I was given a free copy of this book by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Quinn and her friends are impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.  Lots of changes to get used to:  quarantine from grandma, social distancing, distance education, masks, and more.  Quinn and her friends figure out a way that the community can get together and stay safe.  Cute, but hits a little too close to home.  #netgalley #dontstandsoclosetome #ericwalters

When I first saw this book what struck me was the humor of the title. Obviously, those of us old enough to remember know it’s a song by The Police. I thought inserting a little humor in regards to such a dark subject was very fitting. As many of you know this week marks a milestone no one wanted to achieve of 400K passing away from COVID.

This book is actually a middle-grade novel. I have yet to find any YA that tackles coronavirus. It centers around a girl named Quinn and her friends from her class. Her Dad works in the local hospital’s emergency room and that is how she first learns about Coronavirus.

She even uses some of the diagrams her dad teaches her about how COVID spreads and such to explain the process to her class. Not only that but they come together to help their local community (from a safe distance of course)

The novel is a quick read being that it’s middle grade so it does not take much time to finish. Even if the genre is middle grade is not usually your style I strongly suggest you read this book because it explains the virus in easy-to-understand terms.

A lot of what makes coronavirus so scary is the fact that science can get confusing and confusion breeds fear. This novel whether you’re the age group it’s meant for or not breaks it down in a way that takes away a decent amount of that confusion. If you have children of your own I suggest they also read this book so that they can be more informed and less scared. It might even inspire more readers to help their communities like Quinn and her friends helped theirs!

This book was timely, being probably one of the first books to come out dealing with COVID-19.  The main character, Quinn, is thirteen and thought things were great when spring break got extended another two weeks.  As life changed to online classes and she could no longer visit her grandmother, the reality of their new situation started to sink in.  It was up to Quinn to try to find out a way to make something positive come out of all of the negatives in their lives.

If you've read any young adult books, this story will seem familiar.  There was not a lot in this book that was particularly unique or memorable.  Still, it was an entertaining read, and could be useful for people looking to allow students a chance to process the current situation through literature.

Obviously, this is a book that is going to speak to young readers right now. It reflects what we've all been living through, the way that the world changed in the spring. It is that snapshot nature that is likely to be the book's downfall in the long term. Even in the past six weeks, the world has changed again and the adjustments Walters shows are out of date. And let's be honest: do kids who are living through COVID restrictions really want to relive it right now?

😷|#partner|Thank you to @orcabook @netgalley & @ericwaltersauthor for the free book! This book is available now!
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🌟BOOK REVIEW🌟
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▪️MY THOUGHTS
✔️Talk about a book that really hits home. So often we live in our own little Silos - this pandemic has definitely blown that all up. This book was a wonderful story about Quinn and her friends really taking the motto “We are all in this together” to a whole new level. It was a story of hope and compassion during a pandemic that we are all currently in.  As I was reading I was thinking to myself - wow this is exactly all the same things that happened in my city, then I realized that the author Canadian and we all have gone through the same emotions and thoughts during this trying time. I’ll say it again I’m so thankful for all the front line workers - your work and courage during this time has been unbelievable. This story really highlights that as well. If you have middle grade kids in your life I recommend this book - but I also recommend it to adults too! 
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Super relatable for kids, and a great look at a kid's perspective for adults! I liked that the parents faced different challenges with their jobs, I think this will be a good read for kids to see that perspective to maybe better understand the restrictions that have upended their lives since March. 

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I loved that this title gave me to read and share with my teen that so perfectly resonated with our current situation. A great tool to open the conversation, learn a little bit & give us some much needed hope!

This is a well-written realistic fiction about how teenagers and adults in one small community reacted and coped during the COVID-19 Quarantine! As I read it I felt like I was reliving all the emotions, confusion, angst, and disappointment that came with having a High School Graduating Senior at home during the early days of the Quarantine! I loved that the story ended with a happy, hopeful ending where the community pulled together to make this harrowing experience into something positive! I would recommend this book to YA readers and will definitely be adding it to our school library bookshelf!
Thank you to NetGalley and Orca Book Publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I volunteered to read this book, through netgalley in exchange, for an honest review. The book is well written and the characters are described well. This is a quick paced book. It tells about how families have been affected by Covid-19 this year. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. It is in stores now for $10.95 (USD). You guys should get this book as it is very well written and enjoyable.

I can't believe this middle-grade book about the current pandemic was published (and written!) so quickly. I read this aloud with my daughter and it was interesting, especially because our experience of COVID-19 here in Atlantic Canada has been quite different from other areas of the country/world and some of this did not seem to resonate with our current experience. Overall, I loved the characters and the approach of this book and would highly recommend it but it does trigger some upsetting feelings about something that most of us are still very much in the thick of.

Let me just start off by saying it is truly weird to read about COVID-19 in a book while we are still very much living in this pandemic. It'll be interesting to see what other books come out of this season.

This middle grade novel does a great job of explaining the pandemic and the reasoning behind social distancing and the concept of flattening the curve. I really enjoyed the ending and seeing how the students worked together to bring joy to their community during this difficult time.

Thank you to Orca Book Publishers for providing me with an E-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

Reading "Don't Stand So Close To Me" by Eric Walters was a surreal experience. It was quite strange reading about characters going through the pandemic that is still currently happening. Honestly, it made me feel some pretty heavy anxiety. However, I really did enjoy the book and I thought it was well done! I found that the characters were written very well, and their personalities and reactions felt very realistic. We had a multitude of experiences touched upon in this book, except I really would have enjoyed reading about a young character with a compromised immune system navigating the pandemic, as I found that a lot of the narrative was focused on how COVID-19 mostly affects older people. But overall, the plot was heartwarming and memorable, and the characters were well-rounded and realistic. Additionally, the writing style was simple but refreshing. I would definitely recommend everyone of any age to pick this up! But please be aware that it is quite triggering, especially if you find yourself struggling to comprehend and/or accept everything that's happening in regards to the pandemic. I'm really glad I read this, and it makes me excited (also nervous, but mainly excited) to see what other art comes out about this wild time.

As a middle school teacher who has had to endure the virtual classes and now a hybrid model, I really apprenticed the authenticity of the struggles that the characters face. While reading this, there were so many times that I could think of a student who had was dealing with the same thing (or that I, as the teacher was struggling with). My initial concern was that this book was written too early and too quickly. The pandemic really hit us only back in March and the author had already spit out a book about it. We still have a long way to go and we still don't know what the future will hold. But like I mentioned before, the author did a good job giving authentic experiences to at least what the beginning of the pandemic, and how it affected school kids looked like.

This is a cute, short middle grade novel set during the spring quarantine time of 2020. It’s a pretty good snapshot of the beginning of our COVID-19 journey: the extended Spring Break for schools, the PPE shortage, the grocery store madness, and lockdown of businesses and nursing homes. The story is an uplifting one of students figuring out a way to hold a school dance amidst the chaos of quarantine.

I am flabbergasted such a well crafted, quick middle grade read about life during the current pandemic has been created so quickly and at such a high caliber. I fully expected grammatical errors or plot holes and found none. The climactic block party was so heartwarmingly tearful, along with the other little acts of kindness. It all felt authentic and heartwarming. Just to be nitpicky, the mother does wash produce with soap- this is a very bad idea unless you like diarrhea, but I do know of a lot of people who did this during the first part of the pandemic based on misinformation that took over the internet back in March. This is an excellent book for younger readers as a read-aloud or middle-grade readers to dive into on their own. 

*I received an eARC copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Orca Book Publication for the opportunity to read and review in advance of publication.

First of all, can I just say how impressed I am that Eric Walters wrote something about the current pandemic so quickly? And it is well written? Super impressed. Is it a perfect story? no. The plot is very basic, and it definitely takes a sunshine and roses approach to the current global climate. But for kids, this is a great way to make them feel like they are not alone in what they are feeling about everything right now. I do feel that it already may be slightly dated, as things have changed so much since it was released digitally, but it is a very good book about the first couple months of the pandemic.

I was excited for this book because I was hoping it would give my students something to read to help sort out their emotions about the crazy time that is currently happening. I truly believe this was Mr. Walters' intention behind Don't Stand So Close to Me. However, instead of having a bunch of emotion, the first 90% of the book reads like a greatest hits of the Coronavirus. The book seemed to focus more on events that happened to people or were prominent on the news instead of focusing on the protagonist's emotional reaction to the events. It's redeeming point is the last 10% of the book when our protagonist and her friends work together to accomplish something special for the community. I wish we had seen more of this heart the entire book. While I admire Mr. Walters' ability to get this book out so quickly (while the event he is writing about is still currently happening and less than 6 months old), I can't help but wonder if it would be a more complete story if it had taken more time to write. 

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy to read and review.

Another gem from Eric Walters! This story beautifully captures what it’s like to be a kid during COVID-19. From dealing with parents working the front line to navigating socially distant friendships and readjusting life expectations it was wonderfully written. Students will gravitate toward this story for sure!

I was pleasantly surprised that a book dealing with COVID came out so soon and I’m so glad it did! This will be one I’ll be featuring in my classroom. It gives students something to relate to! Thank you so much!

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very of-the-moment middle grade novel about COVID-19 and its affect on a group of middle school friends. It was super short and very cute. I appreciated the seriousness given to the virus while still being kid-appropriate. It did feel a little TOO short, sweet, and simple to me, and I think the author could’ve done more with it - it was probably rushed a bit to get published quickly. 3 stars.