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.

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!

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.

An overall positive but good account of the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis from the perspective of an eight grader. Quinn is in middle school, and getting ready for the school dance when she begins to hear rumors of a disease from her dad who works at a hospital. All of a sudden, vacation is being extended and then her class begins remote learning. Quinn is thrown into the whirlwind response to COVID-19, from mask wearing, to social distancing, to worrying about her dad's health and the deaths of his patients.
Overall, there was a lot of optimism in this book. We are still near the beginning of the course the pandemic will run, but we know more now than we did then. This book reads as encouragement for 8th graders to take some leadership when and where they are able, and the impact a young girl can have on her community's mental health and wellbeing. It's easy to lose sight of hope during a pandemic, but this book reminds us to find positives in the little joys in life.
We are going through this globally, and it's interesting to consider the pandemic from a young girl's eyes (albeit a middle class (probably white) girl). Hope is so important, because we may be here a while. The only drawbacks were that sometimes the emotional scenes felt a little forced/fake, and sometimes the message of hope felt too overdone. Day to day life is hard, and it didn't quite translate as well on the page. I am curious to see if people want to read books about COVID, and later on to see if we will read them when this is all over and done with.

This quick read will be very relatable to students and what they went through during the shutdown of schools. This could also be useful in the future to remember details of things we did that became our new normal. The characters and story were not very developed, but relatable and timely.

Before I begin this review, I would like to address that this book (if you haven’t already picked up on it!) is about the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore may be triggering to some readers.

What I Liked:

• When I requested this book on Netgalley, I was so, so worried that it would be depressing, since, really, what about COVID-19 hasn’t been depressing? However, at least to me, that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. At its core was a touching (he, he, see what I did there!) message to children and teens who might be struggling that we are all going through this together, and that while we may have to stand apart for now, we can still stand together as a community.

• It’s a rather quick and easy read at about 128 pages, and provides the reader with loads of context into the early stages of the pandemic from the viewpoint of middle schoolers.

• I loved Eric’s decision to make Quinn’s father an ER doctor, because not only did he help to provide Quinn with answers she sought about COVID-19, it also displayed just how purely courageous and inspiring first-line responders have been throughout this challenging time.

• According to the author description at the back of the eARC, the author, Eric, “worked for 18 years in a hospital emergency department, including time in a mask, gown and gloves during the SARS outbreak” and I definitely believe that this added an additional layer of depth to this already intricately crafted novel.

• And lastly, for those that didn’t notice, the title of this book (Don’t Stand So Close to Me) is actually a little mini Easter egg!! (spoiler – it’s the title of a song from an old band called The Police) I actually didn’t get that one at first (my mom actually originally caught it!) but you can listen to the song below 😊

Overall: A beautiful, heartwarming and perfectly-timed middle grade novel that serves as a fabulous introduction for tweens about the pandemic that will forever shape all of our lives.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read and review.

This middle grade novel takes place right at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in North America; when schools shut down for in person learning. Although much has changed since then, I would really recommend this to students or teachers looking to open a discussion on the pandemic. For some students, it may be too much too soon, but for others I think they would appreciate knowing that they are not alone in the feelings they have over missing school, friends, teachers, and 'normal'.

I requested and received an e-ARC of #dontstandsoclosetome from #NetGalley, orca books and the author in exchange for an honest review.

A highly engaging quick read for middle grade and YA readers about the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a deja vu nightmare of what we all experienced from March to May and that we are now still going through currently. The author does a superb job of explaining terms such as PPE, social/physical distancing,flattening the curve, etc.

The main character's father is an ER doctor and he briefly touches on deaths from the virus. I would have like to have read more about other social issues such as parents being unemployed, students not having internet, going hungry, family members getting sick from Covid, etc. Maybe the author will touch on these issues in a sequel?

Don't Stand so close to me is beautifully written. Well done Mr. Walters! Bravo!

Very impressed by the quick release of this book. I think this book is an amazing way for middle grade students to understand big concepts surrounding COVID 19. Eric Walter does an excellent job of defining and explaining terms such as PPE, exposure, social/physical distancing, etc. This would be a great read for students as we get ready to begin a new school year online for the first time.
My only criticism is that none of the characters or their family members actually had to deal with the virus. That was the only missing scenario.

Another entertaining Eric Walter's novel. This timely tale about three middle school friends navigating their lives in the time of COVID-19. Isaac, Quinn and Reese deal with the complexities of their new reality from the change to online learning to the struggles of their home life. I would have liked to see some of the characters develop coping strategies in a more clear way to help educate the youth that are experiencing similar feelings such as anxiety, sleeplessness and isolation. As well, I always appreciate more diversity in the texts whether it be a character or topic.

This middle grade novel is about a group of friends that are living through the COVID 19 virus. As middle schoolers, they hear their parents talking about the virus, but until they are sent home from school, it doesn't really pertain to them. But suddenly, one girl's dad is a doctor and he's working long hours at the hospital and distancing from his family, another girl isn't allowed to go and see her grandmother, and worst of all, the spring dance is cancelled. This all hit a little too close to home for me. I'm not sure that kids will want to read about an experience they are still living through, especially when the book ends on a very positive upbeat note with a happy problem solved, because unfortunately, that's not what our reality looks like at the moment.

Maybe it’s the timing of this for me, but this MG book is hitting me hard, especially with all of the uncertainty and fear of going back to school.

I appreciated the father’s role in this story, and the musical choices were so good. But I wanted more character development, more emotion, to care about these characters behind my own emotional response to COVID. I wish my own students followed the socially distancing and mask rules like these students.

I received this e-ARC from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The author did a great job portraying some of the feelings a lot of kids have been experiencing during the pandemic. I think we’ll soon be seeing more on this subject but for parents and teachers looking for books to support their kids while they social distance, this is a decent one to start.

Very cute read for middle school age kids. Helpfully explains a lot of what we're currently going through with this Pandemic, and why it's so important to have social distancing and things like proper PPE. I really enjoyed it!

This is the best book for middle grade kids to come to grips with what is happening in the world right now. I appreciate how quickly this has been written. I hope this book brings comfort to kids going through this unprecedented time!

Quinn, Reese and Isaac are planning their school’s dance when there’s an emergency assembly announced. The principal of their middle school tells the students that they will have a longer spring break than usual in order to flatten the curve of COVID-19. Excited to have a longer break, the students and teachers could never predict what will happen next. School will be online, Quinn’s father (who is a doctor) must self-isolate to protect his family, Isaac’s police officer mother has to be away from home more than usual, and Reese cannot visit her grandmother in a nursing home. All these changes are difficult to adjust to, but Quinn has an idea to bring her community together.
It is incredible that Eric Walters was able to come up with the idea for this book, write the book, and have it ready for publication in less than seven weeks!
One of the things about Don’t Stand So Close to Me that struck me is just how relatable it will be to everyone who reads this book. In the past few months, everyone’s lives have been changed because of the pandemic. The changes have appeared rapidly, and for children who are still in school, it must have been difficult to comprehend and adapt to all these changes.
Although this book is a novella and tells a story rather than present facts about COVID-19, the book does a great job at explaining a lot of terminology that might be difficult for young readers to understand. For instance, what exactly is “flattening the curve?” What does having an “exponential number of cases” mean? And more. These concepts are even tricky for some adults to visualize.
I would greatly recommend for this book to be used in classrooms this fall for middle school students (and even some elementary and high school students too). I believe that students will see themselves in Quinn, Reese and Isaac’s experiences.

I felt like this book was more just relaying the news and did not have much for a story line. That being said, I do look forward to books about COVID from a kid's perspective.

Don't Stand So Close to Me is a timely middle-grade story about a group of 8th graders during the COVID-19 pandemic. The story begins with the excitement of Spring Break starting a day early. When school remains closed and the novelty wears off, Isaac, Quinn, and Reese miss school and their friends. Social distancing and all the new rules are overwhelming. They find a way to organize events to stay in touch and socialize in a safe way. With humor and education, the book does a fantastic job of explaining social distancing, exponential growth, PPE, Zoom, and what it means to "flatten the curve". The book sparks hope and suggests creative ideas to help such as making masks for a local nursing home. The kids also plan an epic street party with all the safety measures such a spacing out and sanitation stations in place. I definitely recommend this book and can't wait to give it to my 11 year old to read and share with his friends.

Eric Walters writes an inquisitive and timely novel with "Don't Stand So Close to Me." It will be interesting to see how the response to the book will be informed over the next few years after the initial flurry of the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel drops us into the lives of middle schooler Quinn and her friends on the penultimate day of school before their spring break. Instead, they are sent home due to the reports of the virus's severity and we follow them over the next two months as the true scope of what the virus entails comes into focus. Walters captures the variety of reactions and fears that have been presented in the news with sensitivity and nuance. Quinn doesn't judge how others feel, but she is certainly alive in her own feelings. It gives readers a glimpse into the pressures on such a young generation at this time in history. Thankfully, the novel is well-written and carefully plotted to be honest and not maudlin. If you have a tween in your life that has questions about what's happening in the news, this is a good book to give them.

As we are still enmeshed in the COVID-19 pandemic this book hits very close to home. The scenes where kids and adults talk about their "new normal" ring very true. The explanations of exponential spread and flattening the curve are appropriate and will likely help young readers understand the importance of social distancing. I especially liked the them of "we are apart but not alone" as evidenced by the kids making masks and having a street party.