Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Você tem a vida inteira

My actual rating is 3.25/3.5 ish but rounding up for the sake of giving this book a better chance at exposure. This originally Brazilian novel written in Portuguese was translated to English and I’m glad it was. This centers around three young Brazilian men who are impacted by HIV in some shape or form. This definitely is more of a book that is catered towards individuals who aren’t familiar with HIV / AIDS & kind of like an intro to the topic. I was already somewhat aware of HIV but this was a good look also into the Latin world’s view of STD’s, homosexuality, drag queens and acceptance vs intolerance. I think mature young adults would be able to handle this well & eye opening in more ways than one.

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welllovedspines's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

TL;DR: A translated debut about the reality of living after a diagnosis of HIV. Told in three perspectives, this book does a lot to distigmatize this diagnosis and illustrate how beautiful life can be for those impacted. Educational and heart-warming.
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This was an audiobook read for me, and honestly I'm not sure if I would have initially gravitated to it without this free audiobook access. That is something I've been loving recently because it's exposed me to more excellent books than I could have dreamed of.

This book is told in 3 different perspectives: from someone recently diagnosed with HIV, someone that recently tested negative after potential exposure, and someone who has been living with HIV for years. The audiobook has three different readers, which really helped with the perspective changes too!

I learned a lot about HIV and it's treatment through this book. Although set in Brazil, I believe anyone can relate to the experience these men go through. There has always been a massive amount of stigma around HIV (and AIDS), and many view this diagnosis as a death sentence. This book showed this is not the case and that life can be beautiful, fulfilling, and worthwhile in spite of being HIV positive.

Another thing I appreciated about this book was the amount of truth the author conveys about HIV. It's clear he is passionate about the topic and wants to clear the air on the many myths that are out there. The book clearly demonstrates that there is still work to be done to destigmatize HIV, and still offering hope in this possibility.

While being both informative and touching, this book definitely leaves a lasting impression. I definitely recommend it!

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helenmcd's review against another edition

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challenging funny hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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yadira315's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I usually only like to dual POV for romance novels, but I really appreciated it in the story as we get to see each character’s perspective for their individual journey and transition as they grow. What a heartbreaking yet fulfilling story. I love each of the characters and was rooting for them. This is such an important read, as I learned so much about HIV. This book also provides a voice for so many that are stigmatized. I highly recommend everyone check this book out !

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abbie_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

4.25

I loved this one! I don’t read a lot of YA, but this one is definitely on the upper age range of YA and the characters are great! Plus it tackles a super important topic - living with HIV in Brazil. We follow three characters, Henrique, Ian and Victor, all at differing stages in life. Henrique has been living with HIV for three years, Ian has just been diagnosed, and Victor has just been tested but received negative results. Their lives all intertwine, and I just loved the found family aspect of this book.

They are young, so they do make mistakes and say stupid things but that just makes the development even better! Where We Go From Here does a great job of balancing the idea that there is still a lot of intolerance and prejudice surrounding HIV positive people with a more hopeful tone. The boys mostly all have excellent support systems, through their friends even if their family are not supportive. Despite the subject matter, it’s got humour and heart while not making light of the seriousness.

It’s not an ownvoices novel, but the author did lots of research and includes so many resources in the author note. I obviously can’t attest to the veracity (not being a gay man, HIV positive, or Brazilian), but I definitely loved it.

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zluke's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

It was cute and fairly upbeat but unfortunately it feels a bit clunky at times. Possibly because it's been translated.

Regardless it was an interesting read and I learned a little more about what's its like to live with HIV in Brazil. Highlights really well that there's still a lot of stigma and shame as well as misinformation surrounding HIV that we need to challenge.

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