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liss_28's review
4.0
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up.
The idea of this was really good. Killer rain? How/who could survive that. Definitely makes you think especially when everything is made up of water that comes from the sky.
Ruby was exactly how a 15 year old girl would act during the possible end of the world. But you would think 15 year olds would still learn from their mistakes and she more or less just got lucky she didn’t die. Constantly running out of her house without making sure there weren’t rain clouds, going far distances without waterproof protection, etc.
To me I wish it was written as more of a journal entry than a book with chapters.
Overall it was pretty good and worth reading.
The idea of this was really good. Killer rain? How/who could survive that. Definitely makes you think especially when everything is made up of water that comes from the sky.
Ruby was exactly how a 15 year old girl would act during the possible end of the world. But you would think 15 year olds would still learn from their mistakes and she more or less just got lucky she didn’t die. Constantly running out of her house without making sure there weren’t rain clouds, going far distances without waterproof protection, etc.
To me I wish it was written as more of a journal entry than a book with chapters.
Overall it was pretty good and worth reading.
alyssaindira's review against another edition
3.0
Hey guys, so I finished H2O by Virginia Bergin, and I must say, this book was definitely a toss up. When I first started reading it, i had high hopea. The narrator (Ruby) was funny and relatable. The storyline was easy enough to follow and began smoothly. I enjoyed the first half of the book, when all hell broke loose because of the killer rain. I don't recall if they ever stated why that happened, but in most books like this, the government probably had it's hands all over it. What better way for population control? This book definitely made me think about everything I take for granted. Water especially. But, the second half of the novel went downhill. I felt likethe storyline just seemed to face into rambling, nothing really concrete. Just space. Void of emotions or good ideas. So basically, I skimmed the last 150 pages, not really impressed with the story anymore. *sighs*. The only thing worth talking about in the second portion of the book is all the strange people who show up randomly, that was just weird... They didn't really have any purpose in the story whatso ever. Anyway, I probably won't read the second book, The Storm.
voidkid's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Goodness. This sure was a book.
Genuinely, it could have been a good one! It really could have, there were some great ideas and there were moments where it seemed like the author genuinely was enjoying writing this and was writing something with really strong emotional moments.
But the thing is, this author was writing for YA without actually talking to a real teenager because. Goodness. This was cringey. The writing was so, so cringey.
The unnecessary capitalization (YOU DONT NEED TO DO THIS TO GET YOUR POINT ACROSS), the jokes cracked at just the right time so that every bit of tension is completely gone, the annoying main character, the damn butterfly emoji filter instead of cursing.
Look, I get not wanting to write swears in a ya book, but for the love of all things good and holy just use a substitute instead of the butterfly emoji. Every time I saw it I rolled my eyes and the scene got ruined for me. People could be dying, screaming in pain and fear, and this girl is writing butterfly emojis.
The main character was just. Insufferable. Think the mean girl from your high school who thinks she’s a good person for not tripping you when she really, really wanted to, and says that out loud, to your face. And she didn’t get better! At all! Even at the end, she was still complaining and acting holier than thou and so upset about the fact that she kissed a nerdy boy that she mentions that at the very end of the book, instead of, I don’t know, anything else.
The supporting characters were only there to help her survive and to move the plot along. The treatment of minority and disabled characters was.. weird, to say the least. The only minority character that could be considered one of the major characters is never allowed to speak (literally, she’s selectively mute), and is really only there to show us that no, the main character is a good person! Look at her help this poor little girl!
It was. Ugh. It was bad. The book had potential, but the execution was horrible.
Genuinely, it could have been a good one! It really could have, there were some great ideas and there were moments where it seemed like the author genuinely was enjoying writing this and was writing something with really strong emotional moments.
But the thing is, this author was writing for YA without actually talking to a real teenager because. Goodness. This was cringey. The writing was so, so cringey.
The unnecessary capitalization (YOU DONT NEED TO DO THIS TO GET YOUR POINT ACROSS), the jokes cracked at just the right time so that every bit of tension is completely gone, the annoying main character, the damn butterfly emoji filter instead of cursing.
Look, I get not wanting to write swears in a ya book, but for the love of all things good and holy just use a substitute instead of the butterfly emoji. Every time I saw it I rolled my eyes and the scene got ruined for me. People could be dying, screaming in pain and fear, and this girl is writing butterfly emojis.
The main character was just. Insufferable. Think the mean girl from your high school who thinks she’s a good person for not tripping you when she really, really wanted to, and says that out loud, to your face. And she didn’t get better! At all! Even at the end, she was still complaining and acting holier than thou and so upset about the fact that she kissed a nerdy boy that she mentions that at the very end of the book, instead of, I don’t know, anything else.
The supporting characters were only there to help her survive and to move the plot along. The treatment of minority and disabled characters was.. weird, to say the least. The only minority character that could be considered one of the major characters is never allowed to speak (literally, she’s selectively mute), and is really only there to show us that no, the main character is a good person! Look at her help this poor little girl!
It was. Ugh. It was bad. The book had potential, but the execution was horrible.
bookishwillowdusk's review
3.0
I was very up and down with this book. While the premise was very interesting, I couldn't really relate to Ruby (early teenager) so I had a hard time really feeling the struggle. I think for that age group (13-16) it would be a pretty good coming of age story or really just a more relatable one. But I struggle with how annoying ruby was and how self centered she was. Couldn't really get behind it.
chryssa80's review against another edition
3.0
Why,oh why? The idea behind this book is so interesting but the execution is clumsy and the narration is so childish...
Having said that I will not give up on this series,I will read the second book and hope for something better.
Having said that I will not give up on this series,I will read the second book and hope for something better.
taranicolewilson's review
1.0
If I'm being honest, I hate giving bad reviews. I feel like all books have some good quality about them, even if they are the worst of the worst. I believe I may have to go against my own beliefs today.
H20 has a good idea. Killer rain? Cool, sounds interesting. I was exited to buy and read it, regardless of what other reviews has said. I really wished I listened to the other reviews, because I want a refund.
I'm just going to list off my problems with the book:
1. The writing. It sucked. No offense to the author, but it is horrible. I felt like I was reading a fan fiction more than a novel. Here is an example of sentences that pissed me off: "DO. WE. HAVE. ANY. COFFEE?" Sarah asked Barbary." I kid you not. Direct quote.
2. The main character. Ruby Morris, 15 year old who cares about no one but herself and is the most stupid character alive but still manages to survive. She literally went off to buy makeup and clothes in an apocalypse and thinks everyone will judge her because she is with a kid who was unpopular. ughhhhhhhh. Sorry, I just can't stand her. Also She decided to bring her flip flops with her. HER FLIP FLOPS, WHEN KILLER RAIN IS CAUSING DISASTER.
3. World building. The author did more telling than showing. She gave no descriptions at all, and didn't give any details about characters. I have a direct quote from the author here: "As for Ruby, well I won't reveal what she looks like, because I don't like describing my characters." .....what. Isn't the whole point of a book, to give some description, so readers can imagine what everything looks like?
4. Plot. It was just bleh. A whole pile of blah. It didn't make any sense half the time and I had to reread so many passages just to find out what was happening. Again, the author tells more than shows, and it was way too confusing.
Overall, the idea for H20 was good. The author just didn't deliver. I do admit, I'm curious as to what might happen in the sequel, but I have no desire to read it. I would not recommend this to anyone who wants to keep their sanity.
(P.S: I feel horrible for writing this, but it's the truth)
H20 has a good idea. Killer rain? Cool, sounds interesting. I was exited to buy and read it, regardless of what other reviews has said. I really wished I listened to the other reviews, because I want a refund.
I'm just going to list off my problems with the book:
1. The writing. It sucked. No offense to the author, but it is horrible. I felt like I was reading a fan fiction more than a novel. Here is an example of sentences that pissed me off: "DO. WE. HAVE. ANY. COFFEE?" Sarah asked Barbary." I kid you not. Direct quote.
2. The main character. Ruby Morris, 15 year old who cares about no one but herself and is the most stupid character alive but still manages to survive. She literally went off to buy makeup and clothes in an apocalypse and thinks everyone will judge her because she is with a kid who was unpopular. ughhhhhhhh. Sorry, I just can't stand her. Also She decided to bring her flip flops with her. HER FLIP FLOPS, WHEN KILLER RAIN IS CAUSING DISASTER.
3. World building. The author did more telling than showing. She gave no descriptions at all, and didn't give any details about characters. I have a direct quote from the author here: "As for Ruby, well I won't reveal what she looks like, because I don't like describing my characters." .....what. Isn't the whole point of a book, to give some description, so readers can imagine what everything looks like?
4. Plot. It was just bleh. A whole pile of blah. It didn't make any sense half the time and I had to reread so many passages just to find out what was happening. Again, the author tells more than shows, and it was way too confusing.
Overall, the idea for H20 was good. The author just didn't deliver. I do admit, I'm curious as to what might happen in the sequel, but I have no desire to read it. I would not recommend this to anyone who wants to keep their sanity.
(P.S: I feel horrible for writing this, but it's the truth)
lou_reads_stuff's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
taliatalksbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
H2O by Virginia Bergin was fast-paced and action packed. It was nice to read an apocalyptic fiction novel that wasn’t a disease spreading around the globe, and this one was oh so interesting. I loved the concept, and while I thought the main character would be really annoying, I actually really ended up liking her and her narration style. I also liked the other characters we met along the way, and am definitely looking forward to the sequel, The Storm, to see where else this story may go. I felt like there were some cliche moments, but the story felt unique and interesting enough that these didn’t really matter in the end. If you like apocalyptic ya stories, I would definitely check this one out.
wovenharakeke's review against another edition
2.0
Pretty awful protagonist, I haven't met people who'd react to a catastrophic event in such a way - and I'm in high school. I was rooting for her death pretty much the whole time, and I doubt I'll be picking up the sequal.
shawnusaurus's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0