"I believed Mom when she said our apartment
holiday was the best holiday ever. But I don't
believe she thought it was better than an
airplane holiday. After all, it was make-believe.
That's why she didn't want to talk to Aunt
Susie - because it would have reminded her
about sibling rivalry. That Auntie Susie was on a
cruise while we stayed home."
The stories written for this new book by Caroline Adderson are appealing, as well as telling. It is the first book I have read for middle graders. Each story is about COVID-19 and its effects on a community of families. The the seven stroytellers live in the same urban apartment building. Often, their stories connect to another person living there.
Their loss of everything that is normal has lasting effects on the youngsters and their families. They talk about their fears, and about feeling totally detached from the outside world. They have lost so much: friends, school, sports, being in the world. Their parents are also feeling the effects of the virus and the isolation. The narrators talk about how they are feeling mentally as they cope with the changes that isolation brings.
Connor has a terrible time seeing the changes in his father as the days go by. He smokes more, watches the news incessantly, rarely changes his clothes, and can't really help with school work when his help is needed. With each additional tale, readers learn more about the people who share the apartment block. They are perceptive and impressive short stories, and are worthy of classroom discussion as all students face the impact the pandemic and its many restrictions. Students may see themselves here. It would be interesting to share one story a day, chat about it, and have students write about their own experience(s).
The connections made between the young people living in the building are especially moving and make this quite the remarkable book for many middle grade readers. They provide the support needed by their new friends, as well as the adults in their building. Of course, there were pretty amazing things happening while in lockdown and these stories take a look at how some of them may have played out. The final story, called Imagine, is a perfect ending for these linked stories.
I would love to meet these characters under different circumstances in the future.
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