Don't Stand So Close to Me

By Eric Walters

Thirteen-year-old Quinn and her friends can't believe their luck when spring break is extended an extra two weeks—even if it's because of some virus.

But when the impact of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic becomes apparent, everyone, not just the students, has to learn to adjust to their new reality. Quinn’s father is an ER doctor and has to self-isolate to protect his family from the virus. Isaac’s mother is the chief of police and now has to enforce new physical-distancing bylaws. Reese can’t visit her grandmother in her care home anymore. And their entire school has moved to online classes. Sacrifices have to be made to keep everyone safe, but there’s more to life than rules and scary news reports. In an effort to find some good in all this uncertainty, Quinn comes up with an idea that she hopes will bring the entire community together.

Orca Book Publishers is pleased to offer Don't Stand So Close for Me in two accessible editions. The audiobook features alternate text descriptions of images, including the cover. The epub edition of this title is fully accessible.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Jun 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781459827899

Eric Walters

Eric Walters is a Member of the Order of Canada and the author of over 125 books that have collectively won more than 100 awards including the Governor General’s Literary Award for The King of Jam Sandwiches. A former teacher, Eric began writing as a way to get his fifth-grade students interested in reading and writing. Eric is a tireless presenter, speaking to over 100,000 students per year in schools across the country. He lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Reviews for Don't Stand So Close to Me

[Acoro · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Not very interesting and is just overall boring. I do not suggest reading this book.

[salsabrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

COVID-19 has begun to circulate in the community. Quinn is more familiar with it because her father is a hospital doctor. But it doesn't seem real or relevant to Quinn and her friends until the school announces it is closing for two weeks...and then the closure gets extended. The effort required for remote schooling, social distance, mask wearing, and washing and quarantining groceries exacts an emotional toll on everyone. Quinn eventually comes up with a clever idea for the school community to come together (at a social distance) for an evening of hope and joy. Given that the author wrote this in the spring of 2020, the book captures exactly the tumult and anxiety of those early pandemic days as well as the "we're all in this together" sentiment. Kids may not wish to revisit the whole pandemic experience in a book but on the other hand reading it could be validating of their own experiences.