Virals

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Tory Brennan is the leader of a band of teenage 'sci-philes' who live on an island off the coast of South Carolina and when the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Good submitted by Memoria1224 on June 19, 2012, 3:56pm This book is good. I really like the part when they found out about canine parvovirus.

Virals submitted by shalinigurl on July 2, 2012, 1:47pm This book is AMAZING!!!!!!!! It's about four teenagers how sneak into a science wanting to see what a dog tag says but wounds up in the middle of a cold blooded murder case! Along the way they become half dog with supernatural powers...nothing like being a werewolf. There are times when a gun is pointed right at them! This is an action packed book for those who love sci-fi a good mystery and 100 percent packed action! Everyone just MUST READ IT!!!!!!

Honestly, I was a little disappointed. submitted by sumnera on September 30, 2014, 3:30pm Honestly, I was a little disappointed. Admittedly, I had very high expectations because Bones is such a well-written show with fantastic characters! But I guess that's what I get for comparing two different mediums. Virals was entertaining and I can tell that Reichs' main characters have a lot of spunk, but they weren't as well developed as I would have liked. Especially for a book that is almost 500 pages. A lot of their conversations are stiff and stilted... they just don't feel real. And the high school scene she creates is so cliché it's almost painful. Even to the level of having her main character, Tory Brennan, get stuck attending debutante events that she finds petty and boring. It was just a bit too predictable to be a viable mystery for me.

Now, that being said, I did like the setting of the tale. It takes place in Charleston, SC. Specifically, on Loggerhead and Morris Island where the main characters' parents live and do scientific research. Loggerhead is an entire island devoted to biology research, including free range monkeys that live on the island and make visiting it challenging at times. I also liked Reichs' idea of a human "wolf pack." The four main characters rescue a wolf-dog pup that is really sick with parvovirus. Normally, this contagion cannot be passed from dogs to humans directly, but this strain was under experimental research on Loggerhead... secret experimental research. The four characters come down with the virus and begin developing wolf-like powers that come on when they are extremely agitated or are very emotional. I liked the powers and the pack mindset. And I thought the virus was a unique way of having the powers manifest.

Admittedly, it took me a little while to figure out who the villain in the story was, but I did eventually figure it out before it was truly revealed. I always feel a little bit accomplished when this happens, but it also makes me sad that the author couldn't fool me. I want my mystery authors to dazzle me! Is that too much to ask for?

My Rating
Overall, I give it a 3 out of 5 hearts.