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A review by sharonleavy
The Prettiest Star by Carter Sickels
challenging
emotional
sad
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
5.0
It's 1986 and our book opens with a group of young gay men living in New York City. The biggest threat to them is AIDS - it's sweeping through their community and stealing the futures of so many of them. Brian has lived in NYC for six years, having moved from a small town in Ohio.
Brian's mother Sharon still lives in Ohio and is shocked when she receives a letter from Brian explaining that he's sick and he wants to come home. Sharon, her husband Travis and their daughter Jess are simultaneously looking forward to and dreading Brian's return. They're afraid of what the neighbours will say if Brian's "news" gets out.
An incident at a local swimming pool changes things significantly, and forces Brian's family to come to terms with what's really happening.
This is a beautiful book but it's hearbreaking, even moreso when we see how countries and corporations have come together so fast during the current pandemic to fight the common enemy and find a cure. I know that tech and research have moved on significantly since the 1980s, but there's still the niggling feeling that the AIDS crisis wasn't taken seriously enough until it was too late for so many.
Every time I read something set in the 80s I wish I could go back and tell them that there is a cure, there is a treatment, that HIV is no longer a death sentence and not only that, but that it's now possible to live a full and happy life with a positive HIV diagnosis and not pass it on to anyone else if you are on the correct treatment and have an undetectable viral load. It's just incredible.
If you're able for this one, read it, it's one I'd highly recommend to everyone.
Brian's mother Sharon still lives in Ohio and is shocked when she receives a letter from Brian explaining that he's sick and he wants to come home. Sharon, her husband Travis and their daughter Jess are simultaneously looking forward to and dreading Brian's return. They're afraid of what the neighbours will say if Brian's "news" gets out.
An incident at a local swimming pool changes things significantly, and forces Brian's family to come to terms with what's really happening.
This is a beautiful book but it's hearbreaking, even moreso when we see how countries and corporations have come together so fast during the current pandemic to fight the common enemy and find a cure. I know that tech and research have moved on significantly since the 1980s, but there's still the niggling feeling that the AIDS crisis wasn't taken seriously enough until it was too late for so many.
Every time I read something set in the 80s I wish I could go back and tell them that there is a cure, there is a treatment, that HIV is no longer a death sentence and not only that, but that it's now possible to live a full and happy life with a positive HIV diagnosis and not pass it on to anyone else if you are on the correct treatment and have an undetectable viral load. It's just incredible.
If you're able for this one, read it, it's one I'd highly recommend to everyone.