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adhdru's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
Moderate: Alcohol and Medical content
Minor: Transphobia
elysce's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
‘Where we go from here’ for tackles AIDS in a way very applicable to modern audiences, dispels myths without patronising the reader. The three person POV allows for a variation of perspective that is important for the flow of the novel as well as letting certain characters develop more naturally than if it had been one point of view. Solid 4/5 rating, loveable characters, nice story, would recommend
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
alibader's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was the first book I have ever read that discussed HIV and I think it was great. I really enjoyed the character of Ian and his storyline I thought it was the most compelling. Since this book switches POVs every chapter I was surprisingly never confused and I thought each character had his own unique voice (although maybe that was due to the audiobook having different narrators).
However, my issues with the book are like many of the other reviews, at some points the plot wasn't making sense and things happened way too fast towards the end. The epilogue breaks the fourth wall for some reason (??). And at some points the writing (especially in doctor appointment scenes) felt like I was reading a textbook.
I would 100% recommend this to readers who want to learn more about HIV with an, especially diverse cast.
However, my issues with the book are like many of the other reviews, at some points the plot wasn't making sense and things happened way too fast towards the end. The epilogue
I would 100% recommend this to readers who want to learn more about HIV with an, especially diverse cast.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Homophobia, Medical content, and Outing
hev139's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, Hate crime, and Bullying
ejb44's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
*Thank you NetGalley for the copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. *
Where We Go From Here by Lucas Rocha is a Portuguese translated novel about the lives of three young men and how HIV has impacted their experiences as gay men. Ian just found out he is HIV positive. Victor finds out the person he’s interested in is HIV positive and Henrique has been diagnosed for 3 years. The intertwining stories of these men beautifully deals with what it means to love, grow, trust and educate whilst dealing with the diagnosis of HIV.
Brazilian author Rocha attempts to dissect modern misconceptions regarding HIV, especially those present in his home country, Brazil, which has been largely recognised as having one of the most effective responses to the HIV epidemic. Despite it being over 50 years since the largest outbreak in the West of AIDS and HIV, social perception of the virus has changed very little, with fears today surrounding hugging, kissing and starting a sexual relationship with someone HIV positive. The lack of accurate information regarding the topic has created a society largely unaware of how the virus is dealt with in the 21st century. This is where Rocha comes in to bridge the gap in the market.
While this book is fictional, I think because of the focus on HIV, there is a lot of long conversations which are purely there for the reader to learn from, as opposed to being beneficial to the development of the characters themselves. This ties in with fact that I think most of the characters are very two dimensional, and their whole existence in this book is to educate the readers about HIV. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because I think it is indeed really educational, but it was hard to really like the characters when they barely have a life outside of their status.
One of the best things about this book, however, was the accurate range in emotions to the virus. While this book could have focused on “it’s no longer dangerous therefore you’re wrong for thinking bad of me”, it instead acknowledges the nuances of the topic as well as the fact that humans are a victim to the falsehoods we grow up hearing. No one person is portrayed as being more correct or superior because of their relationship with the virus, but the characters are portrayed on their own journey of confronting their perceptions and what they can do to change their mindset, which was really well done!
One last comment – despite the book being set in Brazil, I didn’t really feel like it had the Brazilian setting which I was hoping for. Due to the fact that this book is very much focused on the virus over the characters, other aspects of the book like writing, characters and setting take a slight step back. The only way I could describe this book is as if it’s a mix of fiction and nonfiction because the fictional aspect isn’t really emphasised too much.
Overall, a really good educational read and a massive achievement from the author, but I felt it could have improved on the ‘fictional’ side of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Outing
skelbea's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Medical content, Outing, Religious bigotry, and Vomit
lennie_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
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
4.5
'But knowing is not the same as feeling. Knowing is not living without the fear that things might go wrong.'
I loved this book;
It's set in Brazil, has multiple POV, queer characters, HIV rep, romance, friendships and community.
We follow Ian, Henrique and Victor and their experience with HIV.
Ian is 18 and we meet him as he is being diagnosed as HIV positive. In the clinic at the same time is Victor, who is getting a test after a guy he was seeing, Henrique, told him he was HIV positive and Henrique who is 21 and has been living with HIV for a few years now.
This book is so wonderful and nuanced and I loved how we saw all their experiences and how they challenged prejudices and misconceptions, even from the characters themselves about HIV and how you can transmit it.
This book is also super informative about HIV in general but also how HIV is treated in Brazil, all the technical terms around HIV as well as side affects of the medicines. I learnt sooo much from this book. It really is a must read.
I loved these characters and their relationships with their friends and siblings were wonderful.
It's heavy at times and sometimes you don't always agree with the characters but it's a great read and the translation is fantastic.
My only issue was near the end when we meet Henrique's ex boyfriend. The reasons behind his actions made no sense to me other than to show prejudice and then how the queer community can band together afterwards.
CW: hiv prejudice, homophobia, transphobia, medicine
I loved this book;
It's set in Brazil, has multiple POV, queer characters, HIV rep, romance, friendships and community.
We follow Ian, Henrique and Victor and their experience with HIV.
Ian is 18 and we meet him as he is being diagnosed as HIV positive. In the clinic at the same time is Victor, who is getting a test after a guy he was seeing, Henrique, told him he was HIV positive and Henrique who is 21 and has been living with HIV for a few years now.
This book is so wonderful and nuanced and I loved how we saw all their experiences and how they challenged prejudices and misconceptions, even from the characters themselves about HIV and how you can transmit it.
This book is also super informative about HIV in general but also how HIV is treated in Brazil, all the technical terms around HIV as well as side affects of the medicines. I learnt sooo much from this book. It really is a must read.
I loved these characters and their relationships with their friends and siblings were wonderful.
It's heavy at times and sometimes you don't always agree with the characters but it's a great read and the translation is fantastic.
My only issue was near the end when we meet Henrique's ex boyfriend. The reasons behind his actions made no sense to me other than to show prejudice and then how the queer community can band together afterwards.
CW: hiv prejudice, homophobia, transphobia, medicine
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Medical content
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- 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
This is such a well-written book with an in-depth look at what it might look like to be diagnosed HIV-positive. This is told from 3 alternating viewpoints of young gay men in Brazil--1 who has been positive for years, 1 who is dating someone HIV-positive, and 1 who is newly diagnosed.
I really liked the journeys all three went with and seeing these points of views. This book is extremely informative about HIV and the misconceptions surrounding it! I really enjoyed it.
I really liked the journeys all three went with and seeing these points of views. This book is extremely informative about HIV and the misconceptions surrounding it! I really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Chronic illness
Moderate: Hate crime
ridleyreadsthings's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a brilliant book - honestly, as a gay man, I didn't actually know much about HIV or AIDS. I knew the basics, the horror stories that come with all the fear and hate and stigma.
This was such an enlightening read. The characters were adorable, and it was interesting to get insight into living with HIV from 3 different povs - someone who has just been diagnosed, someone who has been living with it for 3 years, and the third was dating the former, and freaked out when he found out his partner has HIV. Also all come from a background where all of their families reacted in different ways to them coming out.
Following these young men on their journey as their lives intertwined was such a joy - it was heartfelt and tender, and sometimes tense and heartbreaking.
It was a stunning debut - it was informative, well written and funny with a great set of characters, who had amazing support group of friends that everyone needs in their lives.
I rated it 4 stars, mainly because it felt kind of rushed towards the end, but I still enjoyed every minute of it. But other than that I can't really fault it much. I look forward to whatever books Lucas Rocha may write in the future.
This book is a reminder that hate and prejudice (of all kinds) and the stigma surrounding HIV hold no place in this world. We all have different hopes and dreams, fears and anxieties, but we are all the same. I urge everyone to go pick up a copy, and educate yourself.
This was such an enlightening read. The characters were adorable, and it was interesting to get insight into living with HIV from 3 different povs - someone who has just been diagnosed, someone who has been living with it for 3 years, and the third was dating the former, and freaked out when he found out his partner has HIV. Also all come from a background where all of their families reacted in different ways to them coming out.
Following these young men on their journey as their lives intertwined was such a joy - it was heartfelt and tender, and sometimes tense and heartbreaking.
It was a stunning debut - it was informative, well written and funny with a great set of characters, who had amazing support group of friends that everyone needs in their lives.
I rated it 4 stars, mainly because it felt kind of rushed towards the end, but I still enjoyed every minute of it. But other than that I can't really fault it much. I look forward to whatever books Lucas Rocha may write in the future.
This book is a reminder that hate and prejudice (of all kinds) and the stigma surrounding HIV hold no place in this world. We all have different hopes and dreams, fears and anxieties, but we are all the same. I urge everyone to go pick up a copy, and educate yourself.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Chronic illness, and Bullying
regal_leaves's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Medical content