The Storm by Virginia Bergin

The H20 series (or The Rain series if you are from the UK), is no doubt my new favorite YA Dystopian series. I hope they never turn it into a movie and ruin it for me.  The story-line, the character development, the plot, the writing style – oh the writing style! – it’s all a perfect. Now before you go judging this book – no, it is not the typical young girl battles government to find cure and save the world. It’s actually refreshing that it skips the scientific ‘find a cure” nonsense and the whole jibber jabber about ‘how the rain turned deadly’ BS. This story is REAL. Well, as real as a non-fiction, YA dystopian can be.

I can’t get over how amazingly refreshing Bergin’s writing is –  it’s a brilliant mix of a first persona perspective and a diary of events.  It’s so on point that when she realizes the main character, Ruby, would never be able to spell something like a city name she doesn’t even include the name for the reader, instead Ruby simply tells the reader she doesn’t know how to spell it and will save us the trouble. Bergin’s chracter development is actually genius. I’ve never read a book where I both hated and loved the main character at the same time – and consistently throughout the entire book. She was just so.. so… Ruby.

This book ended brilliantly. I am curious if we will have a third book coming as its was left open for a third, but also closed to be a great ending.

“We are the orphaned children of the apocalypse, and we will come home. Also: The British Army has got my cell phone. “

And lets all be real, Ruby WILL be going back for her cell phone!

P.S. Whitby is NOT dead, I refuse to believe it. In my mind one of the UNs found him wounded, took him in, and saved him. He now lives happily on a nice farm with a nice old couple.

Synopsis

DEADLY TO THE LAST DROP.

Ninety-seven percent of the population is dead. And the killer rain keeps falling. Ruby’s not sure she can make it on her own much longer. So when a chance encounter leads her to a camp with the last boy she may ever kiss (it’s not easy to date during an apocalypse), Ruby gratefully accepts the army’s protection.

But safety comes with a price: If Ruby wants to stay, she must keep her eyes-and her mouth-shut.

Except Ruby stumbles across a secret she can’t possibly keep. Horrified, she flips out and fights back-only to make the most shocking discovery of all…

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