I have read and re-read all of the Bones novels so I was very excited to check out Kathy Reichs new series. I loved the concept, I loved the characters and I really enjoyed the story. I have just started the second book in this series and I'm just as captivated as I was with the first. Wonderful engaging story with twists, turns, ups, downs and through it all another strong female heroin with brains. Couldn't ask for more!!!!

3.5 stars Tory is 14-years old and lives with her father on a small island. She and her buddies, who also live on the island, manage to “kidnap” a puppy being used for an experiment. At the same time, they come across a decades-old murder-mystery that was never solved. Tory, being a smart, budding forensic anthropologist, feels she can solve this murder. But, she and her friends are getting weirdly sick, at the same time. This was good. I liked it, and I love that they rescued that puppy! It is YA, so you get some of the adults-being-clueless and the kids-being-able-to-solve-the-crime going on, but it was still entertaining. This is the first book I've read by Reichs, and I am interested enough to read more. Virals is the first in a series (or trilogy, maybe?), and I will continue the series. I would also like to try her adult books, as well.

This was a bit of a let down to me, I wasn't a blogger when the hype for this book was around, I honestly never heard about it until I saw it in the book store. I thought the concept was intriguing: Tory and her friends had been infected by canine parvovirus, and are kind of a cross between wolves and humans. I REALLY wanted to like this one, so let me start with the good things. I really loved the character development in here. Each one of Tory's friends had a special character that defined them as sarcastic or maybe the one who's easily scared. Also, Tory and her friends were all nerdy and scientific, which I though was cool because a lot of times in books, you just get paranormal knowledge, not actual scientific logic. On the contrary, some characters were major stereotypes, which I'm not exactly a fan of. At her school, Bolton Academy, "everyone hated them and every girl there was a b*tch" to Tory and Co. because they were from an island and only got into the school because their parents worked at a certain place. One more thing that I liked was that the romance just kind of flowed with the story, and was actually quite important. No, it's not that mushy, gushy I love you fivever stuff, just small flirting and things like that. Okay, so on with what I dreaded. The plot. Oh lord, the plot. Certainly not the best one. How shall I elaborate this? It's like jogging on a sidewalk and though there are cracks, you trip but don't fall. And then out of nowhere materializes a light post that you run face first into but it doesn't even hurt. I mean, that's how it felt to me. (YES I KNOW, I really have to work on these analogies) Nothing really happened, it felt like a really flat plot to me and even though there were moments of excitement, they hardly lasted until the end where things just SUDDENLY builds up and hit me in the face. And even THEN, even when I hadn't seen it coming at all, it wasn't a WTF moment, I just accepted what happened, but usually I stop and read it over again, thinking I'd read it wrong. It just wasn't that great! I liked the concept of Virals, but it isn't a book I'd like to read over and over, or a book that would make me want to read the sequel either. I was hoping to put this on my shelf of "books I really liked", guess not.

Since the start of grade 11, I haven't been able to read any books of my choice. This book just begged to be read when I got it from the library. The plot sounded intense and it was by a well-known author. I loved all of the characters within the book. It was very relatable as I, myself, was a fan of science and mystery. None of the crap werewolf lovey-dovey story emerged within the story and I am truly grateful for it. This book was heart pounding, action packed and provided me a fix for my love of the Maximum Ride series. Sci-fi and mystery lovers will no doubt pounce on this book. A weekend well spent!

Kathy Reichs is the best selling author of the Temperance Brennan series, which turned into one of my favourite shows on TV right now “Bones”. So I have to admit that I had to sites set high. I mean this a best selling author who has written fifteen books in the best selling series. But from what I hear this was the first teen series that she has written and I will admit there is still some room for improvement but overall I was pretty impressed. This was a pretty cool book. It was something different. Instead of being introduced to so supernatural being we actually get the next batch of super heroes; the next batch of science experiments gone wrong and ending up being good. And better yet I liked that it was something that happened to four people and each one more different than the next but somehow they all manage to get along. I love this group of kids. I love the determination, their sarcasm, and how each one of their smarts when grouped together becomes a super genius. Good: Tory: She’s not a girly girl, but not entirely one of the boys either. She’s nerdy, quiet and cool. Ben: Strong silent type. I think there should be more Ben Hi: Hilarious starts with Hi. And generally ends with him because he is funny. Shelton: he adds to the mix and somehow makes everyone crazy by egging people and situations on. Coop: the greatest Wolfdog in the world. Bad: I found that some of this book was a little long. Perhaps it was that there were two mysteries going on at the same time or just that it took a long time to finally get down to business. On top of that it was only half way through the book that they became “Virals” so it’s needless to say everything did move a little bit slowly. Overall (Writing style, story line, and general): Overall I found the writing style to be a little bit different. There were some times that I had to re-read something just to make sure I was getting it correctly and mainly it was when some of the humour was being brought across or when she was using the language to get across some of the characteristics of each character. So sometimes the meaning got lost in the translation but generally you can find your way back somewhere in the middle. View more of my review and others at my blog: www.mynotsovacantshelf.blogspot.com

I had a very hard time putting this book down. In just two weeks i finished this book because of the hold it had on me. What was Tory gonna do next? What was Ben ever gonna pulverize Jason? So many questions answered by a surprising ending that brought a slight chill down my spine.

I like Kathy Reichs so I picked this one up (to me if a book is well written, it doesn't matter the age group that it is written for) After reading the dust jacke, I was a little hesitant to read it as it sounded like a close copy of the Wen Spencer's Ukiah Oregon series, (Start with Alien Taste) about a young man who has enhanced senses. And in some ways Virals is similar, utilizing a virus with a wolf component, that gives people senses like those of a wolf. But there the similaries end. These are teenager living on the east coast not Pittsburg, and the plot plays out completely differently. I like the ending, quite the plot twist

Book1 of the new series featuring Tory Brennan This novel is written with young adults in mind, the story is told by Tory Brennan the 14 year old niece of anthropologist Temperance Brennan, the well-known protagonist in Kathy Reichs’ adult series “Bones”. The story is not complicated and does not bog done with tech talk although some is used to stimulate young minds in the science of forensic. Ms. Reichs has added a touch of science fiction, supernatural elements and humour into her mystery to appeal to a younger segment of readers. The story starts with Tory moving in with her father on Morris Island, S.C. after her mother’s death. She has trouble adapting to her new surroundings in an elite private school but fortunately, it is her love for science that creates a bond with three boys who are science geeks much like herself. One day, Tory finds an Arm Forces identification tag (dog tag) that is old and almost impossible to read and becomes obsessed with finding its owner. Tori and her three new friends (aka the Pack) break into the university lab to clean the tag. The Pack’s curiosity is heightened when the name on the tag reveals a link to a decade old missing person, a suspected murder that someone has been working hard to cover –up for years. Tory and her friends use their smarts and new found ability to uncover the truth…… As a side plot, while in the university lab, the “Pack” also looks for clues to the whereabouts of a missing wolf/dog and stumble upon a restricted part of the lab, where questionable experiments are being conducted. To their surprise they find the dog in a quarantine section and unknowingly to them become infected by a strain of canine parvovirus which slowly invades their bodies and modifies their DNA, changing their lives forever….. This novel is quite engaging even for adults. It was hard at first to adjust to the choppy narrative, but once into it, the tale proceeded beautifully into a captivating mystery with a different twist. Tory, is a smart cookie, kind of a modern day Nancy Drew, a smart and loveable protagonist. The boys behave like boys and adults are perceived as un-hip and coming from another planet. This novel has a cliff-hanger ending and I can honestly say I even enjoyed it more than some of the tedious “Bones” novels. I think this novel will appeal to the Young and the Young at heart.

-- Tory Brennan had always been adventurous – it runs in her blood. But sometimes, it isn’t such a good thing. After the things start to go wrong on Loggerhead Island, and she finds a mysterious dog tag deep within the island forests, Tory can’t help but investigate. Caught up in a serious cold case – complete with tails and guns and very large hitmen – the gang has no way of getting out. But that isn’t the only odd thing happening, after rescuing a wolfdog pup infected with a weird disease, Tory and her friends experience weird flares of extremely enhanced senses. Now, together… they are VIRAL. -- The first thing that I really liked about this book was the foreshadowing affect at the beginning. It really worked out for me with the style of writing. Sometimes it gets annoying with other books, but it blended in well with everything that was happening in Virals. I think that they could have worked a bit more on the main character’s personality and background. At the beginning it touches base on how her mother died and that’s why she was living with Kit, and it seemed like they were going to keep going with that thread, and maybe tell the background story later. But then nothing came up. I mean, I could tell that Tory was a curious person who couldn’t let a mystery remain unsolved, but I felt there should have been just a little more to her character. I don’t feel like there is anything that really stood out about this book. I liked it, and I enjoyed reading it and the plotline was good. But when I closed it I thought, ‘Okay, time for the next book.’ Something I did like though was how much room the author left for a sequel. I know that something else must be coming up, and maybe in the next book Reichs will tell us a little more about Tory and what happened in the past. So. A good 3 out of 5 will do it for moi. Have a great week everybody. Here is a website, as per usual. I sort of like having a routine on here. Easier to follow what’s going on. http://www.kathyreichs.com/ And here is a link of you want to look at just the Virals series. http://viralstheseries.com/ It has a cool opening with a lighthouse and this interactive thing. FUN FUN FUN. Later Cheese Graters, MRR

I am an avid Kathy Reichs fan and I bought this to read on my new Kobo, not realizing that it was geared toward teens! I liked it though, a bit farfetched, but all in all entertaining. I hope she continues to write for this age group.