Sunday 26 July 2015

REVIEW/PROMOTION - THE RAIN BY VIRGINIA BERGIN

Title: The Rain
Series: The Rain
Author: Virginia Bergin
Genre: YA, Post Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Survivalist
Publisher: Macmillan (UK), Sourcebooks (US)
Release Date: 17th July 2014 (UK), 7th October 2014 (US)

BLURB from Goodreads
It's in the rain...and just one drop will kill you.

They don't believe it at first. Crowded in Zach's kitchen, Ruby and the rest of the party goers laugh at Zach'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.


PURCHASE LINKS

INITIAL THOUGHTS
I'd had this book in both paperback and an ecopy but just hadn't had the time to commit to reading it yet. I love a good dystopian/post apocalyptic read and I think I have quite high expectations when approaching a book in this genre. 

MY REVIEW
I was super lucky that I requested and was accepted for an ecopy of this book and then I was sent a paperback too. I also purchased a copy of the book from Amazon.co .uk. I ended up reading the book on my tablet as I am comfier holding my tablet than a paperback and I can also adjust the lighting and font size on my tablet to better fit how my medical conditions are affecting me at the time of reading. So I owe a thank you to both Macmillan, and Sourcebooks for enabling me to read this book.
The cover of the book shows a rather bleak view of a barren landscape with a lonely figure walking up the centre of the road, who upon reading the book I'd say is Ruby. I love the way the word "The" is inserted into the letter "A" in "RAIN". I also think the droplets of rain on the word rain make the word look much more dramatic. The rather foreboding byline of "Just One Drop Will Kill You".  To make the cover seem even more ominous presence of the circling birds in the sky perhaps vultures scavenging for food?
So would this cover make me pick this book up from a book store shelf? I'm really sure I would! With the cover and blurb combined I'd just have to have it in my basket/trolley!
The book begins with a prologue in which Ruby is being rather pessimistic about her relationship with her step father Simon, how they wind each other up and are more or else opposites in the personality and opinions. Then Ruby begins to really think and maybe reminisce about what she would give to have Simon with her in their kitchen as she is writing this down. Ruby then begins by introducing herself, explains why she is writing this and that if we are reading this we are so super lucky to be alive! I'll be totally honest after reading the prologue I was completely hooked and addicted to the book straight away. 
So the plot is, that suddenly on a beautiful summer day Ruby and her friends are all in Zaks barn going in the hot tub, drinking etc. Zaks parents are fairly laid back liberal parents who just leave the teens to get up to whatever mischief they wish, rarely checking up on them at all. So when Zak's normally laid back hippy lax parenting style dad shouts for them all to get out of the tub and barn and into the house like now! He is so insistent and rushed that the majority of the teens end up shivery in their bathing suits in Zaks kitchen listening to the radio.  There's a public announcement explaining the Rain is quite literally toxic! The techie teens among the group Zak and Ronnie immediately disappear upstairs to the computer to see what they can find out about the "killer rain" on the internet. The fashion obsessed girls in the group also make their way upstairs to raid Barney and Sarah's wardrobes for suitable clothing to wear since their own is still scattered across the barn. Those in Zak's house soon realise they are cut off from everyone, no mobile phones (they're in the barn, which is out of bounds because of the rain) no landline, and shock horror no internet! One of the teen's, the rather hot Caspar (Ruby's latest crush, who is also crushed on by many other girls including Saskia) cannot resist stupidly sneaking out of the kitchen to retrieve his precious mp3 player. No one really misses him. It's only when he returns to the kitchen that Ruby and Zaks mum Sarah notice the horror of what the rain has done to Caspar. He is covered in scratches, his fingers full of blood. There's even blood pouring from his face from the red burn like marks the rain has inflicted upon him. Sarah's rather surprising maternal reaction is to scream and rush towards Caspar. It is only when her husband Barney screams not to touch Caspar that he could be contagious that she hesitates, then more determinedly grabs her coat and insists on taking Caspar to the hospital. Without really thinking, and though best friend Lee objecting Ruby follows them into the car. Ruby ends up being dropped off at home. Where her step father Simon immediately quarantines her in case she might have the "germ" as naturally they do not want her passing it to her younger baby brother Henry (or Screetchster, as he cries a lot). Ruby does see the sense in this action eventually even though she hates being alone away from her mum and family. Sadly all the precautions Simon takes with Ruby end up being to no avail when a kind act from Ruby's mother Becki ends up with both herself and her baby son becoming infected!
So I have told you quite a chunk of the "beginning of the end" there and think you need to read the rest for yourself even though I feel like I could go on and on forever about this book. The rest of the book follows Ruby in her quest for survival and her wanting to find her biological father and twelve year old half brother Dan, because they have to be alive. . .don't they? I mean her dad and Dan have to be alive and coming for her. . .she can't be alone, or the only survivor can she? Ruby comes across other survivors who like her are trying to get by however they can. Sadly Ruby loses people who are precious to her and if one good thing comes about because of the "apocalyptic rain" it's Ruby's relationship with Simon takes a huge turn for the better, with them becoming much closer than Ruby could ever think they could be. There's so much crammed into this book it's difficult for me to decide what to tell you. At one point in the book Ruby teams up with school nerd Darius (a boy she would have never even acknowledged in a million years prior to the apocalypse). Darius has "rescued" a nervous young child who is so traumatised she doesn't speak, so Ruby and Darius don't even know her name. Ruby quite comically ends up referring to her as BBK. BBK stands for Bin Bag Kid as that is what Darius has the young girl wrapped in to avoid being touched by the rain. The unusual little group do travel together for a while. There are points in the book where you think Ruby is going to be rescued only for her to be left behind or betrayed. One of the biggest betrayals from the Army! who only seem to help you if you are "of use" to them. 
Ruby really "grows" and matures throughout the book, she has to do as her survival depends on it. Ruby grows more in confidence but never forgets how her parents brought her up to help those weaker than yourself. For example, Ruby takes charge by finding a car and driving some other people deemed "surplus to requirements" and "of no use" by the army. I got emotional at one point when Ruby finally wins over wheelchair bound Sagal's father Abo. Abo generously admits his first impression of Ruby was incorrect and gives her "a smile only a dad can" and informs her via Sagal translating that Ruby's father would be proud of her. Ruby rescues these people then sets off alone once again to head back to her home, hoping with all her heart that her dad and Dan will be waiting for her.
Ruby asks a question of us the reader. 
When should you give up hope? 
A. Now. Immediately. We are all doomed!
B. Give it another couple of weeks.
C. Never!
I'd like to think I'd say C. but after reading some of the situations that Ruby has had to face I think I should be totally honest, my totally truthful answer in the event anything like this ever happened would be B. What option would YOU choose.
I also enjoyed the parts of the book where Ruby imagines her journal account of the apocalypse would be made into a book as well as a film. Ruby ponders what she could call it. . maybe "The Disaster Diary Of Ruby Morris" . . but then decides that's just not right, it's missing something. Ruby decides on "the Rain",as it sounds much more Hollywood. Ruby goes on to imagines the movie trailer with a bloke saying . . "The Raiin, It's drippy, It's deadly. These parts of the book give a lighter feel and we see the funny, witty sometimes ironic side of Ruby.
So did I enjoy the book? Totally adored it! My favourite character's Ruby, Simon, Sagal and Abo. Would I recommend the book? All post apocalyptic lovers must read this one. I already recommended it to my daughter Rachel of Rai29BookReadNReview and Kayleigh from K-Books. Would I want to read the next book in the series? Aha I'd say a definite big YES as I have already begun to read the next book in the series called "The Storm". Would I want to read other titles by this author? I will certainly following this author on Goodreads so I am alerted when she writes more of this series and any other title.

FINAL THOUGHTS
So I've started adding a "Final Thoughts" section to my review to reveal my more immediate thoughts upon the book as I have finished it without referring to my notes that I take as I read. 
First of all I truly adored this book! Ruby Morris is a "normal girl" living within a modern day family made up of Step fathers and step brothers. Ruby lives with her mother Becki, step dad Simon and baby brother Henry aka Screetchster! Her biological dad lives in London and has a son with another woman who is 12 yrs old and called Dan. I was particularly fond of the tender moments between step dad and Ruby. Ruby ends up with the most unlikely travel buddy of the most uncool boy in school, Darius. I felt sorry for Ruby when she is somewhat betrayed by him. 
This book ended up leaving me frustrated by a note Ruby reads. I'm also  asking loads of questions such as How will the world and society ever recover or work now? Will the rain ever become safe again? What will happen to Ruby next?

COVER COMPARISONS

                US Cover                                               UK Cover      

So there's different covers for the US and UK versions of the book.
The US one has a plain but opalescent white background with holes in the cover to represent the "burning", "killer", "toxic" rain. The holes are surrounded by green which makes the holes look like squiggly wiggly germs. I also think the O actually being shped like a water droplet is brilliant! Both books feature the same byline "Just One Drop Will Kill You" So do both books pass my "Would the cover make me pick the book up from a bookstore shelf"? As I've delved deeper about the UK cover within my review above this post. So the question really is would the US cover make me pick it up in a bookstore? Yes! I totally love both covers and they both maybe very different but the really both represent the book very well. I think if aiming at the YA market the US cover represents the book better where as aiming at a more mature older audience the UK cover is the best one.
Final Result: I adore each cover for different reasons so my final result on the "Cover Compare" is I love them both!!


            



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