SBT12: Guest Review: Virals by Kathy Reichs

Southern Book Tour 2012

 

Today, we have Cana from Place of Reads with a guest review of Virals by Kathy Reichs.

Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends they're a pack. They are Virals

Hardcover, 448 pages
Published November 2nd 2010 by Razorbill
ISBN: 1595143424 (ISBN13: 9781595143426)
url: http://viralstheseries.com/
series: Virals #1
(Goodreads)

Review:

Living and working on an island off the coast of South Carolina, Tory Brennan lives with her newly found father. With her group of friends, they explore the island, discovering the wildlife, and just growing up. But when a scientist decides to kidnap one of the wild dogs of the island and infect it with a new rare strain of Parvo, Tory and her friends decide to take action and save this dog. Little did they know that this is just the beginning of an unbelievable adventure that will change their very DNA, and lead them to a mystery of a cold case.

This is the first book I’ve read by Kathy Reichs. I really enjoy the television show “Bones”, and so I decided that I was going to read one of Ms. Reichs’ books. I know I probably should have started with the actual “Bones” series, but instead I started with this enjoyable YA spin off.

I really enjoyed this book for 2 main reasons. First, the play of personalities between Tory and her friends was great! They all have similarities and differences that create a believable group of teenagers trying to figure out what is going with their own bodies (beyond the hormones :/), as well as trying to grow up at the same time. Secondly, I enjoyed this novel for the fact that is located in my home state. Even though I live in the upstate of South Carolina, I am very familiar with the coastline. So that made it easy to relate to a lot of things that were mentioned in the book.  I enjoyed the descriptions of an area, a town, and a people that I am familiar with.

Though the idea of a type of virus that isn’t normally transferable from one species to another (i.e. Parvo), it is a bit hard for me to believe in my non-scientist mind that it could happen, this book made it easily believable as well as understandable. I really enjoyed how these teenagers used the knowledge their parents passed on to them to solve a mystery.

There were a few times that I found the dialogue and flow of the book to be lagging, but those were easily remedied and were quick to pick up.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to reading the second book in this series. Highly recommend.

Cana’s Rating: 5 Stars

What makes this Southern?

Ok, obviously it’s set in South Carolina (what! what!).  Cana is also from South Carolina (what! what!).  Kathy Reichs lives, at least part of the time, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

About the blogger:

I have always loved books.  From a young age, I would read anything that I could get my hands on.  I would sneak the flashlight to read after the "lights out" call from my parents. Minus the giving up sleep to read, my parents encouraged my growing book habit.  I grew up reading Nancy Drew, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hardy Boys, and many other books. 

As an adult, I will still give up sleep to read, and I still keep a flashlight read, for just in case of a power outage.  My library is still growing, not only physically but also with e-books now. 

Currently, I read almost anything, but I prefer paranormal romance, romance, Christian fiction, fantasy, YA, and the occasional historical fiction and mystery. 
(Place of Reads)

About the author:

Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of only fifty forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. A professor of anthropology at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte and Montreal and is a frequent expert witness in criminal trials.
(Goodreads)