Reviews

Read this to see if it would of any interest to my 12 year old niece and it’s pretty good, although at times it seems a bit too childish while at the same time it attempts to unpack some pretty serious topics.
Either way, I guess stories taking place during the quarantine are the new normal (see what I did there?) so we must start somewhere. Overall it’s pretty good and diverse and heartwarming

emily_mh's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book held some really important discussions on racism, the Black Lives Matter movement, and mental illness. It was also a really hopeful and inspiring read, and all four MCs were fantastic. However, this book does have some flaws. For starters, I thought the pacing was a little odd, with no clear plot structure and some inconsistent jumps in time. Furthermore, with discussion of racism being present in the book along with an Asian-American main character, I was surprised that there wasn’t even a brief reference to the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes due to COVID. There was also a missed opportunity with Gene (and to be honest, Liam as well) to discuss the intersection of racism and ableism. On the whole, though, I definitely enjoyed my time with this book.

As a side note, I listened to the audiobook which was well done.

Content Warnings

rox74's review

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3.0

This was a middle grade book that was set during the beginnings of the covid pandemic, which also focused on the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement. It was a decent read but not a great read as it lacked depth (important social issues don't create 'depth' in a story). I enjoyed watching the children find ways to help their neighbours. That was probably the best part of the story.

cedardleland's review

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inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

lolalongstraw's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

booksandkittens's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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