It wasn't until after I finished the book that I realized that I have read another book by Jake Burt before, also for SCASL. I enjoyed that one as well.
In this book, Cleo lives in a society that has completely walled itself off after the spread of a mysterious influenza pandemic to prevent any possible spread of contamination. The author mentions in the note at the end that although he wrote this book prior to the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, he was getting ready to publish the book while locked down in his home. Although some parallels exist, unfortunately for Burt, I think society's actual reaction to a real pandemic makes his book stretch the suspension of disbelief a little too much.
I still enjoyed the story that we got; Cleo is quite an engaging character. I loved seeing how she would respond to each new challenge presented to her. I also appreciated that Cleo's discovery that what she's always known may not be the whole story did not turn this book into a "take down the man" plot line as well as the fact that Burt left some of the conclusions open to interpretation at the end of the book.