Maddie and her Aunt Sid are back, this time delving into the impoverished nation of Papua New Guinea to report on the AIDS crisis. As always, Melody does a superb job of making you feel like you are really in the country with them as they visit the clinics of Port Moresby and the mountain villages. This made the heartbreaking nature of the characters' stories even more poignant, especially Lydia who was beautifully written. Maddie herself has gained some maturity and a better sense of adventure since the first book, making it easy to believe she has completed her second year of college.

Another positive lies in Melody's ability to pull no punches with the realism, while being sensitive to her audience. She is fair to the people of PNG, while accurately highlighting their superstitious views about AIDS, their horrible social treatment of those with the disease, and how many dangers lie around every corner, especially for females. I specifically loved her numerous mentions of JAARS and the work they do in foreign countries. I was blessed as a teenager in 2000 to spend a week in North Carolina at Jungle Jump Off, a week-long program put on by JAARS that simulated living as a missionary in a remote village. We learned about the important work they do for translation and movement of the Gospel, so it was great to see a "shout-out" for them!

My three-star rating mostly reflects that I wasn't personally as interested in this one as the book set in Ireland (which sounds horrible given the real life implications of this text), but the writing, character development, and spotlight on a little-discussed issue deserve at least 4 stars.