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Summary
Summary
An astonishing memoir for the untold number of children whose lives have been touched by bullying. Positive is a must-read for teens, their parents, educators, and administrators--a brave, visceral work that will save lives and resonate deeply.
Paige Rawl has been HIV positive since birth, but growing up, she never felt like her illness defined her.
On an unremarkable day in middle school, she disclosed to a friend her HIV-positive status--and within hours the bullying began. From that moment forward, every day was like walking through a minefield. Paige was never sure when or from where the next text, taunt, or hateful message would come. Then one night, desperate for escape, fifteen-year-old Paige found herself in her bathroom staring at a bottle of sleeping pills.
That could have been the end of her story. Instead, it was only the beginning. Paige's memoir, co-written with bestselling author Ali Benjamin (The Truth About Jellyfish), calls for readers to choose action over complacency, compassion over cruelty--and above all, to be Positive.
Includes twenty-five photos from Paige's personal collection throughout.
Paige continues to speak publicly about HIV and bullying, participate in conferences, and contribute to advocacy projects in and beyond her home state of Indiana. Paige has served as an ambassador for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. She hopes that her continued work in this field can help change the way her generation thinks and talks about HIV/AIDS and bullying. To all HIV-positive youth, Paige consistently affirms, "You are living with HIV, but HIV is not who you are."
Author Notes
Ali Benjamin is an award-winning American author. She is best known for her debut novel The Thing about Jellyfish, which was a 2015 National Book Award for Young People's Literature finalist.
Benjamin has co-authored several books, including: The Keeper: A life of Saving Goals and Achieving Them, by Tim Howard, Positive: a Memoir by Paige Rawl, and The Cleaner Plate Club with Beth Bader.
In addition to her published books, her work has appeared in numerous publications, namely Boston Globe Magazine and Martha Stewart's Whole living Online. She was also the sole story researcher and casting director for an hour-long primetime special, Sesame Street: Growing Hope Against Hunger, which won a 2012 Emmy Award.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-This realistic and honest biography of a young woman living with HIV will draw readers in, shedding light on this difficult topic. Though Rawl was born with HIV, she never experienced symptoms of the virus or AIDS, as she was diagnosed early and used medications. In middle school, she confided in a friend about her HIV-positive status, who told others, leading to bullying and name-calling from fellow students as well as lack of support from her school's administration. While the experience was painful, Rawl eventually gained control of her life. Now a college student planning to study molecular biology, she is an advocate against bullying and an HIV/AIDS educator. Through short chapters, teens will get a sense of the girl's life, including her happy childhood, the strong bond between her and her mother, and the difficulties she faced, as well as gain accessible information on HIV/AIDS. Back matter incorporates websites and resources on AIDS, HIV, bullying, and suicide. The book beautifully conveys what it's like to grow up with HIV, dispelling myths about the virus and imparting useful knowledge.-Paige Bentley-Flannery, Deschutes Public Library, Bend, OR (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Rawls journey from secrecy to acceptance thanks to her friends and family makes for a compelling memoir.As a child, Paige saw her daily doses of medicine as normalnot strange at all. It wasnt until she was in sixth grade that her mother told her that Paige had been born with HIV. That revelation ends her idyllic life in Indianapolis, forever transforming the energetic girl who did cheerleading, pageants and soccer. Because when Paige tells her best friend, Yasmine, about her HIV-positive status, the news spreads through her middle school, prompting bullies to target Paige and accuse her of having AIDS. Now known as PAIDS, Paige loses interest in school, suffers from stress-induced pseudo-seizures and even attempts suicide. But slowly, thanks to counseling, time at a camp for kids affected by HIV/AIDS and all her friends, Paige learns how to forgive and move on with her life. Rawl and Benjamin deftly capture the mindset of middle schooler Paige with anecdotes that reveal the teens innocence and navet, tracking her progress toward adulthood. They tackle tough subjects such as suicide delicately but honestly.Readers will come away feeling inspired by Rawls work as an HIV/AIDS speaker and anti-bullying advocate. (authors note, further resources) (Nonfiction. 12-16) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Paige Rawl thinks of herself as many things: a daughter, a student, a beauty queen, an athlete, a friend. She is a girl born with HIV, as well, but that was never something she thought about much until the day she casually mentioned her HIV-positive status to a friend. Within hours, everyone at her middle school knew, and Paige would spend the next few years shunned, taunted, and bullied by students and teachers alike. Eventually, the abuse got so intense that she tried to take her own life. Now 19, having survived that and worse, Rawl offers this poignant, introspective memoir that combats in equal parts the stigma that lingers around HIV/AIDS and the still-raging bullying epidemic so prevalent in middle and high schools today. Rawl is unfailingly gracious, upbeat but never saccharine, and wise and reflective beyond her years. Her memoir provides an excellent perspective to the antibullying movement and would be a valuable addition to any collection.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2015 Booklist