Quarantine (My New Zealand Story)
Philippa Werry
Scholastic
2022

June 20, 2022

Quarantine by Philippa Werry was a great book to read and review. It is set in Wellington in 1937. The book is told through the eyes of an 11-year-old boy named Tom. He has three sisters and one brother. The oldest sister is Lily, Tom is the second oldest, Florence (Flo for short) is just younger than Tom, then Johnny, and little Jessie is the youngest.

One day the newspaper reports of a case of infantile paralysis (polio). This was going to be the second infantile paralysis wave, the last one being before Tom was born.

With school closed down, the picture theatres shut, and Tom not allowed to play with his best friend Charlie, he struggles to find interesting things to do. But up until then, Tom thought they were fine – infantile paralysis, the country’s worst fear, couldn’t touch them, right? He shouldn’t have been so sure…

When his sister Florence is admitted to hospital with polio, their family is devastated. Schools open up, but close again shortly after. Tom’s dream, to become an Olympic runner, is slowly fading away.

I think this is an amazing book, with an unpredictable plot. It’s got lots of information inside; I learned about the infantile paralysis epidemic, which I’d never heard of before. It also makes me think how lucky we are that we have vaccines for it now.

This book also fits well with the current pandemic, Covid 19, in that there is a sense of isolation, lockdown and ongoing uncertainty – I was reading this during an isolation myself. The book also tells a strong message, which is to never give up on your dreams, no matter what. This is told through the main character Tom’s dream, becoming an Olympic runner, which he’d wanted since he first met his idol, Jack Lovelock.

The author put lots of description in the story, such as this passage:

“I didn’t think of anything else, except for a small, slight figure in a black running shirt, arms close by his side, flying like the wind, fighting to stay ahead of his pursuers. Jack Lovelock had been fighting for Olympic gold. I was fighting to keep Flo alive. There was nothing I could do except run. So I ran. ” 

Normally this isn’t the kind of book I would choose to read, based on the genre or the title. But when I read it, I was very surprised. I ended up quite liking the book’s writing style; maybe I’ll read some more books by the same author next time!

• Caleb is 12 years old and lives in Waikanae