Reboot by Amy Tintera is the first book in her Reboot series - a dystopian science fiction novel about life in what is left of the United States after the virus KDH spreads.
KDH, named after the city where it began - Kill Devil Hills, NC - is a virus that swept the US. In order to have an unaffected area, part of Texas was walled off and no travel was permitted into the city. The problem with the virus is that, while it kills many who contract it, they don't stay dead. But don't think zombies, these post-humans can still think and function. They eat actual food and not people. But they are stronger than humans and they don't necessarily have the same human emotions. That depends on how long it takes you to come back to life. Those whose bodies complete the change quickly will be more human.
Wren 178 is the highest number reboot known. She was dead for 178 minutes before she came back to consciousness. Now she is one of the best soldiers at HARC (Human Advancement & Repopulation Corp). She is also one of the top trainers of new reboots. As a 178 she always gets first pick of the new recruits, but she surprises everyone including herself when she picks Callum 22. The under 60s have too many human emotions left to easy to train, but there is something about 22 that is changing the way Wren thinks.
Tintera has written a novel with a new kind of zombie - many people will argue that they are not zombies - a post-human fully functioning being that could be the next evolution in human history. Her science fiction is great and her characters are compelling. She will have instant fans for this first novel in her series. I was reminded of both the
Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld and the
Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi in the feel of the story.
Tintera, Amy (2013).
Reboot. New York: HarperTeen.
