Virals

October 18, 2010
Reichs makes a solid YA debut with this spinoff of her Bones series, following 14-year-old Tory Brennan—niece of famed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan—and her friends as they uncover a decades-old murder and a contemporary scientific conspiracy. Along with friends Hi, Shelton, and Ben, Tory—who lives largely unsupervised with her newfound father on an island off the coast of Charleston, S.C.—discovers a secret laboratory and rescues a dog. When an experimental parvovirus from the canine transfers to the teenagers, they are imbued with superhuman physical and mental powers and become the target of a group of killers. This intertwines with the story of a long-buried body, as well as teen drama surrounding the local debutante scene, into which Tory has been unwillingly thrust. Reichs juggles the large cast and layered story well, although the revelations at the end get a little silly. Still, the action en route is exciting, and the forensic science and research is as vital as in Reichs's adult novels, even in the more science-fictional setting. Ages 12–up.