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Betterment
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2020) Thomas, Michelle, author; Altschul, Andrew, advisor; Levy, EJ, committee member; Mao, KuoRay, committee member
Betterment explores a possible near future in the Southeastern Michigan town of Harwood, fifteen years into recovery from a pandemic caused by the virus H1X1. In Harwood, neglected infrastructure of pipes and waste management led to the spread of contaminant poison which laid the groundwork for a medical crisis. Although the town was able to recover, the pandemic intensified racial segregation and severely restricted the mobility of minority communities (primarily African American) in terms of housing, healthcare, and employment. Corinne Matlock, sister to the first minority to die in relation to H1X1, tries to navigate the grief of her brother's death, protect her younger brother from meeting the same fate, and avoid stepping outside of the new rules of society, the punishment for which is being sent off to a quarantine center, possibly indefinitely. This dystopian novel looks at the story of an individual as well as her community, as they struggle to survive in a world where the laws were written to erase them.