A review by henrygravesprince
The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I appreciate this book for a lot of things: not only the fact that it’s plain good writing. To begin with, its representation of a queer small-town Appalachian experience resonated with me, so much that I had to take breaks between reading chunks of it because the chord it hit, realizing how much my experiences existing here mirrors Brian’s experience, was a tender one full of complicated grief and reverence. Our lives and experiences are not the same, but a lot of the treatment of Brian, and the way all of his actions, and his mere existence in his hometown, become politicized, reminded me of the way I’ve been treated as a trans person in a similar setting. The derision from medical staff and nurses in particular hit home.

But, further, contrary to some people who seem to think all AIDS stories are the same story and there’s no need for more of them, I believe it’s imperative to have a dearth of representations of different experiences with HIV/AIDS and particularly of the AIDS crisis. While “a man returns home to die” is not an unheard of premise, I think this particular iteration of it is important; the AIDS crisis was not exclusively a “big city” epidemic, and demonstrating how people and families in other situations were affected by it is important.

I also think the fact that this book unflinchingly shows the less easily digestible symptoms, like incontinence, is important. I find that media likes to portray HIV/AIDS in a sanitized manner (not unlike the almost glamorized media portrayal of tuberculosis). While I understand that not every story or medium could portray a less sanitized image on account of censorship etc, it’s still a glaring issue in media representations of the virus, which is how a majority of people without personal connection to a topic like this will learn of it.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings