Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Teen for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: October 18th, 2016
353 Pages
Synopsis: In one terrifying night, the peaceful community of Creek’s Cause turns into a war zone. No one under the age of eighteen is safe. Chance Rain and his older brother brother, Patrick, have already fended off multiple attacks from infected adults adults by the time they arrive at the school where other young survivors are hiding.
Most of the kids they know have been dragged away by once-trusted adults who are now ferocious, inhuman beings. The parasite that transformed them takes hold after people turn eighteen–and Patrick’s birthday is only a few days away.
Determined to save Patrick’s life and the lives of the remaining kids, the brothers embark on a mission to uncover the truth about the parasites–and what they find is horrifying. Battling an enemy not of this earth, Chance and Patrick become humanity’s only hope for salvation.
Before I begin my review, a word of caution: The Rains is not for the faint of heart. Some of the scenes are so graphic that they actually made even me a tad queasy, and I have a pretty strong stomach for blood and gore. But it also fits in within the theme of the story, so for me, it wasn’t generally a problem. For anyone who doesn’t recognize the author’s name, Gregg Hurwitz is a bestselling and prolific author of adult fiction written for the suspense/thriller genres. He’s one of my favorites, so I’ve been chafing at the bit since I heard he was going to try his hand with YAs, and The Rains does not disappoint. It’s a completely unique take on the popular zombie apocalypse trope, where the action takes off from the very first page and never lets up. This also is not your typical zombie story and that’s because of the very real and touching relationship between Chance and Patrick. I honestly just loved these two, but especially Chance. The chapters are laid out as “Entries” in a journal he’s keeping, so you get more of a personal look into his mind than anyone else’s. 15 year-old Chance and 17 year-old Patrick have already had to deal with the tragic loss of their parents before alien spores infect all the adults in their small town. They’re extremely close and Chance idolizes his good looking, popular big brother, but he also feels the pressure of walking in his shadow. While it would be completely understandable if he held some resentment toward his brother, especially as he also has a crush on Patrick’s girlfriend, Alex, he doesn’t. Instead, he turns inward, and is constantly trying to live up to his brother’s example. Patrick actually annoyed me a little in the beginning because he’s a little too perfect, but Gregg Hurwitz does such a great job at fleshing out his personality that my annoyance didn’t last long. The secondary characters, particularly the kids are equally well developed and I even felt a certain amount of sympathy for the local juvenile bully. The only disappointment I had was with the relationship between Patrick, Alex, and Chance. While there’s not much room for romance in this first book, there’s definitely some hints to a love triangle developing in the next book, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Hurwitz rethinks this. The pacing in this is absolutely insane! I started reading this about 7:00 last night and by about 10:00 pm, I kept thinking at the beginning of each chapter that it would be the last one and then I’d go to bed, but I just couldn’t stop reading. So, I was up until the wee hours of the morning because I just had to see the story through to its finish. The ending is a perfect cliffhanger in that it leaves me excited for the second book without being frustrated. I highly recommend this for older teens and adults who love science fiction and horror. If you’ve never read anything by Hurwitz, The Rains is a great book to start with. If you’re already a fan of his, this book will further cement your love of his writing.
Good of you to give a word of caution Kim. I try to do that in my reviews, especially if something is very brutal.
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Yep. Don’t want anyone traumatized!
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Best issuing a warning before someone reads it I say.
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I took one look at the cover and had to think of The Walking Dead right away! But really graphic scenes while it’s still a YA book? Seems like the lines are shifting more and more when it comes to genres. Great review, Kim! 🙂
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Thanks Anne! The cover perfectly illustrates what’s happening in the story. As far as the violence, blood, and gore, I think this is written for older teens in mind. I’d say at least 14 and up.💁🏻
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Teenagers nowadays *shakes head*. Or well, I was having horror movie marathons when I was 16 as well ;).
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I can’t say anything since I was only 13 when I snuck int my first R rated movie, Halloween.😏
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That’s even more shameful! XD
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Actually, upon further reflection I was 12! It was so worth the nightmares and the weeks grounding I got though!
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Gasp! (I can only imagine 😉 )
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I was such a rebel in my youth!😏
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Thanks for mentioning that this book is not for the weak heart 🙂 I can’t handle strong violence or abuse or extreme gore. I don’t watch Walking Dead for that reason.. hehe.. Great Review!
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Thanks Jasmine!
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It’s a good sign when a book keeps you turning pages like that!
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Absolutely! I can completely see this being adapted for film!
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You’ve sold me! Thanks for the warning, too. It is interesting that YA has gotten more graphic, but teenagers are probably so used to this by now with the internet and whatnot. I was shocked at how visceral and raw The Hunger Games were, so I guess I”m an old fuddy-duddy lol.
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I remember having such a tough time reading The Hunger Games trilogy for the first time. The very idea of adults forcing children to fight each other to the death sickened me. But I wound up being sucked in by Suzanne Collins brilliant writing. I think teens are more used to the blood and gore from video games, and as you said, the internet. In The Rains, these effects aren’t just used for shock value though. The more gory scenes are pretty much what you’d expect in an alien invasion/zombie apocalypse novel.
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Video games definitely became much gorier after Mortal Kombat essentially broke that barrier in the 90s! Teens nowadays were born in this era of MA rated games whereas I grew up in the bygone days when Nintendo had draconian censorship akin to Disney. You couldn’t even find a “hell” or a “damn” anywhere. I remember the first game I played (which happens to be my favorite of all time lol) with cursing was FFVII and I was floored to see legitimate swear words even beyond what I just mentioned. The difference between Nintendo and Sony was quite profound.
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This sounds amazing, although I am REALLY not a fan of zombies. I can take violence, but I do get grossed out by rotting flesh and eating brains. 😀 That said, I can’t wait to read this one.
I agree, when I first read the Hunger Games the thought of adults using children as a means of control sickened me, but I guess I’ve become used to it in YA now.
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Well, the good news is, that these aren’t your typical zombies, so there’s no rotting flesh or eating brains. That said, there are still plenty of “eww” scenes!
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I go in with fair warning. 🙂
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😊 I know you’re going to love Chance!😊
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I like the comics he has written, might have to actually try some of his books. This one sounds pretty good.
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I didn’t know he wrote comics. I’ll have to check those out.😊
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