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Rebel Nation (2014)

by Shaunta Grimes(Favorite Author)

4 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0425268128 (ISBN13: 9780425268124)

languge

English

genre

Science Fiction

publisher

Berkley Trade

series

Viral Nation

review 1: It’s not all that easy these days to come up with a fresh idea in dystopian fiction but, in Viral Nation, Shaunta Grimes did just that and has now followed it up with a nicely done sequel, Rebel Nation. In this second of the trilogy, the reader becomes re-acquainted with Clover Donovan, an autistic teen who happens to be of serious interest to the government specifically because of her autism. It’s possible that other books have been written with an autistic protagonist in a dystopian world; if so, I don’t know of them and I think it would be difficult to find a better characterization of how such a child might fit in. I don’t know a lot of details about the spectrum but I believe Clover would be deemed high-functioning in today’s reality.Clover is a unique prot... moreagonist and is written so well that she came alive for me on all levels. I appreciated the author’s depictions of Clover’s awareness of those times when her behavior is not quite appropriate and her determination to contain herself. At the same time, we can see that she needs a special sort of assistance which she gets from her loyal and loving service dog, Mango. Her relationship with the very admirable Jude is another highlight of the story and his devotion to her, even when faced with her reactions to certain stimuli, is *so* much more believable than the all-too-frequent romances we find in Young Adult fiction. Jude is the young man I would want on my side if I were Clover.There are plenty of villains in Rebel Nation but none quite so despicable as Bennett and his single-minded determination to make use of Clover’s abilities comes across loud and clear. Whether Clover and Jude, along with the rest of their ragtag group, could stay out of his clutches and spread the rebellion against The Company kept me reading all night and I didn’t regret a moment of my lost sleep. The Freaks are a resistance group that shoulders a great weight and I really wish I could continue the story now, especially since Ms. Grimes has left us with a humdinger of a cliffhanger. There’s a prequel novella coming out soon—I guess that’ll have to tide me over till the third book ;-)Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, June 2014.
review 2: 4.75 StarsThis YA dystopia novel is just as exciting as the previous book in this series. Rebel Nation is well-written, includes lots of nail-biting suspense, and has some great characters (both the main and supporting ones). I'm still a huge fan of autistic character Clover and her service dog Mango. There's a few surprises and plot twists and the storyline leaves off with a cliffhanger, but it's a good stopping point until the next installment. Recommended.Net Galley Feedback less

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