In the future, Influenza D will cause society to be housed in giant apartment like buildings, but without any human contact. Everything is done through simulation and drones. When Chloe gets a package of medicine that's not for anyone in her home, she finds a way to escape her apartment and her building. The outside world is overwhelming and unbelievable. There is so much to be afraid of. Can Chloe survive outside as well as get the medicine to where it needs to be?

So relevant for the times! This would be a great introduction to dystopian works for readers. I loved the suspense, the action, and think middle grade readers would too!

I can't believe this book was being written in the two years before the 2020 Covid outbreak.
Very well written with a compelling storyline, and a great twist towards the end that I never saw coming.

DNF 20%

A fifth of the way through the book and literally nothing has happened. The back and forth of what Cleo should do about the package is agonizingly slow and there wasn’t enough to make me want to slog past that. The concept is there, but it needed to get to the point way faster. I’m very disappointed especially because this is starting to feel like a reading slump coming on where well-liked books just aren’t holding my attention.

** I read an advance reader copy of this book I won through a Goodreads giveaway. **

This is a very enjoyable, fast-paced action novel perfect for middle-grade readers. It's timely in that it describes the aftermath of a new, flu-like virus that decimates the population and forces survivors to live their lives enclosed in apartments, with no (easy) way to leave. The main character goes on an adventure to deliver medicine to another resident of her building after it is delivered to her apartment by mistake. The description of her journey through the building and outside the building are well done and, as I stated, the action is well paced and quick enough to keep even reluctant readers going. The ending was a bit of a surprise and was believable enough to make a satisfying solution to the story. I enjoyed this very much!

What if an infectious disease spread through the world and everyone had to isolate themselves at home to avoid catching the virus? In this science fiction story, a flu pandemic was so bad that the survivors sealed themselves into giant complexes designed around a drone delivery system so they never have to leave their apartments. Ever.

A generation or two later, twelve-year-old Cleo is studying to take her medical school entrance exam when someone else's medication is wrongly delivered to the home she shares with her parents. An accident like this has never happened; can never happen, her parents tell her. But she can't stop worrying about the sick person who might die without the medicine, so she makes the choice to leave through the delivery shoot to see if she can fix the error herself. That choice leads to more discoveries and adventure than she could have imagined.

For all that it's composed of formulaic bits that have been used extensively before, this is surprisingly good. Entirely engaging and not too dark or cynical. Well-written and fully enjoyable.

Cleo, a young doctor in training, embarks on a quest to find the person whose life-saving medicine was incorrectly delivered to her family. But - Cleo has never been outside their apartment!

Generations ago, a deadly flu forced all North Americans indoors. All work is tele-work, all socializing is virtual. A system of automated drones farms, manufactures, and delivers everything:
food, equipment, medicine. And they never make mistakes! What can it mean that the parcel of medicine was misrouted? Is their carefully ordered world beginning to crack?

Cleo is a classic middle-grade hero. Determined, plucky, willing to risk all to do the right thing.

There's some fun in here with the mingling and mangling of international folk and fairy tales over time, and some philosophizing that might get readers talking. Burt tells a fun story with good pacing. There's one major plot point towards the end that struck a negative chord with me but otherwise it was a great read.

Y’all I really enjoyed this book! I read it as it is one of our Battle of the Books for my middle school. It did take me a good 50+ pages to get hooked but a lot of middle grade books do for me.

This book is set in a world where humans exist in family clusters in apartments as a result of a deadly plague. Cleo has never left her apartment or been around any other humans than her parents (though she has friends and such using a simulator). Our conflict arises when Cleo is accidentally delivered medicine meant for someone else. Being pre-med, she becomes totally worried and convinced that she must do whatever it takes to get the medicine to her patient even if it means leaving the apartment.

I won’t spoil anything. I enjoyed where the story took Cleo. It was super neat how well developed some of the characters were; one of my faves was the computer Teacher program that Cleo talks to throughout the book.
Cleo being premed means that she interpreted the parts of her complex in terms of the human body which was just a neat little addition. Overall - I really enjoyed this book!

Did I miss any use of the words “Body Electric?” I ABSOLUTELY got the metaphor, but I’m not sure MG readers will. It was an enjoyable ride, and I loved Mrs. Vain!

What would you do if you were sealed into your apartment and received someone else's medicine?
What a fun adventure. Cleo Potter becomes our young heroin that makes you want to cheer her own. Set in dystopian society that had to over come a pandemic. Cleo Potter makes us question is it really good to completely shut ourselves off.
Highly recommend.