her as she struggles to survive in the maximum security prison, and listen to the boy's message.

I will most certainly read more by M.R. Carey, but this book wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't like Jess and didn't enjoy the story being told from her perspective. The supernatural didn't seem believable to me and was just weird. (I know, supernatural isn't necessarily believable - this supernatural was just confusing).

Overall, I enjoyed the writing. However, there were way too many instances of foreshadowing - and not even the subtle kind: each chapter seemed to end with "...but that wasn't going to actually be the case!" or something similar.

I know for sure that I never want to go to prison, if that's what prisons are like. But that's kinda a given.

I would not recommend this book outright, but would give it a 3 out of 5.

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