This one captured my attention immediately. Cleo lives about 50 years in the future from 2020 and there has been a terrible, deadly flu pandemic that has forced people to live in isolation only with their immediate family members--sounds familiar right? Cleo lives with her parents in an apartment in a large apartment building where all of their supplies are delivered via drone and they cannot leave--she has never been outside. All of her experiences outside of their apartment and interactions with friends are via a simulator and both of her parents work from their home. She is preparing for an exam to begin studying to be a surgeon like her mother.
When a package of important medicine arrives down their chute, Cleo becomes concerned. It seems to have been wrongly delivered and she is consumed about the patient not receiving their life-saving drugs. Her parents leave her to problem-solve and she opts to escape with the medicine via their chute in order to transport the medication. On her brave adventure, Cleo learns about the workings of the drones and the apartment building. She also makes it outside where she gets to feel grass and sunshine for the first time…
I really enjoyed this book! It got a little slow in the middle, but it picked up when Cleo made it out of the building and then had to figure out how to get back in. I think many of my 4th and 5th grade students will really enjoy this especially with the pandemic parallels to 2020--I am planning to begin the school year with it as my read aloud!
4 Stars
