Voice of Youth Advocates

Tory Brennan, fourteen and whip smart, lives with her scientist father on a remote island off the Carolina coast. Tory and her pack of friends, all self-described science nerds, are outsiders at the high-end prep school they attend. For fun, they spend time exploring the islands around their home, including Loggerhead Island, a research facility for the University of Charleston. It is there that the group finds mysterious trouble involving a pack of wild wolf-dogs, some monkeys, a dog tag, men with guns, a skeleton, and most importantly, a virus that infects the teens. The group of friends slowly begins to exhibit wolflike sensory enhancements. Tory mentions her famous aunt, Tempe, several times; Tempe is the main character in Reichs’s adult novels, upon which the TV series Bones is based. There are probably Bones fans out there, but whether they will enjoy Tory’s adventures as much as her aunt’s is debatable. Reichs seems to be striking while the YA boom is hot, and she is aiming at fans of books like the Maximum Ride series, with its “enhanced humans,” but with subplots about Tory’s mother’s death, cotillion dances, crush-worthy rich boys, and mocking mean girls at school, it takes a long time to get to the superpowered action scenes. The characters are stock, and the plot is rife with coincidences, but there is a good mystery to solve, lots of neat technology, and for fans of James Patterson or Anthony Horowitz, this could be a good stopgap until their next books come out.—Geri Diorio.

School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2010)

Gr 6-10 Tory Brennan, 14, lives on an island off the coast of South Carolina. Her newly discovered father works in science research for the University of Charleston, which is why she and her friends with similar pedigrees attend the ritzy prep school in town with the local aristocracy. Tory and her three friends, all boys, are science geeks and love to explore the outer islands where monkeys and other wildlife abound. While exploring a supposedly deserted lab complex, they discover the caged offspring of a wolf and German shepherd that has been diagnosed with parvovirus. Tory's concern leads the group to rescue the pup with the notion of curing and saving it from science experiments. Tory knows that parvo cannot infect humans, but once the treatment begins the four teens start to experience symptoms that make them doubt her initial belief. Along the way, they also stumble upon a murder mystery dating back to the Vietnam War era that quickly becomes linked to the mysterious science experiments that are being kept hidden on the islands. What starts as a science mystery thriller takes a sharp right turn into the realm of science fiction with genetically altered DNA and superhuman senses that may cause more savvy readers to scoff. However, the fast-paced thrills, cool science, and great characters will create a flood of fans waiting for the next installment.— Jake Pettit, Thompson Valley High School, Loveland, CO

ALA Booklist (Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

Tory Brennan, transplanted from New England to South Carolina after her mother's death, is getting used to life with her hitherto-unknown marine-biologist father when life throws her a curve in the form of an odd virus. Along with her friends multiethnic group of science nerds all living, like her, on a remote barrier island ry finds a set of military ID tags linked to a missing-person's case. The subsequent sleuthing exposes the gang to a disease, leaving them with heightened senses that flare when they're in danger. They get plenty of opportunities to exercise their powers of intense sight, smell, and hearing in this suspenseful, if a bit exaggerated, plot-driven novel by the creator of the Bones TV drama. Despite one-dimensional villains, the book flows and is full of snappy dialogue guaranteed to draw in adventure junkies.

Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

Science whiz Tory and three friends contract a mysterious illness after they rescue a wolf puppy from a laboratory. While the teens seek clues about a decades-old murder, the disease begins to have strange effects, namely wolflike strength and instincts. Reichs's first novel for young adults is suspenseful and smart, if busy and occasionally illogical.

Kirkus Reviews

From the opening sentence to the last word, readers will be absorbed in Tory Brennan's world. Tory (the niece of Temperance Brennan, the star of the author's Bones series for adults) has just moved in with the father she never knew she had. It isn't easy adjusting, but Tory's "sci-phile" friends provide plenty of support. They swim, fish, pal around and explore the islands just off the coast of Charleston, S.C. When Tory finds a dog tag that's been buried for decades, it triggers an adventure that leads to hidden experiments, a stolen wolf-dog hybrid puppy and a long-unsolved murder. But Tory can't give up—not even after she and her friends succumb to a mysterious infection that twists their senses and gives them uncontrollable new talents. When the only doctor who might cure them is murdered, they are on their own. Reichs has found a pitch-perfect voice for Tory that will ring true with today's teens, capturing an entirely new audience. Do we really have to wait until summer of 2011 for the next one? (Science fiction/thriller. 12 & up)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Reichs makes a solid YA debut with this spinoff of her Bones series, following 14-year-old Tory Brennan%E2%80%94niece of famed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan%E2%80%94and her friends as they uncover a decades-old murder and a contemporary scientific conspiracy. Along with friends Hi, Shelton, and Ben, Tory%E2%80%94who lives largely unsupervised with her newfound father on an island off the coast of Charleston, S.C.%E2%80%94discovers 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%E2%80%93up. (Nov.)