greetings from witness protection by jake burt

The events that follow, beginning with the misdelivery of a lifesaving medicine, lead Cleo to question those trade-offs. VAIN tells her during an impromptu history lesson. “Given the effects of influenza D, I dare say it was a trade-off that people were willing to make,” Ms. VAIN - short for Virtual Adaptive Instructional Network - who appears when Cleo logs on to her “scroll.” Cleo attends play dates with friends inside a module that simulates sunlight and the smells and sensations of a field of grass.

Her teacher is the endearing, exasperated Ms. So in 2037, the 55 million surviving residents of North America were settled in 300 vast “living structures” containing apartments connected by a network of drones and pneumatic tubes.Ĭleo’s childhood seems happy and comfortable.

In 2027, influenza D spread to humans from livestock and across the globe, mutating so rapidly scientists could find no solution short of eliminating human contact. It’s a madcap adventure, full of vivid characters and breathless drone chases, but it also raises philosophical questions about how societies respond to threats of infection.Ĭleo, born in 2084, has known only pandemic life. The amazing thing about “Cleo Porter and the Body Electric,” a new cyberthriller from Jake Burt (“Greetings From Witness Protection!”), is that the author - who completed his first draft more than a year before hints of a coronavirus pandemic - anticipated the conditions of 2020. Families isolate themselves in their apartments, try to proceed with a semblance of ordinary life via food delivery and virtual technology … oh, wait.

A mysterious virus has swept the earth, forcing society into what’s known as the Great Separation. Twelve-year-old Cleo Porter lives in an outlandish future dystopia. But who needs real when you've suspended your reality to take a romp into witness protection land? Not since Miss Congeniality has deep cover been so rollicking.CLEO PORTER AND THE BODY ELECTRIC By Jake Burt She's inventoried herself a little too thoroughly to be real. This is where the quick pace could have cooled its heels - Nikki is a 13-year-old going on 30, yes, but she reads as being way more controlled than a girl her age should be. Though the page-turning plot is deftly narrated by a savvy survivor, Nikki's necessary human vulnerability is not given all of the play it truly deserves. And the well-conceived premise doesn't disappoint when the ending pops into view.

The characters in Greetings From Witness Protection! come alive with the intensity of people who are really invested in their circumstance. This delicious debut novel written by fifth-grade teacher Jake Burt nails the quick pace and turn of phrase you want a thriller for tweens to showcase.

Greetings from witness protection by jake burt