The Rain
JUST ONE DROP WILL KILL YOU
One minute fifteen-year-old Ruby Morris is having her first proper snog with Caspar McCloud in a hot tub, and the next she’s being bundled inside the house, dripping wet, cold and in her underwear. Not cool.
As she and Caspar shiver in the kitchen, it starts to rain. They turn on the radio to hear panicked voices – ‘It’s in the rain . . . it’s in the rain . . . ‘
That was two weeks ago, and now Ruby is totally alone. People weren’t prepared for the rain, got caught out in it, didn’t realise that you couldn’t drink water from the taps either. Even a single drop of rain could infect your blood, and eat you from the inside out. Ruby knows she has to get to London to find her dad, but she just doesn’t know where to start . . .
After rescuing all the neighbourhood dogs, Ruby sets off on a journey . . . to find her dad . . . and to survive.
UK publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Publication date: July 17, 2014
ISBN: 9781447266068


Reviews for The Rain
‘H2o is up there with my favorite books of all times . . . Ruby finds herself alone, and instead of making great choices on the path to safety, Ruby fumbles her way through life any other 15 year old girl . . . Her personality brings life and humor to a very serious situation.’
‘At turns terrifying, heartbreaking, and surreal, once you pick this book up, you won’t be able to put it down . . .’
‘I love the idea of the water killing people. It’s poison. It’s fatal . . . This story gives the reader a chance to see how a world of nearly-everything-is-unknown-except-that-the-water-is-EVIL looks to a teenage girl who thinks she knows EVERYTHING.’
“The Rain left me speechless!” (Alice) “this is superb!” (Lola) “This is a must read book.” (Sarah) “The Rain is an amazing book. It is very creative and exciting.” (Verity) “This book is one of the most moving and funniest books I have ever read.” (Katie) “I had a golf ball sized lump in my throat from the moment the rain began to fall but I could not tear my eyes from the page.” (Delilah) “an incredible novel that was different to anything I’ve ever read.” (Izzy) “I loved every part of this book it was amazing!!!!!” (Imogen)
“You NEED to read this!” (MP!ER Katie) “I am glad I took a chance with this book as it was a book that I couldn’t bear to put down as I kept wanting to know what would happen next.” (MP!ER Beth) “The Rain takes you on an epic, emotional journey” (MP!ER Roisin) “The author of this book is a very talented person and she should keep it up.” (MP!ER Areeba) “The book makes you laugh as well as want to scream… in a good way.” (MP!ER Jennifer)
“I’m sure there are plenty of 16 year olds out there who would become worldly wise overnight if faced with such a thing, who would immediately drop all the teenage angst and become an adult immediately, Ruby is not one of them and for that I adored her.”
“Tense, scary, and high emotion, The Rain will have you on the edge of your seat and afraid to step outside.”
“So, in a post apocalyptic sense, the reader is left pondering over impossibilities and uncertainties, and then imagine that story written with a new danger and fresh ‘journey’, and you’ll probably sum up The Rain fairly well.”
“Funny, heartwarming, cringy, sad and terrifying, it is truly amazing.”
“I can’t stop thinking about this book. Virginia Bergin’s The Rain is unlike any apocalyptic novel I’ve read, mostly due to the hilarious and quirky but utterly believable narrator Ruby Morris.”
“Not a novel about the British summer but a nightmare vision of the future where a single drop of rain can kill. Ruby Morris has survived so far but she needs to find her father and she could really do without being stuck with Darius Spratt.”
‘Bergin presents Ruby’s story as a firsthand document of life after widespread disaster. The diary-style narration emphasizes Ruby’s distinctly teenage response to society’s end—she rescues too many abandoned pets, loots her favorite boutiques without shame, and holds tightly to the unlikely hope that her father is still alive—and her strong, spontaneous voice lends a touch of dark comedy to the post-apocalyptic doom and gloom. The challenges Ruby faces on the road to locate her father are significant, but watching Ruby draw strength from her ability to tell her own story is as inspiring as it is harrowing.’ (THE HORN BOOK MAGAZINE)
‘Ruby’s candid, addicting narration brought this terrifying and wholly plausible story to life. This is a book you’ll devour all at once–from the safety of your umbrella!’
‘Creepy and realistic. H2O left me thirsting for more.’
‘Enthralled & heartbroken . . . Apocalypse fiction with funny, believable teen narrator – ace.’
“A funny, smart, wonderfully British dystopia”