Line #32 Literature/ViralNation


1	[[quoteright:267:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/viral_nation.jpg]]
2	''Viral Nation'' is a series of dystopian novels by Shaunta Grimes.
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4	Clover Donovan, an autistic sixteen-year-old living with her older brother West after a viral pandemic wiped out most of humanity, has been accepted by the prestigious Waverly-Stead academy, where she has dreamed of studying her whole life. But she can't go unless she parts with her service dog Mango, which she refuses to do. Instead, she is recruited by the Time Mariners, who travel into the future to gather information. Then she learns that West's life is in danger. In order to save him, she'll have to go against the Company, which controls almost every aspect of life.
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7	The books in the series:
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9	0.5: ''Broken Nation''
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11	1: ''Viral Nation''
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13	2. ''Rebel Nation''
14	----
15	!!''Viral Nation'' contains examples of:
16	* TwentyFifthAmendment: So much of the government was killed by the virus that by the time it ended, the president was the secretary of housing and urban development, thirteenth in line for the office.
17	* AbandonedArea: [[LoveInterest Jude Degas]] lives with a group of fellow runaway foster kids in an abandoned casino called the Dinosaur.
18	* AfterTheEnd: So many people have died that the entire population of the United States now fits comfortably into fifty walled cities. The Donovans live in Reno, as does the entire population of what used to be Nevada; even with the mass migration, many of the houses were left empty, and were knocked down to make room for farms.
19	* CharacterTics: West has a habit of yanking his hand through his hair so it stands up like a porcupine. Their father James has the same habit.
20	* DisabilitySuperpower: For reasons unknown, only autistic people can travel through the time portal.
21	* DisappearedDad: Since Clover and West were young children, James has worked jobs that require him to sleep in barracks. As a result, he has almost no relationship with his kids.
22	* DrowningMySorrows: James drinks heavily to cope with his job as an executioner.
23	* FakingTheDead:
24	** [[spoiler:Langston Bennett is Jon Stead's brother. He was very close to death when he received the virus antidote, and he and his brother told the world that he'd died while he lived on under a new name.]]
25	** [[spoiler:When Clover and Bridget return to Reno, they claim West was killed by a bear.]]
26	* FamilyEyeResemblance: Clover has her dead mother Jane's green eyes. Once when she looks at West, she gives him déjà vu because Jane looked at him the exact same way.
27	* FamilyThemeNaming: Diamond, Sapphire, and Emerald, aka Mondo, Phire, and Emmy.
28	* FieryCoverup: [[spoiler:James illegally pulls the file predicting West's arrest and execution. Then he burns it and washes the ashes down the bathtub drain.]]
29	* FosterKid: Kids whose parents are dead or too busy to take care of them live in Foster City. There's virtually no oversight, so severe abuse is rampant and parents can literally get away with murder.
30	* FutureSlang: Foster City kids refer to neighborhood kids as hoodies.
31	* HatesBeingTouched: Even as an infant, Clover squirms away from touch.
32	* HellholePrison: Prisoners convicted of violent crimes aren't usually given food or clean water. Some of them don't live long enough to be executed.
33	* AHeroIsBorn: The first book opens with Clover's birth during the plague.
34	* IdenticalTwinIDTag: Geena and Marta, two of the runaway foster kids, have metal rings in their left bottom lip and right nostril, respectively.
35	* MaternalDeathBlameTheChild: The Donovans originally caught the virus while in the hospital for Clover's birth. Now James blames her for Jane's death. When Clover was ten, she cut off most of her hair in an effort to look different from Jane and stop reminding James that she was the reason for her death, but it didn't work.
36	* MercyKill: James Donovan gives Jane an overdose of morphine to spare her from a slow death by the virus. He's about to do the same to Clover and West, but he is interrupted by the news that a treatment is available.
37	* ParentalSubstitute: Clover and West's next-door neighbor, Mrs. Finch, has looked after them since their father was recruited to the crews. West returns the favor by taking care of her after her stroke.
38	* PhotographicMemory: Clover remembers all of what she reads, most of what she sees, and less of what she hears.
39	* PrecrimeArrest: People convicted of future capital offenses by the Time Mariners are executed by firing squad. The system is so effective that West doesn't remember anyone committing a major crime in over a decade.
40	* TheReveal: [[spoiler:The virus suppressant doesn't actually do anything. Sixteen years ago, everyone received a single dose of a drug that both cures the illness and inoculates against it, making future doses unnecessary. The "suppressant" is a placebo designed to be addictive so that if anyone stops taking it, they'll fall ill from withdrawal. Waverly-Stead keeps up the charade in order to exert as much control over the people as possible.]]
41	* SensoryOverload: Primary school was so noisy that Clover would come home severely overwhelmed each day. Now West does all their shopping because Clover would become catatonic from overload if she ever entered the bazaar.
42	* SpannerInTheWorks: The protagonists' plan to sneak out past the guards would have worked great if a rabbit hadn't run across the field, causing Mango to bark once.
43	* StressVomit: Clover vomits twice in the bushes outside her cabin after [[spoiler:Waverly and Geena are killed]].
44	* WorkingOutTheirEmotions: Clover deals with stress by going running. The steady pattern of her feet helps her organize her thoughts.
45	* YouWatchTooMuchX: Clover says, "Do you ever feel like you're in some kind of alternate universe? Or on a different planet, maybe?" West replies, "You've been reading too much science fiction."

Context Literature / ViralNation