Positively by Courtney Sheinmel

Positively by Courtney Sheinmel
"Emerson Price cannot remember a time when life was ordinary. She was four years old when she and her mom were diagnosed as HIV-positive -- infected with the virus that causes AIDS -- and eight when her parents divorced. Now she is thirteen and her mother is dead. Emmy moves in with her father and stepmother, but she feels completely alone. Even though everyone has always accepted her, no one -- not her father, or stepmother, or even her best friend -- understands what it's like to have to take medicine every single day and to be so afraid of getting sick. Now Emmy misses her mom more than she ever thought she would.

When Emmy's dad and stepmother send her to Camp Positive, a camp for HIV-positive girls, Emmy is certain she is going to hate it. But soon she realizes that she is not so alone after all -- and that sometimes letting other people in can make all the difference in the world."- summary from Amazon

Sheinmel's second novel is extremely good and deals with an issue I don't think I've ever seen tackled in a children's book. Emmy is a great character to read about and her emotions and reactions are so realistic that it felt like I was reading a real story. I think my favorite part of the book was reading about Emmy's experiences at Camp Positive and how she grows over the course of the six weeks there.

The book is a mixture of humor, heart, and sadness, and ends with an uplifting feeling of hope. It's hard to put down and I read it very quickly. Sheinmel's prose is compelling and wonderful to read. Her descriptions and attention to detail is amazing and not overbearing at all; she knows when to stop with the details and so what's there doesn't bore you but it gives you more of an idea of who the characters are.

While the book may seem short, the font is actually pretty small compared to most YA and MG books (esp. MG). But the subject matter and the characters are what really make the story, not the length. I highly recommend this book, as well as Sheinmel's first, My So-Called Family, and also, she's donating some of the proceeds from this book to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, which is always a good thing.