Quirk Review: Virals (Virals #1) by Kathy Reichs

From Goodreads:

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.

 

PREFACE:

I'm a big fan of mystery books and in the past I've read and enjoyed Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan novels. So when I heard that she had written a YA novel that was a slight offshoot of that series, I had to read it. Now, it has been a while since I've read any of the books that inspired the TV show Bones, but I remember them being good mysteries with lots of forensic focus and some danger to Brennan as she digs deeper and deeper for clues. So did Reichs' first YA novel live up to her previous work?

Hmm...not really.

WRITING:

The writing in Virals wasn't bad, but it also wasn't what I expected to see in YA. While the story was mainly from the first person, there were third person POVs thrown in there and those in particular were stiff and dry. It felt like a hybrid of the mystery genre and YA instead of one fluid YA mystery.

When it came to the dialogue, it was almost like the characters, mainly the adults, were made into caricatures, being cliche about how much they dislike teenagers or sort-of sounding like cartoon adults. There were also a few times where the teens said things that did not sound genuine or realistic. Part of that, I think, had to do with the fact that the main character, Tory, was actually about fourteen. Most of the time, because of her advanced intellect, Tory sounded like a seventeen or eighteen year old, so when she came out with something juvenile (which usually involved boys and mean girls) I had to remind myself that she wasn't actually that old and maybe a fourteen year old girl would speak that way.

SETTING:

The location of the novel was pretty interesting. Most of the story takes place on a series of islands off the coast of South Carolina, with some of the action taking place in the closest coastal town on the mainland. It was neat to hear about what living on a island with a limited number of residents and accommodations was like and how boats and ferries were the most utilized form of transportation. There was a lot of roaming through the island forests and being on beaches, but even when things were happening in the town, at the library or at the school, the settings were not difficult to picture.

CHARACTERS:

While I didn't dislike any of the main characters, I also didn't really connect with them either. They are four teens that live on an island and go to private school, are unusually intelligent and close-knit to each other, their families, and their home. Tory was the most distinctive because she was the only girl and the POV character, but Ben was also easy to picture because he was the strong, silent type and the most serious of the bunch. It seemed that Reichs was hinting at some possible future romance between those two, and I liked that. The other two, Hiram and Shelton, were good too, except I sometimes got them mixed up because they shared the most similarities.

My only qualm with the main characters was that they seemed incredibly whiny and juvenile on occasion, which is where I think my disconnection came from, but I believe they are supposed to be on the younger side of the teenage spectrum (all high school freshmen, I think) so mostly I overlooked it. I think they all have the potential to grow as characters, so that would be something to hope for in the rest of the series.

The antagonist adult characters were where I really felt the biggest disappointment. I've already mentioned the writing regarding these characters, but everything about them felt overdone and oversimplified. Granted, there was one that was a bit of a surprise at one point, but up until that scene I disliked anything having to do with him. I also disliked the scenes having to do with the other antagonistic characters. Despite the gravity of the situations they put the main characters in, the villains weren't believable because of the over-the-top evilness that seemed to litter their scenes.

DOWNSIDE:

Aside from my problems with the writing and the characters, the other major downfall of this novel was how long it took to get into the mystery of it. There was a lot that had to be shown to get an understanding of who everyone was and where they were and how they lived. I remember from most of my mystery novel readings that sometimes there is a bit of this in the first novel of a series, but often the reader gets to know the main character through their reaction to the mystery and the danger that follows. I wish that had been the case here.

I also thought the added sci-fi/paranormal element that was thrown in there was interesting, but ultimately it didn't entice me as much as the actual mystery. While I normally like paranormal elements in novels, I went into this one looking for the mystery I'd become accustomed to with Reichs other novels. I would have preferred this part taking a back seat with the mystery in the foreground instead of the reverse.

COOL STUFF:

Despite the issues, I did enjoy the promised mystery once it finally came around. There were points where things seemed to come together a little too easily, but at the same time it wasn't so simple as to be unbelievable. I liked the twists Reichs threw in there, and there were several, because those kept the mystery fresh and kept me on my toes wondering where things were headed. The stuff at the end especially was

I also liked the action that happened throughout the story. Action is always a nice addition to a mystery to ratchet up the danger and stakes and there was plenty of it in this novel.

VERDICT:

I would recommend Virals to YA readers who are not accustomed to reading mainstream mysteries. This novel would be a good introduction to that type with the addition of all of the classic YA elements expected without being too foreign to the base audience. But long time fans of the mystery genre might want to take a pass. I think there is potential for this series to improve and the characters to grow, but I was definitely expecting more from a veteran author like Reichs.