Full Disclosure is unlike anything else I’ve read and I recommend it all the time. Simone is HIV-positive, and the story essentially focuses on her trying to navigate life and relationships around the stigma, misunderstanding and lack of awareness.

I read it in a day, and I genuinely could not put it down. Simone reads like a believable teenager, which is something that definitely isn’t always true in teen fiction! She and her friends have great, convincing relationships, complete with teasing each other, musical references and juggling friends/relationships/life around school. They’re all fully-fleshed out, diverse characters; no 2D characters or token best friends who seem to be besties in name only. We’ve got characters of colour, a female hijabi Muslim doctor, two dads and plenty more, and all of it is just one facet of a character, rather than their defining feature.

It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me want to meet and hang out with Simone’s dads (let’s be honest, I’m closer to their age than hers now), and when I finished it, it made me want to read it again. Seriously, just read this one.

Simone is a normal teenager... Mostly. Her thoughts of boys and the development of future relationships are coloured by the fact that she is HIV positive and has been since birth. She's chill about it, mostly, and she looks after her health but it's not something she likes to be open about. The last time she tried, to a girl she had a crush on, it went badly and she felt that she had to leave her last school.

Now, things are looking up at her new school, she has two new best friends and a role as student director for the school's musical, Rent. Simone is passionate about musicals and Rent holds extra meaning personally since it's about the AIDS epidemic that killed friends of her two dads.

Through the musical Simone starts to bond with, and then fall for, Miles. But someone isn't happy about the blooming relationship and Simone starts to receive notes threatening to out her.

I did guess the culprit but I never would have guessed their reasoning and it added a much needed extra layer of depth. I loved Simone's friends and how casual their representation is! Lydia is bi and Asian, Claudia is asexual and a lesbian. Simone herself is Black (so is Miles) and bi questioning, not surprisingly prior experience has somewhat tainted that.

Overall I loved this, loved the characterisation especially Simone, the relationship she had with her dads was beautiful, they were so supportive!

Although the book was for enjoyment and entertainment purpose, it did a great job of educating the reader. I dont usually pick up books like this but I found this to be a great, informative read with a good storyline.

Hearing about this book, I thought, "yes, representation of HIV in a teen book, this is going to be great and mean so much to so many people". Alas, the quality of the tale versus the importances of the subject matter just really didn't match up.

This is such an important read for everyone, its an important topic and this book handles it so well, HIV wasn't used as a shock reveal but spent time showing how life can be handled and the way it can impact life and relationships with others.

Loved the representation in this book. simone was born with HIV and has had to take antiretroviral medication daily to control the growth of the virus, plus all the hospital visits and group talks. She also had to move school after she told someone she thought she could trust about her HIV but the girl decided to spread it around and people began treating her differently, staying away from her, calling her names.
then she moves schools and has a fresh start.
4/5 stars

I think this is the first book with a HIV-positive MC that I read, let alone a girl with HIV.

I remember reading books about gay men with AIDS, but in all of those the men in question are never the main characters. They are a brother, an uncle or strangers, always secondary characters. If you're interested, I'm talking about Los ojos del perro siberiano (shame it's not translated), Tell the Wolves I'm Home, and Two Boys Kissing.

I really liked the main topic of this story, which is obviously about living with the virus while being able to live a fulfilling life at the same time. Fortunately, medicine has improved a lot since the 80's and nowadays being HIV-positive is not a death sentence anymore. Still, the stigma remains.

Simone let us see the struggles of a person with HIV and moreover the struggles and worries of a sexually inactive (does that sound wrong? It's just that I hate the word virgin lol) teenager with HIV. She is very aware of her situation and is very educated in regards of consent, disclosing her positive status, and using protection, but she's also very responsible in terms of taking her medication and waiting as long as necessary despite her hormonal urges. So she's a horny but sensible teen.

There's also a very good amount of rep both in race and sexuality: Black, Asian, bisexual, lesbian, asexual and gay. We stan a diverse set of characters.

I didn't really care about the romantic plot but I put up with it because I understand it's important to depict some issues related with the HIV. And it felt a bit unrealistic to be honest, like it was too good to be true. On the bright side, although I kind of disliked the love interest, I appreciate how they handled some things.

All in all you should read it, it will teach you a thing or two and I think it will nurture your empathy.

This book takes diversity to the next level! Simone is an adopted, black, HIV positive, questioning teen with two gay fathers, who are both people of colour, a black love interest, a bisexual best friend and a best friend who is an asexual lesbian. And that’s probably not naming everything. This book is also sex positive, and it has strong themes around race, gender and sexuality.

However, what drew me to this book most was the fact that it’s all about Simone’s journey for acceptance. This is an honest, and striking account of what it is like to live with HIV and the stereotyping that surrounds that. I think that the fact that this book is YA is fantastic, as it really shows the problems that occur with being a teen that is classed as being different and I feel like this would be an important book for anyone to read if they want to learn more about HIV and what it can be like to live with on a daily basis.

This book can read a little too detached sometimes, like an article or a medical dictionary when it comes to the descriptions and explanations of Simone’s HIV. However, I did learn a lot, and it made me realise how little I knew about HIV when I went into this. I feel like this is a subject that needs to be talked about a lot more to avoid all of the stigmas and prejudice and this book really opened my eyes to the truth of the virus and what it’s like to live with it. Being a teen is hard enough, but as we saw through this book, when you are shunned publicly because of other people’s ignorance, that can be so much harder, and it was really powerful and heart-breaking to see Simone experience this. We saw all this through the eyes of a character, but it really felt like I was reading about real HIV positive teens who might just be going through a similar experience.

Although all of the above made this book fantastic, I did feel like it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I think I am starting to not enjoy YA contemporary as much as I did in the past. But I did also feel like the detached writing style stopped me from connecting with the characters, especially the side characters, as much as I would have liked. And although I think Simone was a wonderfully brave and interesting character, I feel like some of the situations she was in could have been avoided if she had taken more action earlier on. Which meant the climax of the plot didn’t really hit the way it should have for me.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

I love how diverse this book is, and how it deals with some really important topics and although I felt let down on some aspects of Full Disclosure, I still feel like this book taught me a lot about HIV and what it’s like for teenagers living with the virus.

This was a book that I Really enjoyed this read and I would recommend to others easily, I will be looking out for other titles by this author.

Camryn Garret is a young talent to watch! Full disclosure is searing storytelling told with a skilled voice.

This was such a great read full of diversity and one that I lapped up. I had never read a book featuring a character with HIV before so it was a real eye-opener for me.

I would like to thank the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This is such an important story and Camryn Garrett tells it well.

In this book we follow Simone Garcia-Hampton, a musical loving girl who is HIV positive. She keeps her diagnosis under wraps after experiencing a bad reaction at her last school. However, when she starts going out with a cute boy at school someone threatens to out her. Through Simone’s story both she and we as readers gain a deeper understanding of the prejudice and fear in that faces her community

I can say whole heartedly that this is a phenomenal book, the author does an incredible job discussing HIV, the history and stigma surrounding HIV as well as featuring so much wonderful queer representation and important conversations about sex.

Some of my favourite characters in this book were Simone’s fathers as they were funny and their relationship with each other and Simone was beautiful to read. I also loved Miles but was also disappointed with him in places.

The writing of this novel was beautiful and perfect for the way the story was told. Even the way the author discussed masturbation was incredible and so important for young adults to read about. This is what we want more of! Also the drama teacher tea was fire so I’d also be up for more of that!

I think this book would do so well being read in schools as there is so much misunderstanding surrounding HIV as well as not enough being taught about it. I admit, I learned a lot from this book that I felt I should already know and that’s why this book is so important and why we need more like it.

Thank you to Penguin for gifting me a copy of Full Disclosure to review

Full Disclosure was one of the books I read in June during Pride Month, and it was one of my favourites that month and one of my favourites of the year. I didn’t really know where to start with a review so I knew it was perfect for a Reasons to Read!

Simone has had to move school after her previous school found out she’s HIV-positive. Hoping to fly under the radar at her new school she begins to make new friends romance blooms between her and a boy. But then she receives an anonymous letter threatening to tell the school of her HIV. Full Disclosure is such a stunning debut from a young author and I am so excited to see where Garrett’s career takes her.

HIV POSITIVE REPRESENTATION
The heading for this works two-fold: it is representation of someone who is HIV positive, and it is also positive representation of someone who has HIV. I’m pretty certain I haven’t read a book before which featured a main character with HIV, and if I have I doubt it was portrayed well. Simone lived a healthy life with HIV and it’s informative and wonderful. To this day people are still scared of people who have HIV and books like this one will eventually help to rid people of fear and misconceptions. It was clear throughout Full Disclosure that Garrett did a lot of research into the condition.

SEX POSITIVE
I love reading YA books which are sex positive, and Full Disclosure is definitely a standout in this regard. Simone and her friends discuss masturbation, they go to a sex shop and look at toys. These scenes were so nice to read, I think had this kind of stuff been in the boks I read when I was a teen I would have felt so much better about discovering these things myself. I think there’s a lot of attention and jokes about masturbation for teenage boys but it is so rarely mentioned when it comes to other genders, and I hope books like Full Disclosure can help break that barrier down and normalise it.

FANTASTIC DISCUSSIONS ABOUT QUEERNESS
Throughout the book there are some wonderful discussions about queerness and fluidity. Simone doesn’t feel like she’s queer enough and isn’t sure about her identity. She has a number of queer friends and 2 dads who are very certain in who they are but Simone has no idea really.

FUNNY & HEARTWARMING
Above all Full Disclosure is a coming of age story, and you know I love those. It’s a story about self-acceptance and understanding. Simone struggles with who she is and as she comes to terms with her Positive status she also comes to terms with her sexuality and her place in the world. If you, like me, love coming of age stories but are looking for diverse voices and new takes on the genre then Full Disclosure is definitely a book to consider.

A great YA contemporary with a really strong voice. To have a young HIV positive character is so important and Camryn talks about it so eloquently. Huge fan of the visibility this story promotes, and excited to see what Camryn will write next!

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley for giving me an ARC of this book, in exchange for an Honest Review.

Unfortunately It has taken me some time to get to this book but the main reason I finally did was because of everything going on in the world, I wanted to better educate myself, However this book fell way too short for me.

Full Disclosure had such an interesting premise, a book focusing on the life of a teenager born with HIV navigating life as a teenager, but it never really got going and tried way to hard to be educational that there wasn't really much of a Plot to this book.

There are parts in this book that are way to unrealistic and to be honest made me really uncomfortable as a reader, for example what Gynaecologist would allow YOUR DAD in the room with you whilst having a Breast Exam and to discuss safe sex? I wouldn't care if they were a family friend that ain't right!

Also why keep mentioning the use of safe sex, such as Dental dams if this wasn’t going to happen when she ends up having oral sex? You need to Practise what you Preach otherwise what the hell is the point.

Everyone in this story is way too understanding, as a teenage I wasn't that well educated on what HIV/AIDS was, I would have had to ask questions about it not just been like yeah sure whatever? Also I would have been upset if my partner didn’t feel they could talk to me about things like this before starting a full blown relationship.

Regrettably the writing in this is just boring, it lacked any purpose or plot which Is why I DNF's this book at around 70%. The whole blackmail in high school thing has been overdone and been done better, I just couldn't force myself to continue on with this book, It had taken me from end of May till now to get to here and to be honest I am thankful its over.

A good read. An excerpt from my review on my blog:

I really liked the way characters were naturally described rather than labouring over their skin tone or ethnicity (I think I read about that on someone else's blog or in an article and I'm struggling to think where now - if you recognise that, please let me know). For example, Simon's friend Lydia is introduced as having a bag featuring "I love Taiwan pins from her trip to visit family last summer". Lydia also identifies as asexual (or "ace", which I love), which is not something I've encountered in work of fiction before. Certainly although there's a trope that YA books are known for looking at issues and identity politics, it's lovely to read something in which so many different people will see themselves reflected (as the three girls attend an LGBTQIA and allies meeting weekly at school, there's even room for a quick mention of nonbinary identity, which does complete a sort of set of diversity but is acceptable as part of the intent of the book to be inclusive, just like Dr Khan the HIV specialist and her revolving collection of child-friendly hijabs with elephants and other patterns)..

https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2020/06/27/book-review-camryn-garrett-full-disclosure/

I dont usually pick up YA books however this one really grabbed my eye and the subject matter seemed too important not to read. This book raises awareness about issues that readers might want to learn without talking down to them or patronizing them, I have never read anything about HIV so it was good to read something that depicts it so well.

Even though important issues are dealt with this story still manages to develop nteresting characters and there is a good balance of normal teenage angst and drama. I would recommend.

Some very sensitive subjects handled perfectly, this was very well written and I forgot that I was reading a YA book.

Excellent storyline – but long-winded.

Simone is seventeen-years-old and lives with her two dads. She is HIV positive and needs to take medication daily. Simone recently changed schools hoping that finally, she can meet someone and make friends without having to disclose her status. She’s also hoping to fall in love and lose her virginity.

I’m sure that teenagers will love this book. The plot, centred around Simone’s HIV positive status is hugely valuable as there are so many teenagers like her with this status. I think my problem with the book is quite simply that it’s written for teenagers and I’m long past that stage of my life.

Rony

Elite Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.