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akacya's review against another edition
5.0
2024 reads: 92/250
simone is starting over at a new school in her junior year. as the student director of the school play, rent, she’s making friends. but what her classmates don’t know is how close to home rent is for her, as an HIV-positive teen. while keeping her viral load down has become easier, keeping her diagnosis a secret is becoming harder, especially when she receives a blackmail note telling her to stop talking to her crush, miles, or the note-sender will expose her.
honestly, going into this book, i didn’t know much about HIV. while i am not going to treat this book like a complete guide, and will do more research on my own, i appreciate how much i learned from it. i also liked the different perspectives on HIV, such as simone’s dads discussing the people they knew who died from AIDS versus simone herself who was born with HIV. there were also many moments in the book where simone had to educate others because, unfortunately, many people have a negative stigma when it comes to HIV.
overall, this was a lovely story and i can’t wait to read more from camryn garrett.
tanya_raeds's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
open this book with an open mind <3
leaheid's review against another edition
5.0
Wunderschön leicht geschrieben und mit einer Protagonistin mit der man sofort mitfühlt. Das Buch zeigt sehr viele Probleme auf ohne dabei belastend auf den Leser zu wirken, was einen gleichzeitig zum Nachdenken anregt und trotzdem eine Menge Spaß beim Lesen bereitet. Definitiv eine Bereicherung für jeden!
marieintheraw's review against another edition
4.0
This is a brilliant and impacting debut. It honestly perfectly balances what would be standard contemporary elements and the emotionally driven story of having the protagonist be an HIV-positive teen.
I received an ecopy of this through netgalley; however, all opinions are my own.
I received an ecopy of this through netgalley; however, all opinions are my own.
constant_reader's review against another edition
emotional
informative
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? No
4.5
warlocksarecool21's review against another edition
dnf-ing until I can get the ebook or a physical copy, I don’t like the audiobook narrator.
sp1derpr1ncess's review against another edition
4.0
**warning: mild spoilers**
wow!
before this book, I hadn't ever read anything about characters with a chronic illness (besides cancer). I didn't even know much about HIV.
To say that this book opened my eyes would be an understatement. (and with a glowing review by Angie Thomas, I was expecting something amazing!)
Garrett does an AMAZING job with highlighting being HIV positive and the struggles it brings. Not to mention, she does an amazing job at talking about sensitive and current issues. She even does an amazing job at making it sound like 16/17 year olds talking, which was incredibly refreshing!
Overall, I gave this a 4/5 as some parts of it didn't sound like how any average person would talk, almost like there was a kind of push to talk about things that could've blended in more seamlessly.
I also wish Simone's bisexuality was explored more. I think this is one of the only books I've read in the past year where I actually WANTED to read more!
For Garrett's first book, it was excellent. Better even than other books written by seasoned authors. Incredibly excited to see what else she has to write about!
wow!
before this book, I hadn't ever read anything about characters with a chronic illness (besides cancer). I didn't even know much about HIV.
To say that this book opened my eyes would be an understatement. (and with a glowing review by Angie Thomas, I was expecting something amazing!)
Garrett does an AMAZING job with highlighting being HIV positive and the struggles it brings. Not to mention, she does an amazing job at talking about sensitive and current issues. She even does an amazing job at making it sound like 16/17 year olds talking, which was incredibly refreshing!
Overall, I gave this a 4/5 as some parts of it didn't sound like how any average person would talk, almost like there was a kind of push to talk about things that could've blended in more seamlessly.
I also wish Simone's bisexuality was explored more. I think this is one of the only books I've read in the past year where I actually WANTED to read more!
For Garrett's first book, it was excellent. Better even than other books written by seasoned authors. Incredibly excited to see what else she has to write about!
heyreadingpants's review against another edition
Wasn’t loving it, then the main character said something really insensitive about adoption that I cannot believe made it through editing.
saracox's review against another edition
4.0
I whizzed through this book in only 5 hours of actual reading time. It completely captivated me! Simone is a teenager, with all the problems and changes that come with it. To top it, she's adopted - with two gay dad's - and she was born with HIV. I don't know about everyone else, but I didn't cope with being a teenager very well so I'm already proud of this fictional yet utterly believable character. The narrative is done through Simone's eyes. And is so honest. It encompasses all the things that a teenager would be thinking; school stresses, friendship groups, sexuality and let's not forget high-school crushes. This is a brilliant coming of age YA novel. One that I think I will rave about for a while. Not only was it a brilliant read, it also taught me loads about HIV (U=U) and living with HIV. And the theme of this text is completely right, people don't know as much as they should and they react based on incomplete facts. I am so glad that I read this book and implore you to read it too.
saracox's review against another edition
4.0
I whizzed through this book in only 5 hours of actual reading time. It completely captivated me! Simone is a teenager, with all the problems and changes that come with it. To top it, she's adopted - with two gay dad's - and she was born with HIV. I don't know about everyone else, but I didn't cope with being a teenager very well so I'm already proud of this fictional yet utterly believable character. The narrative is done through Simone's eyes. And is so honest. It encompasses all the things that a teenager would be thinking; school stresses, friendship groups, sexuality and let's not forget high-school crushes. This is a brilliant coming of age YA novel. One that I think I will rave about for a while. Not only was it a brilliant read, it also taught me loads about HIV (U=U) and living with HIV. And the theme of this text is completely right, people don't know as much as they should and they react based on incomplete facts. I am so glad that I read this book and implore you to read it too.