I was initially drawn to Camryn Garrett's debut YA novel Full Disclosure because its premise was one I hadn't personally seen explored before in a book - what it is like to be a teenager living with HIV. While this is not a topic that is relevant in the lives of most readers, it is an interesting and important one nonetheless. Author Garrett was inspired to write this novel after reading up on international adoption and discovering that one of Angelina Jolie's adopted children was the only child in that particular orphanage who did NOT have HIV. Garrett decided to explore the life of a "positive" adopted girl in her first novel, and Full Disclosure was born.
Full Disclosure follows seventeen-year old Simone Garcia-Hampton, the adopted daughter of two gay dads, on her journey at a new school where she is hoping no one finds out about her HIV-positive status. She is fresh out of her former school where her best friend betrayed her by revealing her status, and the results were disastrous. Simone, who loves musicals and has Broadway aspirations some day, is directing her school's production of the controversial show Rent, which focuses on a topic that hits close to home for her. While the musical has been getting most of her attention lately, one of the school's lacrosse players has caught her eye - Miles. As things begin to heat up with Miles, Simone's positive status becomes an issue like it never has before - how does she tell a guy she is interested in that she has HIV? To make matters worse, Simone has an anonymous stalker who is trying to bully her into telling Miles her secret or else her secret goes public.
It feels wrong to take pleasure in reading a book that explores such deep and often devastating topics such as HIV, racism, and sexual orientation, but I can't deny that Full Disclosure was an entertaining, albeit informative, read. Garrett has created a strong lead in her character Simone, and has written a compelling, touching story about what it is like to be treated like a pariah by a society who will never understand what it is like to be you.
On the other hand, while Garrett explores many topics that teens may be able to relate to such as sex, sexuality, and race, it often feels like she is attempting to tick off boxes to make Full Disclosure as diverse as possible. Simone's parents are gay AND a mixed race couple, her best friends are a mix of asexuality and bisexuality, and Simone herself is possibly bisexual too. I would have preferred to have seen diversity worked into the story more seamlessly as opposed to the entire cast of main characters having something about them that makes the stand out from the "norm."
Rating: **** Stars (I really liked it)
- Brooke, Public Relations Librarian
ARE YOU AND THIS BOOK A GOOD MATCH? DISCOVER MORE WITH NOVELIST APPEALS! Full Disclosure
GENRE: African American Fiction; Realistic Fiction CHARACTER: Culturally Diverse; Sympathetic STORYLINE: Character-Driven; Issue-Oriented WRITING STYLE: Candid; Engaging LOCATION: San Francisco Bay Area SUBJECT: African American Teenage Girls; Bullying and Bullies; Dating; Gay Fathers; High Schools; HIV; Sexuality; Teenage Girls; Teenage Romance; Teenagers
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