Viral nation by Shaunta Grimes

"After a virus claimed 95 percent of the global population, the world changed. The United States splintered into fifty walled cities where the surviving citizens clustered to start over. The Company, which ended the plague by bringing a life-saving vaccine back from the future, controls everything. They ration the scant food and supplies through a lottery system, mandate daily doses of virus suppressant, and even monitor future timelines to stop crimes before they can be committed. Brilliant but autistic, sixteen-year-old Clover Donovan has always dreamed of studying at the Waverly-Stead Academy. Her brother and caretaker, West, has done everything in his power to make her dream a reality. But Clover's refusal to part with her beloved service dog denies her entry into the school. Instead, she is drafted into the Time Mariners, a team of Company operatives who travel through time to gather news about the future. When one of Clover's missions reveals that West's life is in danger, the Donovans are shattered. To change West's fate, they'll have to take on the mysterious Company. But as its secrets are revealed, they realize that the Company's rule may not be as benevolent as it seems. In saving her brother, Clover will face a more powerful force than she ever imagined ... and will team up with a band of fellow misfits and outsiders to incite a revolution that will change their destinies forever"--

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review from netgalley.com.

I grabbed this book to read based off the cover and title alone. I love dystopian books and this one gave me the impression that it was about a girl and her dog traveling a world after some sort of virus had destroyed the population. I was wrong, happily. Well, there is a girl, and a dog, and there was a virus but there are no zombies (yet) and a bit of mystery and some time travel tossed in. Viral Nation is about Clover, an autistic teenager who is tossed into the action of her society. Clover, her brother, and some other teens gang up to take on the company that has been hailed as the saviors of humanity.

I liked Viral Nation as a setting. The world seems believable and when we're introduced to it everything flows rather well. Everyone has a job and everyone has bought the stories and kool-aid of those who control them. Clover, as the protagonist, works. She questions things but also has her melt-downs and is vulnerable but smart.

The plot, was fast paced and felt a bit too tight for my liking. I could guess a few things: like when Clover first looks at the wall surrounding her city, I knew that we were going to head out. I also felt that some of the time-travelling was just tossed in and I hope that further portions of the series does a more convincing job of its importance than to just “future scope out murderers.”

Over all this series has promise and I look forward to reading more and seeing where it and the altered timelines take our characters.

DNF at 22%.

Clover was on the verge of tears but fought hard to keep them back. Never let them see you cry. Any sign of weakness put them into a feeding frenzy.