Would you read a book that had....

[Rachel]

Alex Sanchez had one of the Rainbow Boys dating an older HIV positive boy for awhile, so it can be done. I think it's an issue that should be addressed. Good luck writing it. I look forward to hearing when it's done. (hint, hint)

[Kaje]

Caitlin wrote: "So I was thinking tonight that I'd like to do a story where a main character was HIV positive. I've got the medical background to pull this off realistically but I was wondering if this would be to..."

There are a couple of books with HIV positive side characters - Rainbow High comes to mind where Nelson's boyfriend is HIV pos. And they almost have sex, but don't because the BF doesn't think Nelson is taking it seriously enough. Also one of the short stories in Athletic Shorts: Six Short Stories has a pos. second character, although it was written long enough ago that that was a death sentence and not the current scary but tenuously manageable situation.

I think it would be great - go for it.

[Jo]

I think it's definitely important to include. There are HIV positive teens, who either were born with it or who contracted it through sex; teens don't always think about protection. So I think it could be an important book.

And honestly, topic-wise almost anything goes in YA. It just has to be presented in a way that's appropriate for teenagers.

[[deleted user]]

HIV is growing most rapidly among teens nowadays. A blase attitude to safe sex is one of the factors, but there are others, such as needle sharing among drug users and those who are born with it.

Many books and indeed movies tend to lean towards the morbid side of HIV. It would be a nice change to read a MC who isn't defined by the disease, but is simply living with it.

[Jo]

In Maine, there was a girl named Autum Aquino (that is the correct spelling of her first name) who was born with HIV. At age 6, she made headlines when she was enrolled in the biggest elementary school in the state, in Portland. Neighbors and parents of other students threw a fit, but Autum and her mother just kept plugging, and pretty soon no one remembered why it was such a big deal that she was there.

Her mother passed away from AIDS when Autum was young, and she was raised by her aunt and uncle. I met her once; she put the second piercings in my ears at a jewelry store in the Maine Mall where she worked.

She passed away four years ago from AIDS, but while she was alive she was known as "the public face of HIV in Maine". She was also a typical kid, typical teen, and typical young adult; the only difference between her and anyone else was that she had HIV. She chose to be public about it because of the fight she and her mother had to go through to get her into school, but she wasn't "HIV", she was just "Autum Aquino".

I for one would love to read (and maybe someday write) a story about a teen like her.

[Kaje]

Jo wrote: "In Maine, there was a girl named Autum Aquino (that is the correct spelling of her first name) who was born with HIV. At age 6, she made headlines when she was enrolled in the biggest elementary sc..."

That's quite a story, and quite a legacy. She should be remembered.