H2O by Virginia Bergin Review

"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."

I think I want to lay off Apocalypse stories for a little while. (But I'm not going to, because they are really exhilarating and exciting to see. As horrifying and blood-curling as a horror movie, and it's irresistible. It's a wreck, but I can't glance away. I need to know what happens next in the story.) Anyway, in this book, water is the source of what's making people sick. Contaminated water kills most of the population, and Ruby is one of the lucky ones who survive.

After reading this book, I'm officially scared of rain. (Well, only for a few days or so.) In the last few days of weird SoCal weather, it was raining. And I just finished reading the book. So whenever I look up at the sky, I get the shivers. Thank you, Virginia Bergin, for instilling an irrational fear of water and rain for the next few days after reading H2O. It has been a few pleasant days of wind, rain, lightning, and thunder in Southern California for me. (Yes, I stayed indoors most of the time and avoided being in the rain.)

The plot starts off with a lot of deaths, and the disease that is striking most of the population dead is really scaring me. There is something so wrong about the idea of poisoned rain, water. Water is life. Water lets us continue on. Bad water is dangerous water. My stomach always churns whenever I think of poisoned water. And even more so thanks to H2O. The action-packed plot marches on with these revelations, and Ruby is pushed to her limits. The worst of humanity is revealed, and Ruby has to face all of it with a priority on her own survival. 

Ruby is a very strong character. It takes her a little while for her to get over the shock of everyone dying, but once she realizes that she can only save herself (and her biological father, if she finds him soon enough), she begins to move. She has a plan, and she clings to it tightly. She never lets anything get her down very long, and I have to admire her strength and her determination. 

The ending is one of the more interesting parts. I can't wait to see more of H2O's world, and I can't wait to see what happens next. Ruby's adventure is just starting, and it's so exciting (despite how creepy poisoned rain is). 

Overall, H2O is a thrilling story about a girl trying to survive the end of the world. The concept of poisoned waters and contaminated rain is clever and has given me nightmares while SoCal was raining a few days ago. The plot moves quickly, and the narrator's voice is very distinctive. I would suggest this book to anyone who loves Apocalypse novels. 

Rating: Four out of Five