ALA Booklist

Grief-stricken after her mother dies of AIDS, Emmy, 13, must also cope with the reality that she herself is infected with the HIV virus, which was passed on to her during Mom's pregnancy or while breastfeeding. She is furious that she has to move in with her dad and stepmom; resists taking her huge pills three times a day; lashes out at her best friend; and hates it that everyone at school knows about her illness. The reality of living with HIV and AIDS is the drama here, and many readers will be held as much by the facts of the disease as by Emmy's story. Of course, there is no easy resolution. After her father forces Emmy to attend a summer camp for HIV-positive girls, though, she does find connections with others like her, who do not know if they will grow up, get married, and have kids. Emmy's lively first-person narrative tells a gripping contemporary story of confusion, sorrow, anger, and hope that will prompt group discussions.

Horn Book

After her mother dies from AIDS, thirteen-year-old Emmy is sent to a summer camp for HIV-positive girls like herself. Befriending the other campers helps Emmy feel less alone and allows her to make peace with her dad and his pregnant new wife. Sheinmel doesn't sugarcoat Emmy's grief, anger, or illness, making the hopeful ending all the more satisfying. An author's note is appended.

Kirkus Reviews

HIV-positive Emmy has to put her life back together when her mother dies of AIDS. She moves in with her estranged father and his pregnant wife, and the stress sends Emmy into bouts of anger. To help Emmy deal with her grief and her own illness, her father and stepmother send her to Camp Positive, a summer camp for HIV-positive girls. Though the time away from home doesn't cure Emmy's fears and doubts, the wisdom she gains from her fellow campers and the staff enables her to go home with a little more understanding of herself and her illness. Emmy's sullen nature often makes it difficult for readers to connect to her, but the adult characters are drawn well, with both faults and dimension. There are many subplots, including the birth of Emmy's stepsister, but none of them gets much time or attention. This is a book that fulfills a specific need, but its overall flaws make it unlikely to be passed from reader to reader and gain a following. (Fiction. 9-14)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

After her mother dies of AIDS, 13-year-old Emmy is left to grapple with the virus her mother unknowingly passed on to her through pregnancy. When Emmy acts out, her father and his second wife, who are expecting their first child, send her to sleepaway “Camp Positive,” for HIV-positive girls. Despite her reluctance, Emmy begins to find solace with girls who face similar obstacles, but a friend leaving camp because of declining health, sparks stark realizations: “You couldn't ever get away from AIDS, ever. You couldn't ever change anything.” Emmy's most transformative moment—a conversation with a camp counselor who tells her, “I'm not saying this disease is easy. It's not easy at all. And I can't explain everything that happened, except to say that life is weird”—leads to a convincing baby step toward Emmy finding peace. Sheinmel (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">My So-Called Family), who reviews for <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW, occasionally crosses into political territory, but Emmy's plainspoken narration and reflections on the loss of her mother and her illness (“People had to be nice to me because I was the one with the saddest life”) are wrenchingly authentic and quietly powerful. Ages 9–14. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)

School Library Journal

Gr 6-8 Emmy is infected with the HIV virus, and her mother, infected before she married Emmy's father, dies of AIDS at the beginning of the book. Angry and alone, the 13-year-old moves in with her semi-estranged father and newly pregnant stepmother. At a loss for how to help Emmy recover from her grief and alienation, they send her to a summer camp for girls with HIV and AIDS. There she realizes that she is not alone, not the only person to take handfuls of pills on a daily basis, not the only girl who worries about the complications of dating with the virus. She returns home with a new perspective, welcoming her half sister into her life and admitting her newfound desire for a happier, more "positive" existence. Emmy refers to her condition alternately as being HIV positive and infected with AIDS, which may confuse readers grappling to understand the difference. What does come through is her very real anger and her fear about her future. Some readers may find the plot development slow, but Emmy's situation is compelling and underrepresented in YA fiction. Nora G. Murphy, Los Angeles Academy Middle School

Voice of Youth Advocates

Emerson ôEmmyö Price struggles with all the usual daily difficulties of being thirteen, like fitting in, grades, and relationships with the opposite sex, but her burden is heavier with the early passing of her mother as a result of AIDS and her own daily concerns of viral loads and T-cell counts as an HIV positive teen. Emmy loses her emotional balance, her routine, her security, and her biggest supporter. ôMommy. . . . It was two words put together, like a compound word: æMomÆ and æme.Æ As if we were connected, even though there wouldnÆt ever be a Mom and me again.ö Even the strong interest in boys by her best friend, Nicole, makes Emmy uncomfortable because she can never forget that she has AIDS and is therefore different. She cannot imagine ever having a boyfriend, husband, or even growing up at times. Her fatherÆs decision to send her off to Camp Positive for girls who have HIV angers Emmy, but a whole new world opens for her once there and surrounded by other girls struggling with so many of the same issues and heartaches. This valuable story discusses uncertainty, very human fears, and most important, hope. The reader is drawn to Emmy, who is ultimately a courageous character, and the lessons at Camp Positive are priceless. It is a terrific introduction to a complex and important topic. It might also serve as an eye opening assignment or discussion piece.ùAva Ehde.