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Quarantine: A Love Story
When two teens are exposed to a highly contagious disease, they must spend 30 days in quarantine together. In that time, love will bloom -- but is it the real thing or just a placebo effect? Oliver wants a girlfriend, and there's a girl back home who might be interested in him. The problem is, he has to spend his spring break on a volunteer trip in the Dominican Republic. Flora, on the other hand, isn't really looking for a boyfriend. She just wants to end a miserable spring break visiting her dad and her new stepmom in the D.R.The solution to both their problems? Get back home to New York ASAP. Sadly, they won't be getting there anytime soon.Their hopes are dashed when Flora's impulsiveness lands them in quarantine -- just the two of them. Now, the two teens must come together in order to survive life in a bubble for 30 days. In that time, love will bloom. But is it the real thing, or just a placebo effect?In her debut novel, Katie Cicatelli-Kuc delivers an introspective and witty story about finding love in the most unexpected place.
336 pages, Paperback
First published March 26, 2019
85 people are currently reading
2643 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 206 reviews
December 11, 2018
"We keep looking at each other wanting to run away and be alone together. Though at this moment, gazing into those cool-breeze eyes, I feel like we already are."
They say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but I’m telling you that with this book, you definitely should. The cover grabs your attention and the story captures you completely.
Quarantine is a love story that starts in one of the weirdest ways possible and ends like a Hollywood dream. This was cute, fun, super entertaining and definitely unique. I read through this like a kid in a candy store and I was sad when it was over. If I wasn’t laughing or screaming at Flora and Oliver, I was cheering them on. They were quirky and too adorable.
Just remember that love can be contagious!!
#TeamFloriver
RTC
They say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but I’m telling you that with this book, you definitely should. The cover grabs your attention and the story captures you completely.
Quarantine is a love story that starts in one of the weirdest ways possible and ends like a Hollywood dream. This was cute, fun, super entertaining and definitely unique. I read through this like a kid in a candy store and I was sad when it was over. If I wasn’t laughing or screaming at Flora and Oliver, I was cheering them on. They were quirky and too adorable.
Just remember that love can be contagious!!
#TeamFloriver
RTC
January 4, 2021
Where do I even start... This book did not captivate me at all. It was super repetitive and slow-paced and did not need to be as long as it was. The flirting (if you could call it that) was cringe and I kept waiting for the tiniest bit of romance but that never really happened. The one thing I did like about this book was the fact that the two main characters were somewhat realistic with baggage and mental health issues that they have to battle on a daily basis.
July 26, 2019
I need to figure out how to explain to Joey, to Oliver, to everyone, that I don't want Oliver to be my boyfriend. I didn't kiss him because I liked him. I kissed him because... I'm still trying to figure it out when we walk outside. There are two ambulances with their doors open and two stretchers with huge plastic covers waiting for us.
Oliver is excited to go home to New York from a spring break spent volunteering in the Dominican Republic. The girl he's had a crush on for years is finally starting to show an interest in him, and if he can make it home in time, he'll be able to attend a party she's invited him to. That's when he meets Flora, who is escaping her father and annoying stepmother, on his flight to Miami. But Flora doesn't really want to go home, either, and in a single impulsive moment, she fakes having a serious disease--tropical mono--and promptly kisses Oliver, forcing both of them into thirty-day quarantine. As the days stretch on in their shared hospital room, they start to have feelings for each other. But are their emotions real, or is it just because they're stuck together?
Okay, so this one was a little bit of an odd one for me to read. Like, I wasn't sure that I was going to be a fan of it--I prefer epic, slow-burn romances, and one that occurs in a month-long isolation doesn't really seem like it would be up my alley. But I'm determined to give books a chance (I've found some true gems this way) and, after all, I needed a book that started with the letter Q for a reading challenge, and here we are. I'm giving this book 2 stars.
Quarantine is a debut novel, and sometimes it showed. While the premise is a little more on the ridiculous side, with so many "whys" (i.e. why did Flora choose to fake a disease that would land her in quarantine? Why kiss Oliver and force him to join her? The answers: * Flora shrugs*) it had some moments of cuteness. In fact, more than once, I was starting to really get into the groove of this book only to be annoyed by the characters and/or the obnoxious love triangle.
I don't know why I can't just tell her that Flora kissed me. I could tell her that I like Flora, and maybe Flora likes me, and we really just need some time alone, but we're never alone with all the vitals checks and doctors and now all the visitors.
The novel is dual narrated by Flora and Oliver, flipping back and forth at lightning speed; their chapters are only a couple of pages at most. Both of them were okay for the most part, if you ignore the instalove feelings (they were kind of expected though, with this premise.) But every time it seemed like they were growing up or beginning to understand each other, one of them would make a comment and the other would literally throw a petty hissyfit. Not to mention Flora's uncomfortable flirting with the med-school intern.
Quarantine certainly had its cute moments, but I ultimately was left feeling a little underwhelmed with this one. Keeping in mind that this was a debut novel for the author, I imagine that I'll try more books by her in the future.
September 2, 2019
This book is fantastic!!! I love how this book was made. Flora and Oliver’s love for one another....it made me so happy. Even though they were in a hospital and were at some point separated, they kept loving each other.
March 22, 2019
I had high hopes for this book, but it was really just a smidge above mediocre. The plot captured my interest and I really liked Flora and Oliver -- Kelsey not at all. The social media thread was fascinating to watch from the posting side of a trending story. For me the whole quarantine time was underutilized. There could have been more going on. The quaranteens should have been reading books! I know I would have been. Could make a fun romcom. #Floriver!
A big thank you to Enchanted Lion Books and Edelweiss for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
A big thank you to Enchanted Lion Books and Edelweiss for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 2, 2019
Hooked me with the (erm) hook, but didn't really reel me in with execution. In Quarantine, Flora and Oliver find themselves in a pickle partially of Flora's making: they're in a thirty-day quarantine to make sure they don't 1) have a strong new strain of mono or 2) pass it on to more vulnerable people if they do. They're trending on Twitter and Instagram, the girl Oliver has had a crush on for years is finally interested, and meanwhile it's occurred to them both that (previously strangers) they maybe like each other.
So the concept is fun, and so is the 'quaranteen' hashtag. But I really wanted more, and there were so many ways that this could have been stepped up. Like:
-It's a dual POV book, but I had to keep double-checking to be sure whose chapter I was in, which is not a great sign. I've been thinking about how little I know about the characters, beyond their neighbourhoods of New York and the fact that Oliver is chronically anxious (and has a dead/deadbeat father) and Flora has a cousin with some sort of disability. What are their favourite school subjects? What do they do in their free time? Do they have any idea what they want to study in college? What year of school are they in? How are they managing missing three+ weeks of school? None of this really seems to come into play, because they mostly talk about how Oliver can win the heart (...or hashtags...) of a thoroughly unsympathetic character.
-There's never actually any stress about the super mono. Even when , it's already been established that the mono isn't actually dangerous for most people. It could have had known risks...or risks could have developed over the course of the book...but they weren't.
-The Other Woman is just completely irredeemable, which makes her boring. Worse, Oliver is completely oblivious to the fact that she's both awful and blatantly using him. It would have been so much more complicated if, for example, she had been genuinely interested and they had to figure out that they just weren't a good fit, or if they'd been dating for a while and she'd planned to break up but then felt like she couldn't while he was in quarantine.
-The medical care they receive is...questionable. The CDC is involved, and there's drama, and then...a medical intern is seemingly in charge of 90% of their care, the extent of which seems to be keeping them in semi-isolation and taking their temperature every two hours. For a month. Which means that they're not able to get more than two hours of sleep at a time for a month. Oddly, this doesn't seem to bother them, even though it is a much more obsessive level of temperature collection than is done for a quarantine for, say, Ebola, which is actually, you know, potentially deadly. (Also odd: treatment doesn't really seem to change if somebody is sick, which means that there's no medical purpose to obsessive temperature-checking.) Probably this comes down to a limited amount of research about quarantine and communicable diseases, but...you know what there isn't? There also isn't any mention of, say, doctors coming in to ask lots and lots of questions to figure out how they were exposed; there isn't any mention of med students (other than the ever-present Joey-the-intern) being paraded in to stare at them; there isn't any sense of urgency to their care unless two-hour temperature checks are involved.
-Flora's mono is talked about as a done deal (i.e., she's definitely sick) once she has one high temperature reading. You know what they don't do? They don't do a very basic blood test to confirm mono. What's the timeline on infection? We don't know. Can they test for it? We don't know. What's the treatment? Nothing specific, as far as we know. How has it presented in other patients? We don't really know. DETAILS. If you're going to make up an illness that provides the impetus for the rest of the book, GIVE ME DETAILS. (Note: the book is very very very clearly inspired by Ebola, and I am very very very glad that Cicatelli-Kuc made something up rather than trying to make this a meet-cute Ebola book, which just...sounds wrong on about 12,000 levels.)
-Wouldn't it be interesting if their quarantine were somewhere else? Like, if in addition to dealing with the quarantine, they were dealing with cultural differences or less fancy medical facilities? This might also provide a...less thin...rationale for them sharing a room for the duration of their quarantine. (Realistically, I don't know if this would happen, as repatriation is pretty standard for Big Medical Things, but...wouldn't it be interesting?)
So...still fun? But I wish this had gone through a few more thorough rounds of editing aimed at ramping up literally anything other than the mean-girl drama.
So the concept is fun, and so is the 'quaranteen' hashtag. But I really wanted more, and there were so many ways that this could have been stepped up. Like:
-It's a dual POV book, but I had to keep double-checking to be sure whose chapter I was in, which is not a great sign. I've been thinking about how little I know about the characters, beyond their neighbourhoods of New York and the fact that Oliver is chronically anxious (and has a dead/deadbeat father) and Flora has a cousin with some sort of disability. What are their favourite school subjects? What do they do in their free time? Do they have any idea what they want to study in college? What year of school are they in? How are they managing missing three+ weeks of school? None of this really seems to come into play, because they mostly talk about how Oliver can win the heart (...or hashtags...) of a thoroughly unsympathetic character.
-There's never actually any stress about the super mono. Even when , it's already been established that the mono isn't actually dangerous for most people. It could have had known risks...or risks could have developed over the course of the book...but they weren't.
-The Other Woman is just completely irredeemable, which makes her boring. Worse, Oliver is completely oblivious to the fact that she's both awful and blatantly using him. It would have been so much more complicated if, for example, she had been genuinely interested and they had to figure out that they just weren't a good fit, or if they'd been dating for a while and she'd planned to break up but then felt like she couldn't while he was in quarantine.
-The medical care they receive is...questionable. The CDC is involved, and there's drama, and then...a medical intern is seemingly in charge of 90% of their care, the extent of which seems to be keeping them in semi-isolation and taking their temperature every two hours. For a month. Which means that they're not able to get more than two hours of sleep at a time for a month. Oddly, this doesn't seem to bother them, even though it is a much more obsessive level of temperature collection than is done for a quarantine for, say, Ebola, which is actually, you know, potentially deadly. (Also odd: treatment doesn't really seem to change if somebody is sick, which means that there's no medical purpose to obsessive temperature-checking.) Probably this comes down to a limited amount of research about quarantine and communicable diseases, but...you know what there isn't? There also isn't any mention of, say, doctors coming in to ask lots and lots of questions to figure out how they were exposed; there isn't any mention of med students (other than the ever-present Joey-the-intern) being paraded in to stare at them; there isn't any sense of urgency to their care unless two-hour temperature checks are involved.
-Flora's mono is talked about as a done deal (i.e., she's definitely sick) once she has one high temperature reading. You know what they don't do? They don't do a very basic blood test to confirm mono. What's the timeline on infection? We don't know. Can they test for it? We don't know. What's the treatment? Nothing specific, as far as we know. How has it presented in other patients? We don't really know. DETAILS. If you're going to make up an illness that provides the impetus for the rest of the book, GIVE ME DETAILS. (Note: the book is very very very clearly inspired by Ebola, and I am very very very glad that Cicatelli-Kuc made something up rather than trying to make this a meet-cute Ebola book, which just...sounds wrong on about 12,000 levels.)
-Wouldn't it be interesting if their quarantine were somewhere else? Like, if in addition to dealing with the quarantine, they were dealing with cultural differences or less fancy medical facilities? This might also provide a...less thin...rationale for them sharing a room for the duration of their quarantine. (Realistically, I don't know if this would happen, as repatriation is pretty standard for Big Medical Things, but...wouldn't it be interesting?)
So...still fun? But I wish this had gone through a few more thorough rounds of editing aimed at ramping up literally anything other than the mean-girl drama.
November 19, 2018
2.5 Stars.
I really liked the concept/idea of this book BUT I do have to say that it seemed really unfinished. It could've used another round or two of editing before putting out any ARCs. I was hoping it would get better by the end and it kind of just fell flat for me. Still fun to read + super quick!
I really liked the concept/idea of this book BUT I do have to say that it seemed really unfinished. It could've used another round or two of editing before putting out any ARCs. I was hoping it would get better by the end and it kind of just fell flat for me. Still fun to read + super quick!
March 4, 2020
This book sucks. I did not expect much coming in, but it was awful. It the basic, two people are in love but can't date each other story that i'm sure you have heard a thousand times. Not original, some of the worst writing i've ever read. If i could give zero stars, i would. I never go out of my way to write reviews, but I wanted to make sure NO ONE goes out of their way to read this book.
October 12, 2023
Probably the most cringe that can be compiled into a book. The first time I tried reading it, I couldn't get through the first 20 pages. I forced myself to read it because I got tired of seeing it on my shelf, and I have a hard time getting rid of books I haven't read yet.
In my opinion, the characters are bland, the plot is predictable, the flirting is cringe, and the themes throughout the book are extremely repetitive. I couldn't believe I finished it. I assume this book was written for teenagers or YA so maybe a younger audience would rate this higher.
In my opinion, the characters are bland, the plot is predictable, the flirting is cringe, and the themes throughout the book are extremely repetitive. I couldn't believe I finished it. I assume this book was written for teenagers or YA so maybe a younger audience would rate this higher.
March 1, 2019
2.5 stars. This book was pretty dang underwhelming. There wasn’t much that I liked about it, except the mental health rep and the cuteness that ensued occasionally. However, those things didn’t help to make this story seem more realistic or make the characters more likeable. The main characters, Flora and Oliver, make horrible decisions constantly. Oofa doofa.
October 1, 2020
Highly disappointing read. The book isn't so much of a romance as the cover states. There was hardly any romance at all (they only kissed twice). I bought this book in hopes of an actual love story, but was ultimately dissatisfied. When "quarantine" comes to mind, one may think of an interesting prison-like place (or anything fascinating). But the "quarantine" environment is only a room split in half by a curtain. Obviously, not outstandingly compelling. If there is anything worthwhile to read, it probably isn't this.
April 20, 2019
Well this was just a fun book! As someone who had an insanely bad case of regular mono, the illness bit was realistic. As a nurse, some of the hospital/quarantine stuff was not 😂
All in all though, I really enjoyed this one. The concept was unique, the split POV perfect, and I just really liked Flora and Oliver. This will be a perfect summer/vacation/beach read, if you’re looking for one.
I look forward to any future books from this author!
All in all though, I really enjoyed this one. The concept was unique, the split POV perfect, and I just really liked Flora and Oliver. This will be a perfect summer/vacation/beach read, if you’re looking for one.
I look forward to any future books from this author!
February 10, 2021
3.5/5
This book came out almost exactly a year before the COVID pandemic hit. When I added it to my TBR list, I never expected to be reading it in the middle of a pandemic. So I have to acknowledge that I feel like if I had read it prior to the pandemic I'd be a lot less critical and may have enjoyed it a little more too.
I don't like what Flora did to get stuck in a 30 day quarantine. After being on the frontlines, lying about something like that to get out of going home or to be more interesting is no joke. Healthcare resources are valuable and scarce. Furthermore, putting someone else at risk (kissing Oliver) is selfish. However, it does say something about the development of teenage brains and their ability to make sound decisions. It also says something about their mental health needs, not necessarily because they have a disorder but rather because they could use the support.
Kelsey's character is written so well along with the dynamic between her and Flora. It's very relatable, after all, there's always a Kelsey and a Flora in every female population/highschool (and sometimes the Kelseys don't leave high school and are out roaming the adult world *shudders*).
The author also does a good job of addressing people wanting to be sick, for example so they can stay in bed or sleep versus what it's actually like to be sick (i.e. bad and not just a long nap).
When they launched the #quaranteen hashtag, the inconsistency between Oliver posting on Instagram and then Flora and Oliver checking Twitter for a reaction bothered me (perhaps because of my marketing background and my love for twitter).
That being said, if you're wondering... I'm totally #TeamFloriver
This book came out almost exactly a year before the COVID pandemic hit. When I added it to my TBR list, I never expected to be reading it in the middle of a pandemic. So I have to acknowledge that I feel like if I had read it prior to the pandemic I'd be a lot less critical and may have enjoyed it a little more too.
I don't like what Flora did to get stuck in a 30 day quarantine. After being on the frontlines, lying about something like that to get out of going home or to be more interesting is no joke. Healthcare resources are valuable and scarce. Furthermore, putting someone else at risk (kissing Oliver) is selfish. However, it does say something about the development of teenage brains and their ability to make sound decisions. It also says something about their mental health needs, not necessarily because they have a disorder but rather because they could use the support.
Kelsey's character is written so well along with the dynamic between her and Flora. It's very relatable, after all, there's always a Kelsey and a Flora in every female population/highschool (and sometimes the Kelseys don't leave high school and are out roaming the adult world *shudders*).
The author also does a good job of addressing people wanting to be sick, for example so they can stay in bed or sleep versus what it's actually like to be sick (i.e. bad and not just a long nap).
When they launched the #quaranteen hashtag, the inconsistency between Oliver posting on Instagram and then Flora and Oliver checking Twitter for a reaction bothered me (perhaps because of my marketing background and my love for twitter).
That being said, if you're wondering... I'm totally #TeamFloriver
January 5, 2021
I thought this book was okay. It had an interesting premise and cohesiveness, but for me I couldn’t see where the characters were at and when they argued for seemingly no reason I got very confused and frustrated. It was a little repetitive, but then again, that’s just what I felt. Still a good story. That being said, this is a debut novel and I could be interested in the author’s writing in the future.
March 23, 2020
This is one of the worst books I have ever read. Maybe reading during COVID-19 might have something to do with it, but I really don't think so. I cannot recommend this in our library. The characters were shallow, the story line was weak., the writing repetitive. YA readers, there are so many better things to spend your time reading. Avoid this book like the plague.
January 18, 2021
This book had a sense of realism to it that a lot of others don't. Both characters were refreshingly real. On the other hand, the overall plot was weak. The book moved incredibly slow in some parts and the flirting/chemistry between characters was minimal.
January 28, 2021
DNF
Sorry, this book sucked. Flora was too annoying and just a bad charector overall. The writing was okay but I've seen much better. All the characters sucked but Flora was the worst. I got to page 50 before I took a long sigh and gave up. This book was just too bad.
Sorry, this book sucked. Flora was too annoying and just a bad charector overall. The writing was okay but I've seen much better. All the characters sucked but Flora was the worst. I got to page 50 before I took a long sigh and gave up. This book was just too bad.
August 22, 2021
This book was really cute. I found it randomly at a book store and didn’t have high hopes but surprisingly it was good. Has very short chapters which I love. If you want a book to make you feel happy would definitely suggest this one.
June 15, 2025
The classic line "still a better love story than Twilight" may not apply in this case. Because this might actually be a worse love story than Twilight. I can now say this, having (embarrassingly) read both.
July 29, 2021
This book was very uneventful. It was very repetitive and there was no reason for it to be as long as it was. The same occurrences happened over and over again throughout their stay in the hospital. In all honesty the ending was just something you have to learn to just accept. Personally I would not read another book by this author as this book did not really keep me entertained, it was more so just to pass time I really could have spent reading a much more deserving book.
January 25, 2021
just no....
Read
October 14, 2021A good teen drama story; timely.
May 31, 2025
it was really cringey and the characters were meh
April 26, 2020
Not much happened.
Read
March 13, 2020My favorite book.
December 22, 2021
3.5 stars cute story, very lighthearted
June 6, 2021
OK THIS BOOK- so i've read this 3 times now and omg I love it so much. Something about the lack of intimacy and how much innocence there is, is just perfect to me. omg kelsey want to make me throw the book across my room, but that shows good writing. this book is so so sweet and cute and when I look back on the book it seems a little bit basic? but in a great way because the book is amazing? and the ending i can not. I just think it is so cute that oliver went to see her with all these cold medications I can not. that was the cutest part. read this in 2 days (the first time, haha.)
March 15, 2019
See my full, rambling, infectious disease nerd review here. It has gifs!
Poor, anxious Oliver is just wrapping up a Spring Break volunteering trip in the Dominican Republic. He just wants to go home, attend a party and somehow work up the courage to ask a girl out. Flora just spent the past week on a disastrous visit to her dad and her airheaded stepmom. Flora and Oliver find themselves on the same flight home from Punta Cana to Miami, and from there, back to NYC. Because they both live in Brooklyn, obviously.
Oliver, unfortunately, gets stuck to some guy who is visibly sick, aka every fliers worst nightmare. In an attempt to get away from the obvious disease vector, he moves one row back and sits right next to...you guessed it, Flora. Sparks fly - she calms him down while he has a panic attack on the flight, she thinks his eyes are like a cool breeze. He finds her refreshingly forthright and honest.
There’s just one problem: the flight attendants take notice of obviously sick dude, whose backstory, name or anything like that we never learn. They call the CDC, because apparently there’s a new, fun, mutated form of infectious Mononucleosis. Once Flora and Oliver’s flight arrives in Miami, the plane is greeted by none other than the CDC. Yay! Frankly, if I were on a flight that was greeted on the runway by the CDC, I would geek out so hard. The CDC puts all the passengers on a 24-hour hold to see if any of them develop a fever. While they’re going through their final checks, Flora impulsively fakes a fever. She does this by taking the thermometer out of her mouth and then rubbing on it while the CDC worker isn’t looking which...you know what, suspend your disbelief for a while, OK? As soon as it becomes apparent that she has a fever and needs to go into a 30 day quarantine, Flora kisses Oliver. As one does. Now they’re both going to be stuck in quarantine for 30 days. They’re given a room together because...reasons.
Once in quarantine, Oliver and Flora don’t have much to do other than just hang out with one another. Once Flora starts the hashtag #quaranteen on social media, though, she and Oliver become online famous. Suddenly Kelsey, the girl Oliver had been crushing on back in New York, has come down to Miami and is declaring herself to be Oliver’s girlfriend. Tension ensues! Will Oliver and Flora get sick? Will Oliver finally realize that Kelsey is the absolute worst? And will Flora and Oliver finally just get together goddamn it???
Quarantine: A Love Story is the wonderfully light and fluffy read that I needed in my life right now. The past two books I’ve read were both really sad and depressing, so a happyfun YA romance about two teens in a weird situation that appeals to my weird love for infectious diseases was just what my brain called for at the moment. If you happen to know anything about medicine, though, er...don’t come in to this book hoping for a medically accurate depiction of quarantine. In this fantasyland Quarantine, they let visitors take their phones into the room with them. And let the patients touch said phones. And they let their moms bring their purses in with them. Because...quarantine? I could put on my infectious disease nerd hat and go on and on and on about how that’s not how it works, but honestly, I don’t care. I didn’t come here for an accurate depiction of a hospital quarantine situation, if I wanted that, the CDC website is right there, waiting for me. I’m here for a cute YA love story about two teens in a weird situation. And to hate on that awful, selfie-obsessed bitch Kelsey. Yeah, we all know someone like Kelsey. She’s the worst.
Mostly, what I loved about this book was both its portrayal of anxiety, and the realistic depiction of how teens communicate. Plus, the romance is adorable. Team Floriver, bitches.
Poor, anxious Oliver is just wrapping up a Spring Break volunteering trip in the Dominican Republic. He just wants to go home, attend a party and somehow work up the courage to ask a girl out. Flora just spent the past week on a disastrous visit to her dad and her airheaded stepmom. Flora and Oliver find themselves on the same flight home from Punta Cana to Miami, and from there, back to NYC. Because they both live in Brooklyn, obviously.
Oliver, unfortunately, gets stuck to some guy who is visibly sick, aka every fliers worst nightmare. In an attempt to get away from the obvious disease vector, he moves one row back and sits right next to...you guessed it, Flora. Sparks fly - she calms him down while he has a panic attack on the flight, she thinks his eyes are like a cool breeze. He finds her refreshingly forthright and honest.
There’s just one problem: the flight attendants take notice of obviously sick dude, whose backstory, name or anything like that we never learn. They call the CDC, because apparently there’s a new, fun, mutated form of infectious Mononucleosis. Once Flora and Oliver’s flight arrives in Miami, the plane is greeted by none other than the CDC. Yay! Frankly, if I were on a flight that was greeted on the runway by the CDC, I would geek out so hard. The CDC puts all the passengers on a 24-hour hold to see if any of them develop a fever. While they’re going through their final checks, Flora impulsively fakes a fever. She does this by taking the thermometer out of her mouth and then rubbing on it while the CDC worker isn’t looking which...you know what, suspend your disbelief for a while, OK? As soon as it becomes apparent that she has a fever and needs to go into a 30 day quarantine, Flora kisses Oliver. As one does. Now they’re both going to be stuck in quarantine for 30 days. They’re given a room together because...reasons.
Once in quarantine, Oliver and Flora don’t have much to do other than just hang out with one another. Once Flora starts the hashtag #quaranteen on social media, though, she and Oliver become online famous. Suddenly Kelsey, the girl Oliver had been crushing on back in New York, has come down to Miami and is declaring herself to be Oliver’s girlfriend. Tension ensues! Will Oliver and Flora get sick? Will Oliver finally realize that Kelsey is the absolute worst? And will Flora and Oliver finally just get together goddamn it???
Quarantine: A Love Story is the wonderfully light and fluffy read that I needed in my life right now. The past two books I’ve read were both really sad and depressing, so a happyfun YA romance about two teens in a weird situation that appeals to my weird love for infectious diseases was just what my brain called for at the moment. If you happen to know anything about medicine, though, er...don’t come in to this book hoping for a medically accurate depiction of quarantine. In this fantasyland Quarantine, they let visitors take their phones into the room with them. And let the patients touch said phones. And they let their moms bring their purses in with them. Because...quarantine? I could put on my infectious disease nerd hat and go on and on and on about how that’s not how it works, but honestly, I don’t care. I didn’t come here for an accurate depiction of a hospital quarantine situation, if I wanted that, the CDC website is right there, waiting for me. I’m here for a cute YA love story about two teens in a weird situation. And to hate on that awful, selfie-obsessed bitch Kelsey. Yeah, we all know someone like Kelsey. She’s the worst.
Mostly, what I loved about this book was both its portrayal of anxiety, and the realistic depiction of how teens communicate. Plus, the romance is adorable. Team Floriver, bitches.
December 5, 2019
Over the break, I read Quarantine:A love story, by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc and I liked it. I decided to read this because I had a friend who told me that it was a really good book and when I saw it in the library decided to try it out. At first, to be honest I thought that this book would be very boring. At first I felt the plot didn’t move along fast enough but then I realized that when I continued on it was actually very interesting, showing how these characters interacted with each other and how they acted when getting to know each other. This also includes the way they interacted with others and the way they felt the others interpreted their thoughts and feelings during this experience.
This book was great because the way that it was structured and how the characters interact and the way that they’ve come because of this experience. I also think it’s great because of the way they tell the story. They make it so that different audiences can enjoy the book too. It has suspense to it even if it’s about love. It shows the small things people say and how it affects them. Even how they get frustrated with each other at times as well. With the plot having these characters interacting between each other and others and how they think the same things without realizing it. What also made this book great was the influence they had on their fans and the influence their fans had on them.
They could change it by making the plot move along faster at the beginning. It shows the way that they get on the plane without too many details, but when on the flight, it seems like too many details are added. Another thing I would change is, at the end I feel like there could be a little more detail as to what happened after. We find out what happens but I feel like they don’t have an explanation as to what happens. I feel like an epilogue could be a nice decision. With more details at the end I feel like they could truly tie the ending together instead of letting us try to know what’s happening after.
I think people who love love stories should read this because this story is about two teenagers who have nothing to do with each other and then they are stuck together. You can see the change and different emotions together. These changes make the book have some suspense because you never know what will happen next. You will like this book if you like drama. I say this because this book has a lot of drama. This going on between different characters and even these two teenagers. The fans also have a gigantic role in this drama. With them sharing their opinions about them and these two characters have to deal with these people saying these things. The parents and the choices their parents make also causes drama between them and other characters that are in the book.
This book was great because the way that it was structured and how the characters interact and the way that they’ve come because of this experience. I also think it’s great because of the way they tell the story. They make it so that different audiences can enjoy the book too. It has suspense to it even if it’s about love. It shows the small things people say and how it affects them. Even how they get frustrated with each other at times as well. With the plot having these characters interacting between each other and others and how they think the same things without realizing it. What also made this book great was the influence they had on their fans and the influence their fans had on them.
They could change it by making the plot move along faster at the beginning. It shows the way that they get on the plane without too many details, but when on the flight, it seems like too many details are added. Another thing I would change is, at the end I feel like there could be a little more detail as to what happened after. We find out what happens but I feel like they don’t have an explanation as to what happens. I feel like an epilogue could be a nice decision. With more details at the end I feel like they could truly tie the ending together instead of letting us try to know what’s happening after.
I think people who love love stories should read this because this story is about two teenagers who have nothing to do with each other and then they are stuck together. You can see the change and different emotions together. These changes make the book have some suspense because you never know what will happen next. You will like this book if you like drama. I say this because this book has a lot of drama. This going on between different characters and even these two teenagers. The fans also have a gigantic role in this drama. With them sharing their opinions about them and these two characters have to deal with these people saying these things. The parents and the choices their parents make also causes drama between them and other characters that are in the book.
November 7, 2019
Quarantine by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc, 324 pages. Scholastic Press (Scholastic Inc), 2019. $17.99
Language: PG (10 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Oliver and Flora didn’t know each other a couple hours ago, but now they and the rest of their flight are being monitored to see if they show symptoms for a disease. Oliver just wants to get home, but Flora is hoping to prolong the journey to avoid what’s waiting for her—even if it means faking a fever.
The story was fine, but I didn’t feel very invested. Oliver and Flora were actually kind of annoying, and I didn’t like the continual repetition of issues because it felt like the story wasn’t going anywhere. The ending wrapped everything up nicely, so at least it has that going for it, but the whole story was cheesey at best and insubstantial at worst.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
Language: PG (10 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Oliver and Flora didn’t know each other a couple hours ago, but now they and the rest of their flight are being monitored to see if they show symptoms for a disease. Oliver just wants to get home, but Flora is hoping to prolong the journey to avoid what’s waiting for her—even if it means faking a fever.
The story was fine, but I didn’t feel very invested. Oliver and Flora were actually kind of annoying, and I didn’t like the continual repetition of issues because it felt like the story wasn’t going anywhere. The ending wrapped everything up nicely, so at least it has that going for it, but the whole story was cheesey at best and insubstantial at worst.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...
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