Spreading the word: Positively (Courtney Sheinmel)

I'd never heard of Courtney Sheinmel or her newly-released book, Positively, before I saw a post about Positively on Melissa Walker's blog. (Actually, the post was more about the book's cover, as that's what Ms Walker's blog is mainly about — it's really interesting!)

From the website:

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, 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, to be so afraid of getting sick, and to miss 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.

I clicked through to the author's site and read a bit more about Positively. Then I read this quote from the book:

"When my mother died, I imagined God was thinking, 'One down, and one to go.'"

And I knew I wanted this book. That tugged so hard at my heart-strings.