AIDS & HIV Books

It Happened to Nancy: By an Anonymous Teenager, A True Story from Her Diary

Anonymous Teenager

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 184 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Why lie about it? 3 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

"It was like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir began singing the "Hallelujah" chorus. ..."

"... more spiritual than anything I had ever heard, even the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the ..."

"... loud dissonant combo but . . . well, like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing the Hallelujah Chorus..."

These lines are from three different journals supposedly written by three entirely different real-life teenagers.

Er...supposedly...

If Beatrice wanted to write fiction, why didn't she just CALL it fiction?

Excellent 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I read this book in eight grade english and I'm now a sophomore in college. This semster we were asked to make a list of all the books we have ever read and then name one of those that you still remember or is your favorite from the list. My list included The Glass Castle, Marquise of O, The Freedom Train, Hamelet(more of a play), The Merchant of Venice(again more of a play), The Dairy of Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird, and It Happend to Nancy. When I looked at that list I just couldn't chose any of those books over It Happend to Nancy. It gave a realestic account of what it was like to be a teenager living with HIV/AIDS and diffenatley made me think twice before I made decision because for all I know I could've been Nancy or my sister could've been.

Editorial Review:

The editor of the classic GO ASK ALICE has compiled the poignant journals of a 14-year-old date-rape victim who contracted AIDS and died.

Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope

Jenna Bush

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 56 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A beautiful real life story 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I loved this book. A friend recommended it and said it's a short read with beautiful pictures. It only took me a couple of hours to read. And I can not wait to loan it out to a couple of friends. I just went to Amazon and pulled up the reviews. I was amazed at how many negative comments people made and all because of who wrote the book. I read a lot and I read everything. This book was an excellent way to reach out to the younger generation about such a serious topic. I can appreciate the format it is short and to the point, which works for this story. The pictures help you visualize the area Ana grew up in. It helps the story grow in your head. The only complaint I have is it ended entirely too soon. I wanted to hear more about Ana, the afterward explained why and what happened. It saddened me to read the reviews and to read someone say it would never have been published had it not been written by Jenna Bush. It makes me wonder how many other lovely stories are out there I will never read because it doesn't fit the "normal" mold of what people want. I will recommend this short sweet read to everyone I know. READ IT READ IT READ IT. Thank you

Editorial Review:

Ana's life is a collection of bits and pieces of her past. Infected with HIV at birth, she's unaware of many details of her early childhood and barely remembers her mother. Living with her strict grandmother, she learns how to keep secrets – secrets about her infection and about the abuse she endures at home. But after Ana falls in love and becomes pregnant at seventeen, she begins a journey of hope – a journey of protecting herself and others. She is living with HIV, not dying from it.

Jenna Bush tells of Ana's struggle to break free from the cycle of abuse, silence, and illness with passion and eloquence. But this is not just Ana's story. It is also the story of many children around the world who are marginalized, neglected, and mistreated.

One Last Wish: Three Novels (Mother, Help Me Live / Let Him Live / Sixteen and Dying)

Lurlene McDaniel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 24 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

You don't know me, but I know about you.... I can't make you live longer, I can stop you form hurting. But I can give you one wish, as someone did for me.
Three letters. Three last wishes.
In Mother, Help Me Live, Sarah discovers that her birth mother, whom she's never known, is the one person who may have the bone marrow she needs to survive. When Sarah journeys to find her mother, she learns the real meaning of family.
Let Him Live tells the story of Megan's friendship with Donovan, who is hoping to receive a liver transplant. Megan helps make Donovan's wish for his mother and little brother come true, along the way, Megan comes to understand true giving.
In Sixteen and Dying, when Anne finds out that a blood transfusion she had seven years ago has made her future uncertain, being given one wish helps her face her pain. She chooses to spend the summer with her father on a ranch out west—and there she meets someone who will change her life.

When Plague Strikes: The Black Death, Smallpox, AIDS

James Cross Giblin

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

This book is not appropriate for an elementary school 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 8 people found this review helpful.

The publisher says that this book is appropriate for grade 6-12. I disagree. While I feel the book is well written and informative - I strongly suggest that educators think twice before putting the book in an elementary school library.
Perhaps have it available in case an advanced 6th grader has a need for detailed information regarding the topics.
My 9 year old - 4th grade son brought the book home from school yesterday. While AIDS is an important subject for him to learn about - I do not feel that the details of specific high-risk sexual contact needs to be available to him at his age.
I feel the book would be more appropriate for grades 9-12.

Editorial Review:

Compassionate and arresting, this exploration of three major diseases that have changed the course of history—the bubonic plague, smallpox, and AIDS—chronicles their fearsome death toll, their lasting social, economic, and political implications, and how medical knowledge and treatments have advanced as a result of the crises they have occasioned. "A book that would serve well for reports, but it is also a fascinating read."—SLJ.

Best Books of 1995 (SLJ)
Notable Children's Trade Books in Social Studies 1996 (NCSS/CBC)
1995 Young Adult Editors' Choices (BL)
1995 Top of the List Non Fiction (BL)
1996 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
Notable Children's Books of 1996 (ALA)

Pedro and Me

Judd Winick

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Subjects -> Biographies & Memoirs -> Memoirs

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 38 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Without the third season of MTV's The Real World, set in San Francisco, Pedro Zamora would have lived and died quietly, a Cuban immigrant who became an AIDS educator after his HIV diagnosis at the age of 17. But in 1993, he and seven others were selected for the cast of The Real World, and Pedro's battle with AIDS, his irrepressible good nature, his love affair with Sean Sasser, and his growing friendship with his housemates would become public knowledge. When Pedro succumbed to complications of AIDS in November 1994, news of his death was carried on every major network and made international headlines. Thousands of letters arrived from around the world. Even President Clinton applauded Pedro's bravery in speaking out to young people about AIDS prevention and self-esteem. Judd Winick, a struggling cartoonist, had also been chosen for that season of The Real World, and became Pedro's roommate and close friend. His cartoon memoir tells the story of their friendship and serves as a vivid memorial to a bright-eyed and gifted man who made more of his 22 years of life than most of us could make of 80. --Regina Marler

The Heaven Shop

Deborah Ellis

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

There is a lion in our village, and it is carrying away our children.

At her father's funeral, Binti's grandmother utters the words that no one in Malawi wants to hear. Binti's father and her mother before him, dies of AIDS. Binti, her sister, and brother are separated and sent to the home of relatives who can barely tolerate their presence. Ostracized by their extended family, the orphans are treated like the lowest servants. With her brother far away and her sister wallowing in her own sorrow, Binti can hardly contain her rage. She, Binti Phirim, was once a child star of a popular radio program. Now she is scraping to survive. Binti always believed she was special, now she is nothing but a common AIDS orphan.

Binti Phiri is not about to give up. Even as she clings to hope that her former life will be restored, she must face a greater challenge. If she and her brother and sister are to reunited, Binti Phiri will have to look outside herself and find a new way to be special.

Compelling and uplifting, The Heaven Shop, is a contemporary novel that puts a very real face on the African AIDS pandemic, which to-date has orphaned more than 11 million African children. Inspired by a young radio performer the author met during her research visit to Malawi, Binti Phiri is a compelling character that readers will never forget.

Awards and Nominations:

• Ontario Library Association's Golden Oak Award winner 2006
• Winner of the 2005 Jane Addams Children's Book Award in the category of Honor Books for Older Children
• Shortlisted for the 2006 Alberta Children's Choice Book Award
• A Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards Honour Book for 2006
• Foreword Magazine 2004 Book of the Year Award finalist
• A Children's Africana Book Awards (CABA) 2005 Honor Book for Older Readers
• A Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice 2005
• Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award for Young Adult/Middle Reader Books finalist
• Red Maple Book Award nominee 2005

Sixteen and Dying (One Last Wish)

Lurlene Mcdaniel

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Absolutely brilliant! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I just finished this book yesturday, and I am searching for more. It was my second Lurlene Mcdaniel book, and all I can say is that this may be the best book I have ever read. I could not put the book down. The story just draws you in and I think most people can relate to the story in one area or another. WHen I put the book down I cried, and if it can touch me like that, I think it can touch the millions of people who will, or have, read it. I just fell in love with it, and now I am rereading it. It was just absolutly brilliant.

not up to my expectations... 3 out of 5 stars.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I was really looking forward to this book, but now I'm kinda mad that I actually bought the book. It wasn't bad or anything, but it just wasn't what I was expecting. I was really hoping for romance. But there was hardly any.

So here's the plot or whatever. Anne is 16 when she goes to the hospital and realizes that she has aids from a blood transfusion 6 years ago. She only has like 4 months to live. She decides that she wants to go to a dude ranch for the summer with her dad (her mom's dead)for the last part of her life. She meets Morgan, the owner's nephew, who's 18. He likes her, yet they never become like girlfriend boyfriend. I mean, I don't think there's even one little kiss. What's up with that? She doesn't tell him she has aids, and when she cuts her hand and he tries to help her, she wont' let him. He's confused and hurt because he doesn't know that since she had aids, he could get it by touching her blood. Anne leaves without saying goodbye, and Morgan feels hurt. He actually goes up to New York where she lives. She's dying, and he stays with her until the end.

I'm a big fan of Lurlene McDaniel's books, mainly because I love romance. This book just didn't have any. It's still good, just not great.

Editorial Review:

HIV positive after a blood transfusion seven years before, Anne Wingate accepts money from an anonymous benefactor and journeys out west, where she falls for local boy Morgan and must face telling him about her illness.

Fade to Black

Alex Flinn

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Very interesting... 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Alejandro "Alex" Crusan is a seventeen-years-old Latino and HIV positive. His family moved from Miami to Pinedale, Florida. No one in his new school will touch him, much less befriend him. The only one that does not avoid Alex is Daria, the girl with Down Syndrome. Everyone avoids her too. But someone nearby hates Alex enough to learn his daily routine, followed by taking a baseball bat to Alex's car. The windows shatter, throwing tiny glass shards over Alex. The shards act as knives.

Daria does not lie. She tells the police what she saw. The police go after Clinton Cole.

Clinton has been very vocal on his feelings about Alex being HIV positive from the beginning. Everyone agrees with Clinton; however, no one believes Alex deserves what happened to him. When everyone begins avoiding Clinton, the teen starts to understand how Alex's isolation feels. Clinton swears he did not do it. Yet no one believes him.

**** Author Alex Flinn writes in a way that teens can relate to. She has taken a few taboo topics and created a mystery that young adults will enjoy trying to figure out, while learning about delicate subjects. I enjoyed the story very much and recommend it to all. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

Editorial Review:

Three perspectives -- one truth

The victim: After his windshield was shattered with a baseball bat, HIV-positive Alex Crusan ducked under the steering wheel. But he knows what he saw. Now he must decide what he wants to tell.

The witness: Daria Bickell never lies. So if she told the police she saw Clinton Cole do it, she must have. But did she really?

The suspect: Clinton was seen in the vicinity of the crime that morning. And sure, he has problems with Alex. But he'd never do something like this. Would he?

Chanda's Secrets

Allan Stratton

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A girl's struggle amid the African AIDS pandemic.

"As soon as I get back from the shabeen, I go next door to see Mrs. Tafa. I have to ask to use her phone to let our relatives know about Sara. I'm nervous. Mrs. Tafa would like to run the world. Since she can't run the world she's decided to run our neighborhood."

So speaks sixteen-year-old Chanda, an astonishingly perceptive girl living in the small city of Bonang, a fictional city in Southern Africa.

While Mrs. Tafa's hijinks are often amusing, the fact is that Chanda's world is profoundly difficult. When her youngest sister dies, the first hint of HIV/AIDS emerges.

In this sensitive, swiftly-paced story readers will find echoes of To Kill a Mockingbird as Chanda must confront undercurrents of shame and stigma. Not afraid to explore the horrific realities of AIDS, Chanda's Secrets also captures the enduring strength of loyalty, friendship and family ties. Above all, it is a story about the corrosive nature of secrets and the healing power of truth.

Through the artful style of acclaimed author Stratton, the determination and resilience Chanda embodies will live on in readers' minds.

Ryan White: My Own Story

Ryan White, Ann Marie Cunningham

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 64 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

He was my friend 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Today is World AIDS Day and each year I remember my childhood friend, Ryan White. His sister and I were both Rollerskaters and skated in the same skating rinks. Knowing Ryan personally and having his book for years now, it is still a story that resonates with me. It is true, thoughtful, and in his own words.

I'll never forget the hatred the spewed from the city of Kokomo against him. It was such a devastating blow to his well being. Not only did he have this death sentence, but the entire town was treating him worse than what you would treat a pig going to slaughter. I am not joking. I remember seeing him at the skating rink one day, it was a time when he wasn't as sick so he was able to be a kid. I went up to him to give him a hug because I hadn't seen him in so long and he said, "You want to hug ME?" He was shocked that someone would want to touch him. That's how bad it was.

Read his book. He is the reason people with AIDS are accepted now. This friend of mine had more courage than anyone I have ever met.

Editorial Review:

The late AIDS sufferer describes how he contracted the virus; the negative response of his friends and neighbors in his home town of Kokomo, Indiana; his battle to reenter school; and his fight to educate people about the disease. Reprint. NYT.