Cleo Porter and the Body Electric

by Jake Burt

Overview

Jake Burt's Cleo Porter and the Body Electric is a futuristic middle-grade novel about a girl who lives in a hermetically sealed housing development.

In a future forever changed by a pandemic, a girl survives in total isolation.

A woman is dying. Cleo Porter has her medicine. And no way to deliver it.

Like everyone else, twelve-year-old Cleo and her parents are sealed in an apartment without windows or doors. They never leave. They never get visitors. Their food is dropped off by drones. So they’re safe. Safe from the disease that nearly wiped humans from the earth. Safe from everything. The trade-off?

They’re alone. Thus, when they receive a package clearly meant for someone else—a package containing a substance critical for a stranger’s survival—Cleo is stuck. As a surgeon-in-training, she knows the clock is ticking. But people don’t leave their units.

Not ever. Until now.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250236555
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	47,204
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jake Burt teaches the fifth grade in Connecticut. He lives with his wife and their daughter in Hamden, CT. His books include Greetings from Witness Protection! and The Right Hook of Devin Velma.

Editorial Reviews

09/28/2020

Burt (Greetings from Witness Protection!) writes a humorous, humanistic sci-fi adventure set in the near future, after the outbreak of a quickly mutating flu pushed citizens into sealed apartments. From her own home, 12-year-old Cleo Porter has, with the assistance of her AI virtual instructor, been training since age six to become a remote drone surgeon like her mother. But when a mysterious package of essential medicine is improbably delivered to her unit, the family’s careful plans are thrown into disarray—rather than prepare for a monumental test, Cleo assumes responsibility for getting the medicine to the rightful patient. In her effort to save a life, she escapes not only her unit but an entire massive complex of apartments and encounters ominous drones, rat-infested compost heaps, and the reality that there is much more outside her walls than the threat of disease. Through the eyes of a fierce and compassionate protagonist, Burt mixes snippets of science into the action, adding a layer of nonfiction to this entertaining, speculative look at selflessness and integrity. Ages 8–12. Agent: Faye Bender, the Book Group. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

2020-08-18
A mission to save a life pushes a young girl to discover the world around her.

In the not-too-distant future, the world goes into permanent self-isolation, with families living in massive tower blocks, sealed in separate apartments. Their only access to the outside is through drone-delivered supplies that arrive via tubes in their kitchens. While studying for her first test in the surgical candidate track, 12-year-old Cleo, who is White, receives a package with the right address, but the wrong name. Opening it and finding much-needed medical supplies, the young doctor-to-be breaks out of her apartment to try to locate and save the life of the medicine’s rightful recipient. Accompanied by her electronic instruction tablet, Ms. VAIN, and a small observation drone, Cleo learns more about her world—inside the apartment and out—than she expected. Current readers will immediately draw parallels with the Covid-19 pandemic, but they’ll also find a well-constructed and enjoyable adventure. The theme of storytelling, particularly the tale of “Little Red Riding Hood,” is interwoven expertly. While the resolution may be wrapped a little too neatly for some readers, the thought-provoking material generated by questions of isolation, community, and privilege may make up for this. This novel would work especially well as an extended read-aloud, a choice for classroom discussion, or a book club selection.

A topical read that’s worth the attention. (Science fiction. 10-12)

Kirkus Reviews

“Cleo Porter is the most compassionate, intelligent, irrepressible, admirable hero I’ve come across in years. Readers will flat-out go nuts for her. I know I did. CLEO PORTER AND THE BODY ELECTRIC would be a great book at any time. At this moment in our history, it is astonishing. Every kid - and adult - should read this!”—Gordon Korman, #1 New York Times-bestselling author

"Apocalyptic diseases, nefarious drones, hovering skulls, and one nigh-inescapable quarantine bunker — young Cleo Porter has her work cut out for her in this thrilling sci-fi adventure!" —Alan Gratz, New York Times-bestselling author of Refugee

"Jake Burt must have a crystal ball because he’s written a dystopian novel set in the future that manages to feel 'of the moment.' In an antiseptic world scarred by a pandemic, our brave and courageous hero Cleo Porter embarks on an epic quest fueled by curiosity and compassion. It is a triumph of humanity and the perfect book for this time." —James Ponti, New York Times-bestselling author of City Spies

"Current readers will immediately draw parallels with the Covid-19 pandemic, but they’ll also find a well-constructed and enjoyable adventure. ...A topical read that’s worth the attention." —Kirkus Reviews

"A humorous, humanistic sci-fi adventure set in the near future, after the outbreak of a quickly mutating flu pushed citizens into sealed apartments. ... Through the eyes of a fierce and compassionate protagonist, Burt mixes snippets of science into the action, adding a layer of nonfiction to this entertaining, speculative look at selflessness and integrity." —Publishers Weekly

"In this timely addition to the “plague novel” shelves, the (seeming) misdelivery of a life-saving medicine prompts a sheltered preteen to leave her apartment for the very first time. ...Cleo especially is a winner, gifted with wells of empathy and determination deep enough to weather wild mood swings, bouts of debilitating terror, life-threatening hazards, and more than one extreme challenge to her comfortable worldview."—Booklist

Praise for Greetings from Witness Protection:

An Autumn 2017 Kids’ Indie Next List Selection

"Jake Burt is a storytelling magician. Part coming of age tale and part spy thriller, Greetings from Witness Protection could be a collaboration between Judy Blume and Ian Fleming."—Ann M. Martin, New York Times-bestselling author of Rain Reign and the Baby-Sitters Club series

"This inventive, clever story has a lot of heart at its center. Jake Burt’s debut is utterly rewarding.”—Wendy Mass, New York Times-bestselling author of The Candymakers and Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

"The biggest complaint that readers may have about Burt’s debut novel is that it ends. . . endearing from page one."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A delightful, sometimes touching balance of action, humor, and heart."—Booklist, starred review

"WA funny, action-packed novel about the trials of school, parental arguments, and sibling rivalry—all with a dash of high-stakes thrills and dramatic showdowns..." —School Library Journal

"An engaging treat." —Voices of Youth Advocates
****
Praise for The Right Hook of Devin Velma:

A Junior Library Guild Selection
A BookRiot Middle Grade Gift Guide Selection

"Spot-on sixth-grade humor and sympathetic characters will hook readers as he explores fame and friendship in the age of social media." — Publishers Weekly

"Fisticuffs ensue, but so in time do good and brave words in this goofy, affectionate tale of loyalty, family and fraternity."—Wall Street Journal

"A sweet, accessible comedy about two sixth grade boys. Short and punchy sentences get straight to the funny stuff and leave just enough unexplained to keep readers moving to the resolution. ... A wholesome, appealing, and fast-paced friendship tale."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher