Rgz Street Team: Sarah Reviews Positively by Courtney Sheinmel

The rgz Street Team is a group of teens who bring YA reviews to our blog, led by Postergirl Miss Erin. Find out more.

Today, Sarah reviews last week's featured title, Positively by Courtney Sheinmel:

"When I got sick the first thing that they tested me for was HIV, and I was so afraid that I got it somehow. I didn't have it, but my disease is caused by the immune system. Even though our diseases are very different, I could totally relate to [Positively's main character] Emmy. I know that if I have 100% lung function by the time I am 40 or if my liver doesn't stop from the pills, I am lucky, and Emmy is faced with that too in other ways. There are days that I want to just throw my pills out or not get shots anymore, but I know that decision is a choice between life and death. When I first got sick, I went to a camp for teens with Primary Immunodeficiency and it was similar to what Emmy experienced at Camp Positive. Some of the friends from that time are dead, but they are far from forgotten. The part about the balloons really got to me, because that it what we do every year on my sister's birthday.

"The plot is real, because you are constantly reminded how hard life can be for some people. This book is really original, because it leaves you with so much hope. Shienmel is a fantastic writer. I loved that this is based by her experience from with working The Elizabeth Glaser AIDS Foundation and is really accurate and realistic. I highly suggest that you read this book, it is a story of a girl with so much strength." --Sarah

See Sarah's full rating of this book on Sarah's Random Musings.

Positively: Finding Hope Through Understanding

Our Featured Title this week is Positively by Courtney Sheinmel, and in her post, she talked about how her hopes for people living with HIV have grown and grown.

One powerful aspect of Courtney's book about 13-year-old Emmy, who's HIV-positive, is that it gives us a character who represents that experience. And isn't there always hope in finding a story that you can relate to?

So tell us, readergirlz, what people in your life, or books that you've read, have given you hope because you felt that they understood or spoke to what you were going through?

PS-Don't forget to read the Cover Story behind Courtney's gorgeous novel.

Cover Stories: Positively by Courtney Sheinmel

The awesome Courtney Sheinmiel is here to share the Cover Story behind the recently released Positively. The book is about Emerson Price, who was four-years-old when she and her mom were diagnosed as HIV-positive. Now she is thirteen and her mother is dead. Emmy moves in with her father and stepmother, but she feels completely alone. When they send her to a camp for HIV-positive girls, Emmy is certain she's going to hate it. But soon she realizes that she's not so alone after all -- and that sometimes letting other people in can make all the difference in the world.

Here's Courtney:

"While I was writing my second book, POSITIVELY, I kept thinking of the cover of Jenny Downham's wonderful book, BEFORE I DIE (below). The image is so haunting and powerful - a black and white photo of a teenage girl. The expression on her face just seemed to me to be a lot like Emerson, the thirteen-year-old narrator of POSITIVELY. A writer friend suggested that

I send my editor the BEFORE I DIE cover, which I did. He emailed back not to worry; they would come up with something perfect for POSITIVELY.

"A couple months later, my editor emailed me the POSITIVELY cover. It looks nothing like BEFORE I DIE. For one thing, it is full of color. It is so hopeful and it captures the book better than anything I ever imagined. There is a pivotal scene in the book when Emerson and her family release balloons, which is depicted on the cover. I love the way the balloon in Emerson's hand has a red ribbon. As far as I know, the picture was

a stock photo and not a model shoot - hard to believe because it's just so perfect. The one thing I was surprised about was the girl's blond hair; I always pictured Emerson with darker hair. But I am absolutely thrilled with the cover, and now I think of her as a blonde."

I'm so glad the cover got that bright treatment (though I love Jenny Downham's cover too). I just think the feel of it, like a photograph taken in the sun, is so warm and hopeful. What do you guys think?

PS-Courtney will share the Cover Story for her first book, My So-Called Family, tomorrow!

PPS-Courtney is donating a portion of her proceeds from this book to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. Very cool.