- Description from Amazon:
They don't believe it at first. Crowded in Zak's kitchen, Ruby and the rest of the partygoers laugh at Zak's parents' frenzied push to get them all inside as it starts to drizzle. But then the radio comes on with the warning, "It's in the rain! It's fatal, it's contagious, and there's no cure."
Two weeks later, Ruby is alone. Anyone who's been touched by rain or washed their hands with tap water is dead. The only drinkable water is quickly running out. Ruby's only chance for survival is a treacherous hike across the country to find her father-if he's even still alive.
ISBN: 978-1492606543
Release Date: October 7, 2014
And now the review!
This book is a re-release of a novel previously published in the UK as The Rain. It was pretty obvious from the get-go that the book was written in the UK, and I actually enjoyed reading the book with an accent in my mind the whole time. Some of the little phrases Ruby uses were fun to read as an American obsessed with BBC and Masterpiece Classics.
As it's a novel narrated by an only-just-turned-fifteen year-old British girl, the style was actually pretty nerve-grating at first. In fact, for the first 50 pages or so, I could hardly read the book for all the eye-rolling I was forced to perform, and I seriously considered quitting. For instance, there are A LOT of exclamation marks. And A LOT of ALL CAPS. Lots of "totally" and "ugh" and "huh?!" that really pushed me toward putting the book down and walking away. However, I was intrigued by the premise and I knew it would probably be a quick read.
Actually, I read pages 60-the end in a single day. I was determined to finish! And by halfway through, I was enjoying the book. I learned to take Ruby for what she was, a scared girl who was actually doing pretty well at the whole survival thing. She coped amazingly, considering. I probably would have kicked it immediately without showers, electricity, or Pinterest...Ruby is relatable (who WOULDN'T raid the fancy boutiques first?), and I can't say I was never frustrated with her (Ruby, look at the sky BEFORE you go running out into the wild?!) but her actions were probably some of the most realistic and, often, the smartest, I have read in a YA dystopian.
There is no immediate and forced love-interest (serious cool points!). I appreciated her character development as she tried to survive alone, without any romantic tension or kissing scenes to distract us from Ruby's sheer power of will. She eventually takes on travelling companions, including a slew of animals, a teenage boy, and a silent little girl. I loved how they added to Ruby's character strength and helped along her development, rather than distracting from it. Darius and Princess were also three-dimensional--I grew to care about both of them just as much as Ruby.
The plot is constant and quick, and kept me reading all day long. It is an easy book to power through, especially as the prose is witty but easy to read. The constant action and the world-building are perhaps the novel's strongest points. The way the world went crazy, the infected water, and all of the simple ways to die, make for a world that is similar to other dystopia, but holds its own in the flooded YA market.
So, if they can make it through the first 50 pages, and the narrator's style doesn't send them running for the hills right off, I think YA fans will be welcoming this hilarious and realistic dystopia with love and a grain of salt.
Overall rating:
Banyan Tree
(4/5)
As it's a novel narrated by an only-just-turned-fifteen year-old British girl, the style was actually pretty nerve-grating at first. In fact, for the first 50 pages or so, I could hardly read the book for all the eye-rolling I was forced to perform, and I seriously considered quitting. For instance, there are A LOT of exclamation marks. And A LOT of ALL CAPS. Lots of "totally" and "ugh" and "huh?!" that really pushed me toward putting the book down and walking away. However, I was intrigued by the premise and I knew it would probably be a quick read.
Actually, I read pages 60-the end in a single day. I was determined to finish! And by halfway through, I was enjoying the book. I learned to take Ruby for what she was, a scared girl who was actually doing pretty well at the whole survival thing. She coped amazingly, considering. I probably would have kicked it immediately without showers, electricity, or Pinterest...Ruby is relatable (who WOULDN'T raid the fancy boutiques first?), and I can't say I was never frustrated with her (Ruby, look at the sky BEFORE you go running out into the wild?!) but her actions were probably some of the most realistic and, often, the smartest, I have read in a YA dystopian.
There is no immediate and forced love-interest (serious cool points!). I appreciated her character development as she tried to survive alone, without any romantic tension or kissing scenes to distract us from Ruby's sheer power of will. She eventually takes on travelling companions, including a slew of animals, a teenage boy, and a silent little girl. I loved how they added to Ruby's character strength and helped along her development, rather than distracting from it. Darius and Princess were also three-dimensional--I grew to care about both of them just as much as Ruby.
The plot is constant and quick, and kept me reading all day long. It is an easy book to power through, especially as the prose is witty but easy to read. The constant action and the world-building are perhaps the novel's strongest points. The way the world went crazy, the infected water, and all of the simple ways to die, make for a world that is similar to other dystopia, but holds its own in the flooded YA market.
So, if they can make it through the first 50 pages, and the narrator's style doesn't send them running for the hills right off, I think YA fans will be welcoming this hilarious and realistic dystopia with love and a grain of salt.
Overall rating:
Banyan Tree
(4/5)
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