Title: Full Disclosure
Author: Camryn Garrett
Genres: Contemporary, LGTBQIA, Romance
Pages: 288
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Review Copy: eARC from publisher
Availability: Available now
Summary: 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…
Review: I have been looking forward to Camryn
Garrett’s debut novel for months now, and I am happy to report that it
was worth the wait. Full Disclosure is a thoughtful exploration of sex, love, and identity, and Garrett handles the book’s topics with honesty and sensitivity.
One of the things I most appreciated about the novel was its
frankness about how some teenagers do, in fact, want to have sex or are
already having sex. (And some teenagers don’t—there’s an asexual
character!) Simone was able to discuss sex with her doctors, including
what she needs to take in consideration because of her HIV-positive
status, but she also talked about masturbation, toys, birth control, and
more with her friends, too. It’s always nice to see a contemporary YA
book that openly deals with these topics, especially when it also
touches on bisexuality and HIV.
There is a lot going on in Full Disclosure, so the pace
never lags, and there is a large cast of secondary characters. Simone’s
adoptive fathers were great, and I particularly enjoyed the scenes we
got of Simone’s extended family and how she related (good and
not-so-great) to them. Their inclusion really helped flesh the novel out
as we got glimpses into the complexity and depths of their
relationships to each other and Simone. Claudia, Lydia, and Miles were
also solid supporting characters for Simone’s story, even when things
got uncomfortable between them.
Another thing I appreciated was how being closeted was handled
sympathetically. Simone keeps quiet about her bisexuality and HIV status
for a lot of the book due to how things went down at her last school.
Other characters are out to friends but not professionally or have
strained relationships with family because of their
identity/orientation. There are so many reasons people are in/out of the
closet to different groups and at different times, and Full Disclosure addresses how difficult that can be and why it can also be necessary in order to protect yourself.
But overall, the best part of this book is Simone. I loved reading
her story and following along as she decided what she wanted for her
life and figured out how she could try to make her desires and ambitions
come true.
Recommendation: Get it soon. Full Disclosure
is an entertaining coming-of-age novel that tackles sexuality, HIV, and
falling in love head on. I’m looking forward to what Camryn Garrett has
in store for us in the future.
Extras
What First-Time Author Camryn Garrett’s Debut Novel Teaches Teens About Living With HIV at Shondaland
Camryn Garrett’s Full Disclosure humanizes an unlikely protagonist: a black girl living with HIV at Entertainment Weekly
Cassie Interviews Camryn Garrett, author of FULL DISCLOSURE at Brazos Bookstore
