Virals

Let me first say that I've yet to watch an episode of Bones, and haven't yet had the opportunity to read the Temperance Brennan series either! So when I found out that this book was based on that series I was a little worried. Would I be lost? Would there be allusions to things that I wouldn't understand? From the moment I opened the book these thoughts plagued me. I'm happy to announce that I shouldn't have worried one bit. Virals only pulls in a very small reference to Kathy Reich's other work, and is its own amazing story. It has an edgy science fiction feel to it, and I'll be honest when I say that it drew me in right away.

We meet Tory Brennan, Temperance's niece. Right away I fell in love with her personality. She's one of the boys! Not that living on an island gives her much of a choice, but Tory doesn't seem to mind one bit. It was refreshing to see a girl who could hold her own in a group of guys. The wit and sarcasm that effortlessly flew out of her mouth had me giggling, and I was intrigued by her love of science. Truthfully, I see a lot to love in Tory and I'm sure other readers will as well.

What I loved most about this story was the focus on the science fiction aspect versus the paranormal aspect. The story revolves around what the kids feel as they gain their abilities and how they learn to use them. At no point is there a reference to what they've become, in terms of supernatural beings. Again, I use the word refreshing. It was nice to read a book that references what the kids could actually do rather than heavily focusing on what they had become.

The mystery deepens as the story progresses, and I was impressed with the layers of intrigue that this book puts forward. It might seem odd to say so, but to me this is what I like to call a “smart” book. It's a story that doesn't assume that young people don't have prior knowledge. This is a book for all those nerdy girls/women out there (like me) who love to feel like a book is challenging us instead of talking down to us.

Virals is definitely the start of something great! I cannot wait to see what happens next, and this book has prompted me to find more of Kathy Reich's work to read. Amazing. Plain and simple.

I absolutely love this book.

Picked this up because it's in the same universe as the Temperance Brennan books.

This is nothing like those books.

This is YA sci-fi mystery.

The audiobook narrator is not great.

This was really good story. I wasn't too sure at the beginning but it grew in intensity after a few chapters.

I loved loved loved this book!!

I couldn't put it down. Tory is an amazing character and I loved the boys too. Tory's fierce determination to find out what was going on and to bring the bad guys to justice.

I just loved this story. It's different to anything that I've read before. It was refreshing. And those twists OMG!!

I just loved this book and can't wait to read the next one.

Eeee...kind of one of those that I'm not quite sure I even want people to know I read it, let alone gave it three stars. When I say the premise out loud, it sounds ridiculous, but trust me, it works here. The characters were interesting, if a little one-dimensional, and I could choke down the theory while still keeping it at arm's length because it's pretty crazy. I've never read Kathy Reichs's other stuff but I think I might like it.

Though the characters are all teens, save for Dr. Karsten the book doesn't necessarily read like your average YA book. Kathy Reichs does not believe that teens are dummies and holds nothing back. Technical and scientifically accurate it is simply a teenage version of Tempe's exploits. And I loved it!