Welcome back to Reading, Reading, Reading!

Last month I had the pleasure of reading FULL DISCLOSURE by Camryn Garrett (courtesy of an ARC provided by Penguin Teen Canada). This book blew away my initial expectations, and I am so excited to share my full review with you!

Synopsis (Goodreads.com):

In a community that isn’t always understanding, an HIV-positive teen must navigate fear, disclosure, and radical self-acceptance when she falls in love–and lust–for the first time. Powerful and uplifting, Full Disclosure will speak to fans of Angie Thomas and Nicola Yoon.
Simone Garcia-Hampton is starting over at a new school, and this time things will be different. She’s making real friends, making a name for herself as student director of Rent, and making a play for Miles, the guy who makes her melt every time he walks into a room. The last thing she wants is for word to get out that she’s HIV-positive, because last time . . . well, last time things got ugly.
Keeping her viral load under control is easy, but keeping her diagnosis under wraps is not so simple. As Simone and Miles start going out for real–shy kisses escalating into much more–she feels an uneasiness that goes beyond butterflies. She knows she has to tell him that she’s positive, especially if sex is a possibility, but she’s terrified of how he’ll react! And then she finds an anonymous note in her locker: I know you have HIV. You have until Thanksgiving to stop hanging out with Miles. Or everyone else will know too.
Simone’s first instinct is to protect her secret at all costs, but as she gains a deeper understanding of the prejudice and fear in her community, she begins to wonder if the only way to rise above is to face the haters head-on…

As I shared above, this book obliterated my expectations. Everything about it was done perfectly and with purpose.

The characters in this book felt so real. While I didn’t personally connect with the main character, Simone, it was so interesting to read from a perspective of a girl that is HIV positive. The side characters were all so supportive of the main character, which was obviously so great to read about. I LOVED Miles (Simone’s love interest), as he treated her like any other girlfriend that he would have, regardless of her HIV. Simone has two fathers raising her, which was a fantastic addition to an already diverse novel.

Like I said in the previous paragraph, this book had a wide variety of representation. From Simone having two fathers, to a POC HIV-positive main character, there are a lot of things that YA readers will read in this novel that they may not have read before.

The overall plot was great. The story was very interesting and beautiful written. While I thought that some scenes in the story dragged on a little bit, I understand why they were written in. The overall flow of the book was great, too!

Possibly my favourite part of the book was the writing style. It went so perfectly with the overall importance of this story.

Overall, I absolutely loved FULL DISCLOSURE and rated it 5/5 stars! Thanks to Penguin Teen Canada for sending me the ARC! I highly encourage you all to pick up this book, especially since it comes out today!

Good Night Book Owls!