AuburnChick's Adventures

I love to follow authors on Twitter.

No, I am not a stalker.

I might be a bit of a fangirl.

Ahem.

One of the authors I follow is Jay Asher.

This man writes hysterical Tweets.

If you’re not familiar with him, you MUST acquaint yourself.  He wrote the much-acclaimed Thirteen Reasons Why, which my students cannot put down.

A couple of weeks ago, he tweeted a shout-out to Paige Rawl, author of the book Positive.  After reading a summary of it on Amazon, I immediately ordered it and began reading it the day it arrived in the mail.

First of all, Jay Asher’s foreword for the book is incredibly touching.  This man is gifted, let me tell you.

Then, it was time to read Ms. Rawl’s words.

Oh my gosh.

This book.

Its message.

Oh word.

Positive is an autobiography that describes Paige Rawl’s young life…her struggles…as a young woman born with the HIV virus.

She is candid about her dad’s death from complications from the virus.  There is a picture in the book of the last time she saw her father the day he passed away.

I cried and had to put the book down.

It was deeply moving.

This book will shock you when you read the details of the bullying she endured after she innocently told her best friend that she had HIV.

You will be angry when you read about the injustice she suffered by the very people who should have been her advocates.

This is a story that every single teenager should read.  I’m telling all of my friends about it.  Adults should read it too.

I plan on reading this book to my students as our Read Aloud after I finish the book I’m currently reading.

I know we will have a lot of meaningful discussions about misconceptions about the virus, bullying, and empathy.

I am planning on having my students do some research.  I’m praying for other ideas to incorporate into my classroom as we read this.

It’s that good.

I tweeted out to this young lady after I finished, and she RESPONDED!!

I might have mentioned that I could be a fangirl.

😀

Buy the book.

Share it with a friend.

You won’t regret it.

Filed under: Books | Tagged: books, Paige Rawl, Positive, reading, teaching |