God help anyone who messes with the Virals!
The TV show Bones is one of the most beloved crime dramas that was aired for several years, which followed forensic anthropologist Temperance “Bones” Brennan and her work for the FBI. This series was based on the novels written by Kathy Reichs, who herself is a forensic anthropologist and professor, which naturally made the series of books incredibly authentic.
However, did you know that Reichs wrote a young adult series with her son Brendan following the adventures of Tory Brennan, the great-niece of Temperance? Containing a total of five books, Virals was Brendan’s idea and it is a mix of science fiction and fantasy, with it taking place in Charleston, South Carolina, and surrounding islands.
After her mother was killed by a drunk driver, 14-year-old Victoria, nicknamed Tory, went to live with her father Kit who works at LIRI as a veterinary expert. Kit, who did not know that he became a father at the age of 16 for many years, tries his best to make Tory feel at home and loved. Tory soon learns that his mother is the sister of the famous Temperance Brennan.
She fast makes friends with the other children living on Morris Island, where all employees of LIRI are living. The sarcastic and comedian of her friends is Hiram “Hi” Stolowitski. He loves natural science and is in charge of everything related to technology. Benjamin “Ben” Blue is the oldest of Tory’s friends and described as serious and quiet. He is the one who transports them all to the mainland with his boat he is very proud of to own. Last, but not least, is Shelton Devers, who never leaves his house without his lock-pick set. His talent for cracking codes and puzzles comes in handy for the tasks ahead of them.
If you think this will be just another YA story with friendship and love in the center of it, you are not entirely wrong, but there is a little twist.
Since Tory is new to Morris Island, the boys take her on several trips to show her around. One day they find a rusted dog tag dating back to the Vietnam War era on Loggerhead Island. Over the course of identifying its owner, they stumble upon an unsolved murder. During their investigation, they all get infected by an experimental virus that gives them special powers, which they describe as flaring. When they try to connect with their new powers, they all have super strength, speed, and heightened senses like dogs. Along with their infection, they save a wolfdog which was used for illegal experimentation and name him Cooper.
What follows then is a crime investigation by the Virals, that is how they start to call themselves. Who is the body they have found? Why and by whom was is replaced? And who created the Virus? With the help of their new powers, this should be a piece of cake. Well, that would be too easy, would it not?
For me, I watched Bones and liked it. I tried to read the books as well, but gave up after book two. Personally, I prefer Virals because it combines so many different elements and follows the yellow brick road without losing a bit of story on its way.
Virals is a series which features a strong female lead, one that can be admired. Tory is fearless and curious and follows her instincts. Later, when her father starts dating and gets engaged, her soon-to-be stepmother wants her to bring her out into society so that she could have a better chance in the future to be able to do whatever she wants. This may be a nice gesture, but this is not something Tory sees herself doing. The nice behaved girl in a pretty dress with a never-ending smile on her lips? Please, leave her be! Instead, Tory sees herself more as the Alpha of her pack in which she is the only one who has telepathic abilities that she can even look through the eyes of the others, including Cooper.
The main story of Virals is the virus and what LIRI really is doing in their labs. However, every book has also a little side story…
In Seizure, the second book in the series, Tory and her friends are following clues to find the treasure of the pirate Anne Bonny, which according to the legend is buried somewhere in Charleston. The hope that this treasure would be worth enough to save LIRI, which suffers from a budget cut and soon will close. The closing of LIRI would also mean that they would have to leave Morris Island and they would get separated, which cannot happen.
The story evolves fast and between all the things that are happening around them, they grow up, have to go to school, and have a normal life alongside their secret one.
Their friendship gets tested in book 3, Code. The Virals find a geocache containing a puzzle box which Shelton decodes which leads to “The Gamemaster”. This game soon becomes a battle between life and death when they discover a box where a bomb is hidden and it is up to the Virals to prevent it to explode. Unfortunately, it seems that one of them could have betrayed the others, but why?
They do not have to catch their breath because two of their classmates get kidnapped and they want to help the police as much as they can and how is Chance Claybourne, another classmate, involved in it and what is his secret?
Exposure ends with many answers provided, but many new questions created, and these are then answered in Terminal, the fifth and final book in the series. During that final events, Tory and Ben have to talk about their bond which has nothing to do with the virus and may be scarier to face.
The Reichs duo wrote a unique fantasy crime story which you have not read before. The characters feel real and you can easily relate to. With how Charleston and its islands are described, they will make you wish to be there as well since it truly sounds beautiful and perfect to live.
If you have not had enough of Tory and her friends, you can also pick up the short story collection, Trace Evidence, which included four short stories Shock, Shift, Swipe, and Spike. While the first two are placed between the series, Swipe takes place before the series starts and Spike after the fifth book.
If you ask yourself, if Temperance has a cameo in Virals, yes she does. She is the person Tory contacts when she needs a special kind of help. She also appears in Shift where Tory and her friends are invited by her to attend SDCC.
If you are tired of the typical love triangle YA novels, I highly recommend this series!
I have read the Viral Series several times as well as all the Bones Series I was so disappointed when the series ended, I want more Viral books!