Book Title: The Storm ( The Rain 2)Author: Virginia Bergin |Website| Twitter| Facebook|
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Genre: Young Adult Dystopia
Series/Standalone: Series Book 2
Format: ebook, Paperback
Genre: Young Adult Dystopia
Series/Standalone: Series Book 2
Format: ebook, Paperback
Cost: $16.99
Pages: 336
How I got it: BEA 2015
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Publisher
Publication Date: October 2015
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Synopsis:
This is a wonderful conclusion to this series, I loved it. Once again we are back in the world of Ruby and it has expanded a bit, Ruby has set out on a journey and as the only survivor in her town she's not taking being alone really well. After the events of book 1 (see review here), Ruby is back home and trying to come to terms with the changes in her life. The world has changed, things that were once oh so important aren't now and she's gotta focus on her survival. Ruby is struggling with a burden she has never had to deal with before; before the rains came she had none of the responsibility she has now and she's not sure how to handle it all.
I loved the realism of her breakdown from spoiled teenager to survivor. It was both heart wrenching and gratifying to see her work on the things that mattered, while trying to stay sane. We wonder all the time how long will the veneer of civility last and as we read Ruby's accounting we begin to understand that it might not last long at all.
This story goes beyond Ruby though and we begin to see what is happening to other survivors, see how others are coping. And man does the action keep coming, the scary moments keep piling up and you know that something is going to break.
My sister and I talked about the fact that in the Hunger Games how clear the PTSD was (not so much the movies but definitely in the books) I was glad to see some acknowledgement that these events change the ones who live and eventually sheer brutality will allow only the strong to survive. Even though Ruby is facing some scary times, she still tries to embrace being a teen, she tries to learn all she can that will help her survive and in the end she accidentally discovers something about herself and about a few others. I really felt for Ruby in the beginning when we realized how far down the rabbit hole she had traveled, seeing from someone else's eyes how bad it's gotten is what wakes many people up and that's totally what makes Ruby realize something has to change.
We see how the world is doing and dealing and how the governments and the military is reacting to the cataclysmic events (not well as you can imagine). As the story progresses and Ruby gets one of her greatest wishes and we are given a chance to see how those left behind are doing, we run back into the court of crazy kids from her journey into London last time and meet some new big bad. I loved that the story didn't really let up, that there was so much going on, but we only got to see what Ruby could see. And because Ruby isn't the smartest person in the room, we weren't' getting the full scope because as a teen, even now, Ruby tunes out on authority figures quite a bit.
As we watch the story unfold you can't help but shake your head at the share audacity of some and realize that sadly this is probably going to be the reaction of many. I enjoyed seeing all the characters from before, watching Ruby try not to forget that she was higher on the social hierarchy in school so she shouldn't' even be talking to the Spratt, but he totally still has her phone and she wants it back!! I loved seeing the new characters, and their interactions with Ruby.
And this book still pulled no punches Ruby gains and losses so much in this novel. She has some serious moments where I wanted to shake and scream at her, and man in the end when it all starts to go down I just wanted to hold her and rock with her. I felt Ruby's reactions were so genuine and I felt her heartbreak when she began to accept and understand some of the things her mother used to say, things that as a kid she never took seriously. Loss was her friend from the beginning as it was for so many and yet Ruby still fought on. I wanted to punch all the villains while at the same time as an adult looking at the circumstances I totally understand their need for answers, but certainly not the greed.
I loved this book and was happy with the conclusion because seriously that ending was too funny and sweet. It would be nice for a little novella telling us how humanity is doing, but I liked the way it was ended just fine.
I loved the quirkiness of the writing, the author's attempt at not using curse words but letting us know that in reality curse words would be flying right about now, was so much fun, I enjoyed trying to figure out which curse would go with the situation at hand. Ruby's voice was so much fun, and so right and so awesome. I really enjoyed seeing it all from her point of view, I might have made some better choices but as she says, she's just a 15 year old girl and she's doing the best she can.
Publication Date: October 2015
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Synopsis:
"I'll tell you a weird thing about apocalypses - a thing I didn't even know until I was in one: they seem pretty bad, don't they? Well, take it from me: they can always get worse." Three months after the killer rain first fell, Ruby is beginning to realise her father might be dead . . . and that she cannot survive alone. When a chance encounter lands her back in the army camp, Ruby thinks she is safe - at a price. Being forced to live with Darius Spratt is bad enough, but if Ruby wants to stay she must keep her eyes - and her mouth - shut. It's not going to happen. When she realizes what is going on - the army is trying to find a cure by experimenting on human subjects - Ruby flips out . . . and makes an even more shocking discovery: she's not useless at all. The Storm begins . . .
****May Contain Spoilers****
I loved the realism of her breakdown from spoiled teenager to survivor. It was both heart wrenching and gratifying to see her work on the things that mattered, while trying to stay sane. We wonder all the time how long will the veneer of civility last and as we read Ruby's accounting we begin to understand that it might not last long at all.
This story goes beyond Ruby though and we begin to see what is happening to other survivors, see how others are coping. And man does the action keep coming, the scary moments keep piling up and you know that something is going to break.
My sister and I talked about the fact that in the Hunger Games how clear the PTSD was (not so much the movies but definitely in the books) I was glad to see some acknowledgement that these events change the ones who live and eventually sheer brutality will allow only the strong to survive. Even though Ruby is facing some scary times, she still tries to embrace being a teen, she tries to learn all she can that will help her survive and in the end she accidentally discovers something about herself and about a few others. I really felt for Ruby in the beginning when we realized how far down the rabbit hole she had traveled, seeing from someone else's eyes how bad it's gotten is what wakes many people up and that's totally what makes Ruby realize something has to change.
We see how the world is doing and dealing and how the governments and the military is reacting to the cataclysmic events (not well as you can imagine). As the story progresses and Ruby gets one of her greatest wishes and we are given a chance to see how those left behind are doing, we run back into the court of crazy kids from her journey into London last time and meet some new big bad. I loved that the story didn't really let up, that there was so much going on, but we only got to see what Ruby could see. And because Ruby isn't the smartest person in the room, we weren't' getting the full scope because as a teen, even now, Ruby tunes out on authority figures quite a bit.
As we watch the story unfold you can't help but shake your head at the share audacity of some and realize that sadly this is probably going to be the reaction of many. I enjoyed seeing all the characters from before, watching Ruby try not to forget that she was higher on the social hierarchy in school so she shouldn't' even be talking to the Spratt, but he totally still has her phone and she wants it back!! I loved seeing the new characters, and their interactions with Ruby.
And this book still pulled no punches Ruby gains and losses so much in this novel. She has some serious moments where I wanted to shake and scream at her, and man in the end when it all starts to go down I just wanted to hold her and rock with her. I felt Ruby's reactions were so genuine and I felt her heartbreak when she began to accept and understand some of the things her mother used to say, things that as a kid she never took seriously. Loss was her friend from the beginning as it was for so many and yet Ruby still fought on. I wanted to punch all the villains while at the same time as an adult looking at the circumstances I totally understand their need for answers, but certainly not the greed.
I loved this book and was happy with the conclusion because seriously that ending was too funny and sweet. It would be nice for a little novella telling us how humanity is doing, but I liked the way it was ended just fine.
I loved the quirkiness of the writing, the author's attempt at not using curse words but letting us know that in reality curse words would be flying right about now, was so much fun, I enjoyed trying to figure out which curse would go with the situation at hand. Ruby's voice was so much fun, and so right and so awesome. I really enjoyed seeing it all from her point of view, I might have made some better choices but as she says, she's just a 15 year old girl and she's doing the best she can.
★★★★☆
How do you think you would survive?? Share down in the comments and or course, Happy Reading
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