Review: H2O by Virginia Bergin

H2O

Author: Virginia Bergin
Series: The Rain #1
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Genre: YA Dystopian
Format: ebook
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Source: egalley received from published via NetGalley
Rating: 3 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***

Synopsis 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 partygoers 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.

My Review:

I first heard about this book at BEA from the awesome woman at the Sourcebooks booth. She was telling us about it and it sounded like something right up my alley, being the dystopian lover that I am. I have been feeling a bit burned out on dystopians lately, but I thought I’d give this one a try.

H2O definitely didn’t feel like your typical dystopian. I think this was really due to the main character and the unique writing style. I really loved the main character and her voice. I loved the way she reacted to the tragedy going on around her. Ruby is the sole survivor in her family. It all happened so quickly and the deadly rain took many lives. Now she’s on the hunt for her father, hoping and praying that he’s still alive.

Ruby felt like such an authentic teenage girl. She has trouble accepting what’s happening. Even though she knows it’s in the rain/water, she doesn’t think about stuff like turning on the tap water, checking the sky before going outside, etc. I loved that she wasn’t really a survivalist. In truth, Ruby usually just got lucky. I think I would be a lot like her in this situation. Especially her shopping sprees. Oh yeah, I’d be all about that.

The writing style was different. Ruby is basically writing down her experiences. She’s not the greatest writer. She uses a lot of exclamation points for one. But the book reads more conversationally that way and I actually really enjoyed it.

My problem with this book was really that we don’t have much information. I understand we don’t have it because Ruby doesn’t have it. But she could’ve continued to listen to the radio maybe to give us just a little bit more info about what was going on with the water, what the government was doing to try to stop it, etc.

I also felt like there was really not much to the plot. It’s literally Ruby trying to get to London to find her dad, but not too much happens along the way. It never felt super urgent or suspenseful like I wanted it to. I guess I just wanted more danger, more craziness and I didn’t get it. I got a lot of stealing cars and sleeping in them. That was about it. Still, I enjoyed the book. Enough to say that I’ll likely continue with the series. Happy reading all!  

Have you read this one? What did you think of Ruby? Did you feel like there wasn't a real plot line? How about the world-building?