Wil Mara
Author of Trucks (National Geographic Readers) (Level 1)
About the Author
Image credit: via Macmillan Publishers
Series
Works by Wil Mara
Space Exploration: Science, Technology, Engineering (Calling All Innovators: A Career For You) (2014) 35 copies
Deep-Sea Exploration: Science Technology Engineering (Calling All Innovators: A Career For You) (2015) 22 copies
The Chernobyl Disaster: Legacy and Impact on the Future of Nuclear Energy (Perspectives on) (2011) 14 copies
Software Development: Science, Technology, Engineering (Calling All Innovators: A Career For You) (2016) 13 copies
What Should I Do? If a Stranger Comes Near (Community Connections: What Should I Do?) (2011) 7 copies
The Battle of Midway: Turning the Tide of World War II (Major Battles in US History) (2017) 3 copies
Developing the Bill of Rights (Focus Readers: Foundations of Our Nation: Navigator Level) (2017) 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Mara, Wil
- Legal name
- Mara, Wil P.
- Birthdate
- 1966-11-30
- Gender
- male
- Occupations
- writer
- Organizations
- New Jersey Center for the Book
New Jersey Association of School Librarians - Short biography
- Wil Mara, a lifelong fan of the National Football League, and has written a series of NFL novels. He has written both fiction and nonfiction, for both children and adults. He is the award-winning author of more than two hundred books, many of them educational titles for children in the Scholastics catalog. He began writing in the late 1980s with several nonfiction titles about herpetology. He branched into fiction in the mid-1990s, when he ghost-wrote five of the popular Boxcar Children Mysteries. He has since authored more than a dozen novels. [2018]
- Nationality
- USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
I like my horror/thriller books. I like zombies and ghosts and things that go bump in the night, but the one thing that scares me more than anything is a viral outbreak. I’m not talking about a zombie virus (though, I must admit, that would be pretty friggin intense), I’m talking the realistic ones (ie: Swine flu, SARS, Bird flu) the kind that if not caught soon enough can spread like wild fire and infect and kill thousands. Now, luckily (or maybe I should say so far), the aforementioned show more viruses were kind of blown out of proportion by the media because they gave the “worst case scenario”. That’s not to say the potential isn’t there, but for the most part, a major epidemic was controlled. Still, it was scary, and the looming risk of other viruses, ones that could wipe us out quickly, is one of my worst fears.
Where am I going with this? To the premise of this book — that’s where.
The Gemini Virus was one of those books I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to get when I picked it up. I knew it would either really freak me out, or it would seem implausible. It wasn’t the latter.
The first few pages of this book were pretty gross. Like total cringe-worthy, “I’m glad I’m not eating right now” gross. I have a strange aversion to bodily fluids (which is one of the reasons I did not go to medical school) — blood, snot, poop, vomit, infections — yeah. Not for me. So the descriptions of the illness were a little much. Still, they were real. Everything about the book felt very, very real.
The premise is very simple on the surface: People get sick. People realize there’s an epidemic. People try to appear calm. Loved ones show symptoms. You get the idea. It’s the execution that drew me in and kept me glued to the pages. I seriously couldn’t stop reading this one, and when I did, it was to research whether or not this could actually happen. (It can. Everything in the book is based on scientific fact.) The characters are relatable, the plot tightly woven and the medical jargon isn’t so heavy that it weighs down the pace.
If you are a fan of medical thrillers, or like movies like “Contagion” and “Outbreak”, I would definitely recommend this one. It definitely made me think (and got my slight neurosis all in a twitter). show less
Where am I going with this? To the premise of this book — that’s where.
The Gemini Virus was one of those books I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to get when I picked it up. I knew it would either really freak me out, or it would seem implausible. It wasn’t the latter.
The first few pages of this book were pretty gross. Like total cringe-worthy, “I’m glad I’m not eating right now” gross. I have a strange aversion to bodily fluids (which is one of the reasons I did not go to medical school) — blood, snot, poop, vomit, infections — yeah. Not for me. So the descriptions of the illness were a little much. Still, they were real. Everything about the book felt very, very real.
The premise is very simple on the surface: People get sick. People realize there’s an epidemic. People try to appear calm. Loved ones show symptoms. You get the idea. It’s the execution that drew me in and kept me glued to the pages. I seriously couldn’t stop reading this one, and when I did, it was to research whether or not this could actually happen. (It can. Everything in the book is based on scientific fact.) The characters are relatable, the plot tightly woven and the medical jargon isn’t so heavy that it weighs down the pace.
If you are a fan of medical thrillers, or like movies like “Contagion” and “Outbreak”, I would definitely recommend this one. It definitely made me think (and got my slight neurosis all in a twitter). show less
Of the five biographies we read as part of our home school unit on Dian Fossey, we enjoyed this one the most. Used in conjunction with Dian Fossey from the Groundbreakers Series (by Richard and Sara Wood), young readers can get a real feel for and glimpse at the life of Dian Fossey. Where the groundbreakers book was more visually oriented, Among the Gorillas was more like reading a nicely polished story. In this biography, she is not portrayed as an icon, she is made human and readers get a show more look at her turbulent home life while growing up, her attitudes toward men and marriage, and her struggles in getting a college education (three times before she got it "right") which I think really makes her accessible and presents her life in a way that young readers can relate to. What I really like about this version of her biography is that interspersed throughout the text are boxes that give highlights as to what major events were going on in the world while she was pursuing her dream, giving the whole thing historical context in a way that is really easy to understand. I particularly like the timeline at the end, it lists her major life events and in a slightly lighter shade, significant historical events as well, this is great for quick review and to really place what she was doing in a larger context. This book gets a A+ from me and I'd recommend it highly (ages 8-12 or so)! show less
was very excited to go back to a genre that I used to love but this one did not hit all the bases. At the beginning of the story the list of symptoms encouraged me to read on.
Then I laughed. I wasn’t convinced of the horror. I was hoping that this book would rise to the challenge of breaking the mode of most medical disaster stories. I stopped reading them because so many of them stick to a formula and are so predictable. It is not interesting to read a progression of incidents. I found show more myself yawning.
Just on the symptoms alone, I think the author needed to do more research of some real diseases. I have had one of the symptoms of his 'Gemini Virus, the extreme itchiness in the skin. The Gemini Virus was supposed have a stronger itch than meant poison ivy or poison sumac. This is where I am positive that I could write something more convincing. I have a rare auto-immune disease that can a person to scratch so much that he/she runs the risk of sepsis and sometimes can even need skin transplants. I think there is an important lesson here, do not make up symptoms, look them up, you will find plenty so scary in real life.
The characters did not make me fearful for their possible death. They seemed so one dimensional to me. Even bringing the present day government leaders did not wake this novel up. I did not bite my nails as the cover said it would and I often felt like I wanted to get behind the characters and push the story along.
Sorry, I cannot recommend this book. show less
Then I laughed. I wasn’t convinced of the horror. I was hoping that this book would rise to the challenge of breaking the mode of most medical disaster stories. I stopped reading them because so many of them stick to a formula and are so predictable. It is not interesting to read a progression of incidents. I found show more myself yawning.
Just on the symptoms alone, I think the author needed to do more research of some real diseases. I have had one of the symptoms of his 'Gemini Virus, the extreme itchiness in the skin. The Gemini Virus was supposed have a stronger itch than meant poison ivy or poison sumac. This is where I am positive that I could write something more convincing. I have a rare auto-immune disease that can a person to scratch so much that he/she runs the risk of sepsis and sometimes can even need skin transplants. I think there is an important lesson here, do not make up symptoms, look them up, you will find plenty so scary in real life.
The characters did not make me fearful for their possible death. They seemed so one dimensional to me. Even bringing the present day government leaders did not wake this novel up. I did not bite my nails as the cover said it would and I often felt like I wanted to get behind the characters and push the story along.
Sorry, I cannot recommend this book. show less
First you sneeze, then you die. It had me at that. I read the first few chapters and was really caught up in the story. I threw the book in my carryon bag to read on my flight to Disneyland. When I left Disneyland I had managed to catch, you got it a cold! First you sneeze, then you die, not good reading material when you feel like that's exactly what's happening to you! First you sneeze then you die keep staring at me from my bedside table daring me to pick it up and finish it. I did show more finally muster the strength to pick up the book. I did enjoy the story. Sort of part, The Stand which will always be on my top 10 list and also, The Andromedia Strain another 10 List well all of M.C. books really. You will enjoy this book, just don't catch a cold while reading it!!! show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 204
- Members
- 5,141
- Popularity
- #4,847
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 65
- ISBNs
- 638
- Languages
- 7
- Favorited
- 2
