CW: homophobia, outing, Anti-HIV prejudice

I saw this book featured on a booktubers account that I love, and thought I would give it a go, and it was such an impactful read.

I think it’s an important book for young adults to have access to as it deals with some complex topics such as HIV that continues to receive a lot of stigma today.

This book follows three young adult gay men navigating life as the HIV epidemic rises. This is a translated work that takes place in Brazil. Although there were a lot of of similarities that mirrored that of the HIV epidemic in the US, I want to point this out as there may be differences due to the cultural context that this story was written within.

I thought this book did a great job shining light on the complexities of living with and during a time where stigma around HIV was heightened. It looked at the prejudice that many individuals receive not only from the communities surrounding them, but the prejudice they may place on themselves as they try to navigate societal pressures and stigmas.

Although I enjoyed the content of this book, the only thing that took away from the story for me was how one dimensional the characters felt. I wasn’t really invested in any one character. It felt as if they only existed to get the story across, which isn’t necessarily a problem, I just preferred more character development in books.

Overall, great read and definitely worth your time!