Review: Virals(Virals #1) by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs

Title: Virals

Author: Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs

Series: Virals Book 1

Publisher: Razorbill

Publication Date: August 23, 2011

Paperback: 454 Pages

BUY VIRALS NOW

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository

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. (copied from Goodreads)

My Review

Virals is the story of a group of four friends who live on a remote island. The story is told from the perspective of Tory Brennan. The author Kathy Reichs is the bestselling author of the Tempe Brennan series, and creator the TV Show Bones, and this novel was created with the help of her son, Brendan Reichs. Tory is a young high school student, just turning 14, because she skipped a grade. She is best friends with Hiram, Ben, and Sheldon, who are the only kids her age that live on the island.

At the beginning of Virals, Tory has just moved to the island to live with her dad, Kit after her mother passes away. Kit is a marine biologist who works on Loggerhead Island, a scientific research lab specializing in animals. All the scientists who work on Loggerhead live on the nearby island, and the university they work for also pays for all the children to go to a prestigious private school in the city across the harbor. While investigating something else, the children save a wolf-dog puppy for experiment of a unique strain of the canine parvovirus. As time goes on, they realized they developed new beyond human abilities.

I did not know what to expect when I picked up Virals by Kathy Reichs and Brendan Reichs, but the book was better than anything I could have thought! To me, it was like Nancy Drew with superpowers. Which for me is beyond awesome, I have been a fan on Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden since I could read. While some of the instances in the book maybe a little farfetched, I still loved this book. I love Tory and how she is stubborn, and does not take no for an answer.

While the book sounds like it should tie into the Temperance Brennan series, it does not actually. While Tory is the great niece of Tempe, she is not mentioned more than a couple of times in passing. I have yet to read any of the Temperance Brennan series, but I love the TV Show. I would have to say this series holds find on fine on its own, and if I did not mention Temperance Brennan at all, it would still be awesome. Anyone who grew up on the amateur sleuth novels like Nancy Drew, or the Hardy Boys, may feel a bit of nostalgia with this book. The second book, Seizure has just come out, and I cannot wait to read that one. Though Virals is classified as Young Adult, it does seem more geared for a bit of a younger audience.

**Unabridged Bookshelf received this book from the local library**