SUNNY DAYS INSIDE

A kaleidoscopic view of how the kids in one urban apartment building experience Covid-19.

Danila and Mimi (Apt. 4A) eagerly await a family airplane trip that gets canceled because of the encroaching pandemic. Their aunt goes on a cruise that turns nightmarish when she is confined to her room, then contracts COVID-19. In this and the other six stories, the children express their fears, isolation, and disappointments about losing everything normal: school, friends, sports, etc. The virus also affects their parents’ mental health. For instance, Conner (Apt. 3C) notices that his dad is smoking more, watches the news obsessively, wears the same clothes every day, and becomes increasingly less capable of helping with remote learning since losing his restaurant job. One day, Conner’s dad yells at Mrs. Watts, the complex’s unofficial grandmother, when he assumes she’s hoarding toilet paper. Conner intervenes to create a positive outcome, prompting his dad to realize he needs help. While each vignette is an entertaining short story, it’s the connections among the kids that make this a brilliant read. Their support of one another and the adults in the building portrays a positive side to lockdowns and quarantines while not sugarcoating the deadliness of Covid-19. The climactic final chapter brings all of the children—and Mrs. Watts—together for a slightly dangerous but informative and emotionally satisfying conclusion. Racial and cultural diversity among the characters is conveyed but not explored; one girl and her father are Deaf.

A compelling montage of stories that will leave readers wanting to know more about each character.