Going Viral

October 1, 2021
Everything is harder during a pandemic, especially relationships. It's the first few months of the coronavirus outbreak. Claire, a high school junior, is quarantining with her parents in their Brooklyn apartment. What bothers Claire the most is being separated from Vanessa, her girlfriend of several months. They video chat at least once a day, but it's not the same as seeing one another in person. Plus, they've started to argue. Between those frustrations, her mother's getting furloughed, the ever present warnings about public safety, online classes, and thinking about colleges, Claire is having a rough time. In an effort to distract herself, Claire tries posting on social media about the first thing she sees outside her window--a girl reading on the fire escape across the street. As Claire continues to write about their socially distanced encounters, she rapidly gains followers who demand more content. But even Claire doesn't know what's going to happen next. This openly queer novel provides a perspective on the pandemic that centers characters who have the option of working and sequestering in stable home environments. For some readers, it may feel too soon to enjoy this story; for others, it may serve as a cathartic validation of their recent worries and internal struggles during horribly uncertain times, as it captures the anxious mood of this global crisis. The cast defaults to White. A timely exploration of pandemic-related life stresses. (Fiction. 14-18)

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December 1, 2021

Gr 7 Up-Claire's world shrinks when her high school closes for the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Confined to their tiny apartment in Brooklyn, Claire and her family struggle to adjust to the pressures of lockdown, especially as it drags past the two weeks they initially expected. Looking for comfort from her girlfriend, Vanessa, Claire is frustrated when their previously close relationship feels strained over video chat and text. With little else to focus on, Claire's interest is piqued when a mysterious girl named Sadie appears on the fire escape of the building opposite hers, and she begins to document their interactions under a pseudonym on a fan fiction site, Babble. But when the story of their interactions goes viral and Claire's connection with Sadie is scrutinized by strangers online, Claire begins to wonder what her real feelings are and if she's taken her fascination with Sadie too far. Main characters are cued white. VERDICT This book provides a relatable look at the early stages of the pandemic, but underdeveloped relationships lessen readers' investment in the characters and make the conclusion feel slightly didactic.-Emily Yates, Green Hope H.S., Cary, NC

Copyright 2021 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 25, 2022
Grades 9-12 When Claire kisses her girlfriend goodbye after their high school announces a two-week shutdown because of the new Coronavirus, she's sure their reunion is just 14 days away. But as weeks stretch into stressful months full of online classes and virtual dates, she finds it harder and harder to connect with Vanessa, especially when she seems to be taking the uncertainty of the pandemic in stride. One way Claire finds to fill the days is to post stories online about a girl she keeps seeing across the street on the fire escape. But when she and ""fire-escape girl"" start talking IRL--and Claire keeps posting the stories--the line between what's real and what's fiction begins to blur. Going Viral can at times be a tough read, throwing the reader back into the height of the pandemic before we've left it behind, but Cicatelli-Kuc has captured how the shutdown forced people to reevaluate not just their relationship with others but their relationship with themselves.

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