Review by Booklist Review
Eighteen-year-old Ian's life is turned upside down when he learns he is HIV-positive. How to cope? Victor, a boy he has just met, offers help, introducing Ian to his 21-year-old friend Henrique, who has been HIV-positive for 3 years. Ian quickly becomes friends with both Victor and Henrique and discovers the latter two are a former couple, Victor having broken off the relationship when he learned that Henrique is HIV-positive. The on-again, off-again relationship between Victor and Henrique provides much of the heartfelt drama of this accomplished first novel, which shifts among the three characters' points of view. The challenges of being HIV-positive in a society where that is regarded with opprobrium are adroitly presented in this Brazilian import. Yes, the novel is a bit didactic and exposition-heavy, at least in its first part, but then facts become subordinate to narrative action and careful character development. Despite its Brazil-specific setting, the story is universal. More important, it fills an urgent need: novels featuring young adults who are HIV-positive are virtually absent from American YA fiction, despite the fact that, according to the CDC, in 2018, youth aged 13 to 24 made up 21 percent of new HIV diagnoses. For all of these reasons, this deserves the widest possible readership.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
According to an author's note, Rocha was inspired to write this novel upon learning about the prejudice faced by HIV-positive people in Brazil; the result, his YA debut, features three young men, each with a different relationship to HIV. Henrique, 21, is HIV-positive but has an undetectable viral load due to medication, and is looking for a relationship with someone with whom he can be honest about his status. He'd like it to be Victor, a college student, but Victor, who has just tested negative, is angry that Henrique didn't reveal his status before sex, even though they used protection. When Victor meets 18-year-old Ian, who's just tested positive, he introduces Ian to Henrique for support. The three alternate the narration, and readers see Henrique's anger and loneliness, Victor's guilt about breaking up with Henrique, and Ian's efforts to cope with his diagnosis and meds (there are also glimpses of Brazil's free testing and treatment culture), all building to Ian and Henrique's growing friendship. Though characters feel differentiated more by externals (Victor's blue hair, Henrique's drag queen roommate) than by internals, the book effectively explores the tensions that stem from the prejudice and fear surrounding HIV. Ages 14--up. (June)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 10 Up--This much-needed Brazilian import, addressing the stigmas surrounding those living with HIV, could not be more welcome. The accessible prose, narrated by three young men in Rio, unveils life in the age of antiretrovirals. Readers jump straight into the fray: Ian is waiting for his results at a clinic and notices Victor, also waiting. Results in hand, they leave the clinic at the same time. Victor has slept with Henrique, a very responsible college student, who informs Victor (after the fact) that he is HIV+, but undetectable. Victor tests negative. Ian, who used to judge people for one-night stands, faces his own recklessness with his positive result. Victor offers Henrique's number to Ian to help him answer the titular question. These intersections forge the narrative structure of this fast-paced story. Readers witness the painful rejections that plague Henrique through his intimate chapters, and the friendship that his roommate, a drag queen, offers. Rocha deftly handles the romantic woes and glories, as well as the triumphs of friendship, within the gay community: the camaraderie of Rio's drag queen scene; the complicated behavior of men who haven't come out for various reasons; the lack of parental support (or the blessing of having understanding parents and families); and the daily burden of hiding who you are. VERDICT An authentic, deeply felt debut, this book is chock-full of poignant conversation starters for books clubs and collections serving older teens.--Sara Lissa Paulson, City-As-School H.S., New York City
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Review by Horn Book Review
In this translated novel from Brazilian debut author Rocha, three young gay men (two protagonists are eighteen, one is twenty-one) living in contemporary Rio de Janeiro strive to define romance and relationships for themselves in the modern era. Henrique is HIV-positive, and when he reveals his status to Victor after several dates, Victor breaks off the relationship. Victor and Ian meet in a clinic, where they are both waiting to hear the results of their HIV tests. When Victor tests negative but Ian tests positive, Victor puts Ian in contact with the only other person he knows who is living with HIV: Henrique. In alternating narration, this trio navigates awkward conversations, tense doctor's visits, and turbulent family drama while looking for love and connection. This heartfelt novel full of earnest dialogue about everything from coming out to the side effects of HIV drugs is a result of the author's time spent working at a Brazilian foundation that sponsors free HIV medication. While it can often read like a primer on how to live safely with HIV, it will provide welcome insight to readers curious about the subject or experiencing it for the first time. Back matter includes an author's note and an afterword with resources. Jennifer Hubert Swan November/December 2020 p.110(c) Copyright 2020. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Three young, queer Brazilian men grapple with the realities of living with HIV in Rocha's audacious debut. The overcrowded clinic brims with impatient people, but for 18-year-old Ian Gonçalves, the only thing on his mind is his testing positive for HIV. The news sends him spiraling down, understandably. Enter 18-year-old Victor Mendonça, who's also in the clinic, awaiting his results after a recent partner revealed his own HIV status. Fortunately, Victor's in the clear, but he notices the distraught Ian and offers him the opportunity to connect with said partner, 21-year-old Henrique, for support. Readers follow all three young men--Ian, struggling with his newly defined life; Henrique, already HIV positive for three years; and Victor, afraid to be in love with Henrique--as Rocha depicts each of their perspectives with profound kindness and clarity. More a series of open-hearted conversations than a plot-driven narrative, this debut seeks to tear down the social stigmas surrounding HIV, offering life-affirming scientific facts and addressing prejudicial thinking. The cast of characters is solid: Ian feels alone, but as he adapts to the medicine that'll help him, that isolating thought withers thanks to the supportive voices who gather around him, including those of Victor and Henrique, who are trying to mediate their newfound, complicated relationship. At times explicitly educational, this treatise on community provides comfort in an often homophobic world, with strong-willed drag queens; drunken, ecstatic nights; and blossoming lovers. Simply fearless. (afterword, author's note) (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
