Virals (#1) by Kathy Reichs

Tory Brennan (grand-niece of Temperance Brennan) lives on a secluded island where her father works for a university research center.  She is friends with four boys her age who also live on the island.  After finding some mysterious dog tags on the research island, Tory and her friends get caught in the mystery of a girl's mysterious disappearance 40 years ago and also discover an illegal experiment that transforms Tory and her friends into something more than human.

     Shelton was right.  Things had gotten insane.  For a moment, I wondered if life would ever be normal again.
     No.  We'd been changed at some fundamental level.  There was no going back. p.426 ARC

Having never read anything by Kathy Riechs I wasn't sure how Virals was going to read.  I think that it is fairly evident that an adult writer is trying for a young adult audience.  However, I can't find any fault with that.  A few reviews I read complained that it felt dumbed down, but it didn't to me.  There was a lot of science involved and it was written for someone who doesn't understand science (like me).  I appreciated that.

I really enjoyed the mystery part of the book.  That was my favorite since I am a big mystery fan.  It was a little Nancy Drew mixed with Bones (of course).  Tory is such an awesome, smart character that I loved her.  I liked how all the kids are thrown together by little more than proximity and they become friends even with their distinct personalities and backgrounds.  Each of the "Virals" is well characterized and thought out.

The paranormal aspect is fun, very sciency though it wasn't my favorite part of the book.  But it is cool to have an almost reasonable explanation for the thing that happens to Tory and her friends.  And the abilities they gain come in handy.  I'm curious to see where this series is going to lead.  Hopefully to a lot more mysteries.

Hogwarts: Transfiguration