The Down Days

I really, really loved this. At first, I was kind of sucked in with the lyrical voice of Hugo, and then I became really enthralled with some of the characters. This is fast-paced, has moments of great insight into the human condition, and some laugh out loud bits, not at all what one would expect in a novel about a virus. I would go so far as to call this wacky, but in a way that is utterly charming (like walking around Stars Hollow in autumn). There is a kooky cast of characters and the world is built so completely: we understand everyone's backstory and, actually, what everyone's apartment looks like.
There are times when Hugo blows your mind, for example, that thing with the Bicycle playing cards in WWII is true and other times when I think we should study her to see if she is the next Nostradamus. Seriously, she nailed some of the Covid 19 behavior, restrictions, etc.
I saved this article to read after I finished: https://lithub.com/ilze-hugo-on-writing-a-pandemic-novel-and-seeing-it-come-true/
Just in case there are spoilers.
I hope this does really well in the TOB 2021 tournament!