Going Viral: A Socially Distant Love Story

Katie Cicatelli-Kuc

Nov 2021 · Sold by Scholastic Inc.

About this ebook

When Claire Draper's fictional love story goes viral in the wake of a pandemic, the line between reality and fiction is blurred. But will she be able to tell the difference?

Claire is a junior in high school when a worldwide pandemic strikes, and she's in the epicenter of it all in New York City. Suddenly, Claire is forced to isolate with her family indefinitely, which means she won't be able to see her friends or even her girlfriend, Vanessa, in person for a long time.

At first it's not so bad, but the longer the pandemic lasts, the more Claire feels her priorities changing. That's when she looks outside her bedroom window and notices something new: A girl who lives in the building across the street sitting on her fire escape.

So Claire starts writing a story online about a girl who falls for the girl across the street. To Claire's surprise, the story goes viral-and it seems people think true. But how true is true? And what if Vanessa finds out? Will Claire be able to manage her newfound internet fame before everything spirals out of control?

Ratings and reviews

From the first few words I already remembered my experience when COVID came to my home. My teacher told us about the virus but no one seemed too worried, concerned, but not worried. I remember everything from that day, how it was a free drawing Friday and we were told spring break was going to be a week early because of the virus and how we'd be back after two weeks. Two weeks two years same thing. I remember it was raining I was walking home and I had ladybug themed boots and umbrella. One of my favorite YouTuber posted a new video I remember everything about it (keep in mind I haven't seen that video in years) I remember I was excited and not realizing what was about to happen. 2020 was the most memorable year for all the wrong reasons and this book captured that wonderfully.

About the author

Katie Cicatelli-Kuc spent a decade working as an in-house copy editor for major publishing houses before becoming a full-time freelancer and mom. She lives in Beacon, New York.