Positively

by Courtney Sheinmel

Since the day Emerson Pressman and her mother were diagnosed as HIV positive, nothing has been the same. When her mother dies of AIDS, Emmy has to go live with the father and stepmother she barely knows, and she feels more alone than ever. Now she has to take pills by herself, and there is no one left who understands what it's like to be afraid every time she has a cold. But when her father decides to send her to Camp Positive, a camp for HIV-positive children, Emmy begins to realize that she's not alone after all, and that sometimes, opening up to other people can make all the difference in the world.

Genres: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction, Middle Grade, Family, Illness

216 pages, Paperback

First published September 3, 2009

About the author

Born in California. Raised in New York. Went to law school, now write full time. Love: long walks, fresh notebooks, the smell of brownies, pomegranate seeds. Don't love: yogurt, spam (the email kind, and the food kind), deep water, deserted city streets.

Newest book: THE SECRETS OF LOVELACE ACADEMY, co-written with Marie Benedict, available on April 22, 2025.

I love to hear from readers! Email me! Ask a question! I promise to reply.

Reviews

[Jenna Amador · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that starts off so sad then deeper in the book i gets even sadder well it's this book.The genre is realistic fiction.In my opinion this book is sad but i LOVED IT.The major part of the book is when Emmy's mom dies.
The setting of positively is in a present time and she moves a lot so i can't tell were it takes place the setting is important in the story because it sometimes plays a part in the story.The plot of the story is Emmy's mom died then she had to go live with her dad and his wife but she didn't want to but she had to.The type of conflict is person V.S self because she's always fighting against her self but then gave up and didn't care anymore.The theme of my book is loss, i chose loss because she lost her mother and she lost a couple of friends because ever sense her mom die she wasn't nice, because she had to live with her dad and lost her mom (wouldn't you be mad if you lost you mom.)
The climax in positively is when Emmy throws all the plates of the table because she was mad.And the resolution of the story positively is when she now has a PERFECT life with her dad and stepmom at first she didn't want to live with her dad and stepmom and now all the bad things past by.
The author's tone is sad because according to the story Emmy's mom died of aids and when her mom was pregnant she was already had aids and when Emmy was born she already had aids."this is what i'm wearing when my mom get's buried."The major symbol in the story is that Emmy is brave because shes dealing with aids and she lost her mom because of aids.The title positively relates to the book by Emmy being positive about her life because she has aids.
In my opinion the book is sad because Emmy's mom died from aids. I was surprised when Emmy's mom died.My favorite part of the book is when Lisa took Emmy to go get her hair done. Positively is a good title for the book because Emmy is positive about herself and her life.
What i rate this book though 1-5 i 5 because i love this book i was really interested in it.I would recommend really anyone because you are learning about something.(TRUST ME IS'T GOOD.)If your interested in learning stuff YOU SHOULD READ POSITIVELY because it's a incredible book.

[Chrissy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emmy Price is a thirteen year old girl who feels different from other kids around her for one very big reason -- she is HIV positive. While the other kids go about their regular school day, Emmy makes special trips to the nurse's office to take an assortment of very important pills on a strict schedule. Emmy remembers that her mother would always kiss one of the pills before putting it into her daughter's hand, saying that she loved the medicine that was helping to keep her baby girl alive.

Unfortunately, the pills did not work the same wonders with Emmy's mother, who had severe reactions to the medication and died of AIDS when Emmy was only in the 7th grade. Lost and confused, Emmy is sent to live with her father and his pregnant wife in a room that feel strange and unfamiliar to her. Every day seems to be a reminder not only that Emmy's mother is dead but also that Emmy still faces a daily realization that the disease that claimed her mother's life is still coursing through her own young veins.

Unable to deal with her feelings of hurt and betrayal, Emmy is sent to a summer camp for kids with HIV in order to help her work through her emotions in an environment that feels safe and friendly to kids with her illness. Resistant to another change of environment, Emmy fights her father until the last minute, determined to convince him that camp can do nothing to fix her broken heart.

Emmy still ends up at Camp Positive, though, and first the first time in her life she is surrounded by girls her own age who really understand the struggles and fears that she deals with each and every day of her life. As Emmy learns to live life without her mother by her side, she also learns the value of really letting others into her world -- and into her heart as well.

I absolutely, positively adored everything about Courtney Sheinmel's POSITIVELY, from the first page to the very last part of the author's note. This may actually be the first time that I felt that an Author's Note was an essential part of the story, so I'm glad I didn't just stop at the last page of the story.

The blurb on the back says that the author is donating a portion of her proceeds on this work to the Elizabeth Glasser Pediatric AIDS foundation, which I think just adds even more amazingness to the novel. I definitely think this book does a wonderful job presenting an intimate look at the life of a little girl dealing with a frightening disease -- and, in turn, it really puts a face to an issue that can often just feel so distant and horrifying.

I recommend POSITIVELY to pretty much everyone. It's that good.

[Sandra Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book starts out sad. Emerson Price has just lost her mother to AIDs. She herself is HIV – positive. She knows she could die. She has to go live with her dad and pregnant stepmom. She is tired of being treated differently. Kids at school have always done that. Her best friend Nicole can never understand what her life is like. She can’t understand that Emmy has to eat properly to take all of the medicines she has to take three times a day. She is alone in this now that her mother is gone. What else could be worse? She is being sent to Camp Positive by her dad and step-mom. This is a camp set up for girls like Emmy who are HIV-positive.. This is just one more thing that makes her feel like she is all alone in the world since she has lost her mother. The things Emmy learns about herself might just be the things that help her survive. At first I didn’t like this book. It made me sad and made me cry. I think the reason I didn’t like it at first is that it made me feel helpless for Emmy and others like her. I want to feel like I am in control of situations. I don’t think I would have done a very good job if I had been Emmy. She and so many like her are brave. I would not recommend this to the faint of heart. It is definitely a tear jerker in many ways. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in seeing what true bravery is.

[Julie Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite of this year's Sequoyah books-I love the author's note at the end about Elizabeth Glaser. It's nice to know not only the author's inspiration, but also the authenticity of Emmy's journey.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pure applause for this tale of an HIV-positive girl where the lifelong illness is somehow both a main plot thread, and just one facet of her otherwise ordinary (and not at all boy-including! high five) life.

[Chrys Fey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was watching season two of Pose when I remembered that I owned a copy of this book. I appreciated a look into what it’s like for young people with HIV/AIDS. Emmy was four when she was diagnosed as HIV-positive. Now she’s thirteen. She experiences all the phases of grief throughout this story after losing her mom to AIDS.

This book was published in 2009. I want to point out the use of the phrase “Indian style” for sitting cross-legged and a conversation between the main character and her mom’s best friend (Lisa) about an “Indian name” for Lisa’s baby being “Chief Fist to Face” because of how the baby sits. As well as: “He was born to be a chief.” These are white characters saying these things, which makes it problematic.

[Anila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for the first time in middle school. My best friend at the time had stolen it from her school library because of how much she loved it, and she gave it to me to read. I only remember the generals of the plot, but I have never read a book that made me feel so much. I sobbed for days after I finished this book, and I honestly think that it changed my life. I found it tucked away on my shelf recently and even though it's been years I can't bring myself to pick it up because the emotions from it still feel raw to this day. It might have something to do with the fact that I read this fairly soon after my own mother passed, but this book will always have a special place in my heart. I highly recommend that people of all ages read it.

[Jane Pinto · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book covers the story of Emerson Lou Price as she makes her way, recovering from the death of her mother from AIDS while also being HIV-positive herself. She life is messed up and has no clue how to fix it. She wants everyone to stay away from her, just wanting her mom back. This results in her making decisions that are wrong and has to have to face a lot of struggles along the way that are displeasing but she ends up in a good situation in the end.Overall, his was an amazing, page turning and emotional book and I really recommend it.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it. Placed me in the shoes of someone who is HIV positive and the things that they have to think about daily.

[KY05 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me cry in sooo many places!

[carmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading this years ago as a kid an I’d like to read it again. It was definitely one of those books that got me into reading. I remember thinking how sad but wholesome it was

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic book, with lots of heart written in to it. It was a about a girl with HIV and how she has to deal with it. Great book!

[Kaelyn]

I think this book was very good, you never really knew what was going to happen next, and overall it had a fairly happy ending.

[J-mama · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t think Camp Positive was actually enough counseling for Emmy she needs a therapist ASAP

[Natalie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Go Negatively? Positively!

A book “Positively” by the author “Courtney Sheinmel,” is the utterly enthralling tale of a frank and thoughtful girl, Emmy. Have you ever thought that only a 4-year-old girl was diagnosed with HIV-Aids and her mom died when she was 13? There she is, Emerson Price, shortly Emmy, who lives in misery life, taking a pill everyday. She thinks that no one could ever understand her, even her father, stepmother and her best friend. Since her mom died and everything feel so lonely, maybe anything can’t return her from the depression. The story has well-connected characters, understandable plot and exceptional twists and conflicts with a great mechanics of writing.
“Positively” is a heart-touching story that has well-connected characters, understandable plot with HIV/AIDS and interesting twists. Courtney Sheinmel has created such a believable character in thirteen-year-old Emmy that maybe I didn’t want to live her. The story is developing with surrounding characters of the HIV-infected girl, Emmy, which is well-explained and detailed to show how she is interdependent with other characters. It makes a vivid and a memorable impressions, and many of similar situation to teenagers makes me sympathize and eventually smiled. For instance, even though Emmy is infected with the disease, she freely enjoys to talk about boys and exam; her school life. Secondly, I was attracted by the story with its twists and conflicts. While I was reading, I never thought that Emmy may change all that by Camp Positive, a camp for HIV-positive girls. How could you imagine the life that misses mother, takes a medication all day along and even the father tries to send me away? Is is certain Emmy is going to hate to go to the camp, and I was also sure that the story is going to be end with her boring life in misery. “It was the weirdest thing. It made me feel powerful, even though everything else was out of control.”(85) This is one of the part where she had made her stepmother scared of her and proud of herself. This conflict had made up and reaches the climax, and I was keep nervous as tension goes up. I eventually satisfied when Emmy got strength and hope into her life through the camp. Soon Emmy realizes that she is not so alone after all during the camp. Remember, sometimes letting other people in can make all the happiness in the world. (189) In fact, this book was more special to me, because I could get knowledge of HIV/AIDS, which was very unfamiliar to me. It gave me a great knowledge through her stressful and embarrassing life with medication during the difficult months following her mother’s death from AIDS. I never thought that the author is telling to be positively through a story of girl who is infected to HIV/AIDS and give knowledge of it.
Not every author is a great writer unless they’re the god of writing and there’re few bad points that they made. Also, every reader feels differently about the book since they have their own unique life. For me, unnecessary contents of the story and too predictable elements made me exhausted. Sometimes, unnecessary dialogue and dispensable events fall off the concentration. Although this book was like a personal diary that is detailed every moment, too much of unnecessary dialogue and events made me getting bored and lose the focus. On the other hand, the author’s good mechanics of writing made the story itself unforgettable and more valuable. For example, the author uses lot of literary devices including foreshadowing. The first sentence of the book starts with, “When my mother died, I imagined God was thinking, ‘One down, and one to go’.” (1) It is implying a bad omen by saying the death of somebody and psych herself up.
Overall, I would like to strongly recommend the book especially if you are the one who lost the confidence of the life and feel lonely despite how old you are. The book “Positively” has a powerful message to being positively despite you have a fatal disease. Also, good quality of the writing with literary devices of the author makes the story more interestingly. Look how the author wrote a well-connected characters with a understandable plot. Twists and conflicts of the story attracts you to fall in to the book, and you can even experience how a girl got strength and hope in the face of tragedy.
Work Cited
Courtney Sheinmel, Positively, New York, Simon & Schuster, 2009

[Madeleine Rex · Rating 3 out of 5]

COPIED FROM MY BLOG, HTTP://MADELEINEREX.COM. FORMATTING LOST.

Review:

AIDs isn’t a topic I know much about. I’ve never had to deal with it in any form or fashion. It’s amazing how easy it is to distance yourself from difficult problems when they’re not specifically relevant to your life. You almost forget they exist. Such is the case with AIDs. Positively not only reminded me of its existence but made it personal. I’ve heard from multiple sources that people respond more to individuals than statistics. You can hand someone a list of thousands of names and say, “These are starving kids in Africa,” or you can hand them a single picture of a little Africa boy with a distended stomach. Which one will affect the person more?

The only issue in Positively’s case is that I struggled with connecting to the main character’s voice, so the whole “feeling for the individual” thing didn’t work quite as well. Emmy struck me as kind of irritating at times, but that wasn’t the real problem. It was that she was just words and a way of speaking for a while. I couldn’t really wrap my head around who she was. It took a long time before I could grasp onto her, and I believe it only really happened when she started to develop. Also, her voice definitely seemed more middle-grade-oriented, and I can’t help but wonder if this book would fit better there (although I suppose the topic is a bit morbid).

Emmy’s HIV is only a nuisance until her mother gets sick and eventually passes away, and then it’s devastating. It’s this evil, menacing curse that has unfairly been cast on her and her mother, and she can’t fathom why. I think it was Emmy’s rage that I connected to most. She asks tons of questions throughout the book, which got a little old, but it was when she acted on her frustration that I connected with her more. There are scenes when she loses what little self-control she has left. She simply doesn’t care anymore, and she lets loose. I loved that rawness. It gave her character texture.

I was surprised how long it took for Emmy to get to the camp – for the camp to be mentioned, actually – but once she was there, it was evident that some change was about to be made, either to Emmy’s circumstances or her mindset. The tools needed for her to “freshen up her emotions” were there, and I simply needed to sit back and wait for her to use them.

My favorite aspect of the book was seeing how the adults in Emmy’s life dealt with the situation. She’s only thirteen, so they naturally played a large role. Her father, his wife, and Lisa (Emmy’s mother’s best friend) are all wonderful. I knew that from the beginning, but of course Emmy didn’t. Her father was just the man who left her mom. Meg (her stepmom) was just the woman who her father chose to replace her mom with and who failed to show up at her mother’s funeral. Lisa was the only adult Emmy really felt close to. Though Lisa had issues with Emmy’s father’s choice to marry someone else, she never tried to tear Emmy away. I loved that the adults (as they should), overlooked their differences in an effort to supply Emmy with the unity and peace she needed.

The most interesting story was that of Emmy, her father, and her stepmother. Their relationship and ability to be a close family were definitely the most important element in Emmy’s life. Her father is just as confused and devastated by his daughter’s ill opinion of him as you’d expect, and Meg is floundering in her attempt to scrounge up as decent a relationship with Emmy as she can. As you can probably tell, I found the goings on of the adults to be the most riveting part of the story. I was certainly impressed by the way they handled things, particularly any mistakes they made.

While Positively is ultimately a novel about family and strength despite weakness, it’s founded on the best story foundation of all (or the best foundation period): love. It sounds corny. It sounds contrived. But it also sounds a lot like life.

[Juricsy Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What do you think your life will be if you were HIV positive and your mom died of AIDS? Well this book is a Novel.This book is taken place in conneticut, New York , positive camp.The theme of the story is love and loss .This story has the conflict Person vs self because she fights with her that she has to lived diferent and also because dhe explains in the end how she felt ( different).Emmy has been diagosted with HIV. The main part of the story is when Emmy's mom died of AIDS and she has to go to live with her dad and her stepmother Meg. She does not want to go with her dad and meg. In my opinion this book is really good when i started to read it its was amazing i just started and i gaved it 5 star. What would you do if you had to live with someone you don't want to?


Emmy was only four years of when she and her mom had been diagnosed with HIV positive.Emmy loved her mother when her mom was alive Thay use to say for example "Do you love me to the top of my head?" I'd ask. "Higher," Mom would say. "Do you love me to the top of that tree?" "Even higher." "Do you love me to the roof? " "Higher than that." "How high do you love me?" I'd finally ask, and Mom would say, "I love you to the sky.”but......... When she is thirteen her mother dies od AIDS. Now she has to go live with her Dad and his new wife Meg Emmy felt alone. Everyone is really nice to her but she thinks there just trying to be nice to her or feal bad for her. She has to take pills every day to not fell bad or die like her mom. She has her really nice friend Nicole there reallly nice friends.

Emmy does not like her stepmother Meg or her dad. She did a lot of stuff that were not correct to do because onece she skip school and went to her mothers house to try to remind her about her mom but because there was no one she could not go in but when she got with her dad she got in trouble that was the first time. The second time was when she did not ate well and because she had drink her medicine she had to eat a more but she did not and fainted and she got in trouble with the doctor and her dad. The third time was when she was with her stepmother so meg had taken her china plates and stuff like that to clean them. So Meg had told emmy not to touch anything. Emmy did not cared and hold one up and drop it and then she drop EVERYTHING!! meg was really upset. Meg told emmy dad and got in trouble again. In my opinion emmy did wrong because she wasent doing the right thing . Days pased and finaly emmy was going to say sorry about what she had done.


So because of her behaivor her dad and Meg sent Emmy to an camp named Positive Camp For HIV positive girls. Emmy tought she will hate it but it turn to be really good. She starts hanging out with a girl named Amanda. When she gets out of the Camp she goes back with meg and dad. Now emmy gets more along with them because it says that she saw her dad and she went to hug him and then saw meg and hugged her. Then because meg was pregnant she had her New baby named Hannah. Now there were a nice family.


So what do you think is it better to get far awy from some a little bit or not? In my opinion i first was againts Meg and her dad wanted to send Her to the camp but when i finish the book my opinion changed a lot. Emmy learn Sometimes letting other people in can make it all differnt. I give this book A FIVE STARS because it was awesome i can't even explain it. IF you like books that start sad and in the middle sadder and in the end Happy i relly recommend you to read it.

[Kayla K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave me quite the feels! It had me laughing, crying, and everything else in between, and it was just amazing! Positively focuses on a thirteen year old girl named Emmy, who is HIV positive. This means that she is very prone to a more serious disease called AIDS, which can infect the body in many places and could be fatal. In fact, Emmy's mom unfortunately passed away from it, and thus she inherited it from her. Emmy thinks that she's all alone when she has to take pills at lunchtime and get worried whenever she catches a cold, and that no one really understands what it's like to be her. Due to her mom's death, she goes to live with her dad and pregnant stepmother, both of whom she isn't very close with, and she feels very uncomfortable in that environment for a while. She just wants things to be the same as they were before, what with her mom being alive and healthy again. Then, summer approaches quickly, and her dad and stepmother make the decision of sending her to a sleepaway camp with other kids affected by HIV/AIDS. At first, Emmy refuses to go. Even though it would be nice to meet like-minded individuals, she just wants to spend the summer with her friends and not have to leave her beloved community, especially after coping with such a giant loss. But she ends up giving in, and the camp turns out to be amazing! I really liked Emmy. She was so strong after her mom's death, and really courageous to agree to going to overnight camp! I know I mention how strong characters are a lot, but I am 100% telling the truth, it's only that some characters are just amazing role models that we should look up to! I really felt for her in a time of sorrow, crying (and laughing) along with her. The feelings were just so real in this book! I also really enjoyed the premise of the book, as it was really interesting to learn about and become more aware of HIV/AIDS! Now that I know more about it, I am more determined to help make a difference in the lives of people who unfortunately have to deal with this every day. It really is a scary disease, but I believe that if more people read this gem of a book, they will become more aware of it and want to help! Sheinmel writes about such great topics, ones that many people overlook and therefore not know much about. I'd probably recommend this book to anyone, with the hope that there will be much more HIV/AIDS awareness!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I´d heard basically nothing about this book, but since it cost only 4€ at The Book Depository I decided to just buy it, without knowing all that much about it. When It arrived and I read what it said on the back of the book, I was surprised to read it´s for ages 9 to 14. I read it anyways, and the fact that it´s MG, not YA like I´d thought, didn´t bother me much. Yeah, there are some explanations about what HIV and AIDS are, which I wouldn´t have needed, and Emmy makes some immature decisions, but it´s not like that never happens in YA. Anyways, what I´m trying to say is, don´t let the fact that this is for a younger audience discourage you - Positively is a great book!

What´s so great about Positively are the emotions it conveys. Emmy´s story is heartbreaking. Struggling with HIV is heartbreaking as it is, and the fact that Emmy is only thriteen makes it even sadder. Emmy´s feelings, both about her mother´s death and her own disease, are raw and real, and I could feel them all easily, making me cry several times throughout this book. But Positively isn`t only a sad book - it´s also hopeful, the message making me smile throughout the book, too (well, more at the end, but whatever).

I loved the whole idea for this book - I´ve never read about someone being HIV positive, and how that affects every aspect of your life. The idea of having Emmy go to Camp Positive is great, too. At times, though, I was kind of bored by the plot - nothing all that much happens, and I think a few things could have been cut, especially since this book is actually for people younger than me, who I´m assuming get bored easier.

The writing, though, is what held my attention. Courtney Sheinmel somehow managed to make the voice authentic for a thirteen-year-old girl, but still have the writing be beautiful, vivid and insightful. Emmy´s voice is great, and her way of expressing herself is just beautiful. It´s so innocent, despite what she´s gone through, and that really showed the cruelty of a child having to face something as grave as AIDS.

I don´t have much more to say about this book, but I definitely recommend it. I´m sad to not have seen it around more. Even though it´s MG and about a thirteen-year-old girl, I think it´s suitable for YA readers, too. It´s a heartbreaking but ultimately hopeful story.

Reviewed at http://www.paperbacktreasures.blogspo...

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depressed. In this realistic fiction book,you will find out how it is to be Emmy. I think this is book is a great book. **Spoiler Alert** Emmys's mom dies and has to live with her dad & his wife. I liked the way the author described how Emmy feels. It makes me feel as if I'm Emmy.




This book takes place in Emmy's school , house , & her dads house. Emmy wanted her mom to live through her diagnoses with AIDS/HIV. But her mom died just when she was 4 years old. So when it was time for her funeral,her dad came. Her aunt told her she was moving with her dad.Emmy didn't like the house or school she was at. So Meg , Emmy's dad's wife , has an idea to sent her to camp. Camp Positive. A camp for girls that are HIV positive. Emmy doesn't like this camp at first , but after a week , she gets used to it. Then just after coming home from camp, her dad's wife is having a baby. Soon her dad is at work & Emmy and her new stepmom are home taking care of a baby. The conflict in the story is that Emmy really hates this camp. And all she wants to do is go home. Sometimes she wants to sleep and NEVER wake up. Emmy is a 13 year old & is HIV positive. She is a quiet girl in school , & only talks to her bestfriend.




I can relate to the character because I don't really talk to anyone except my bestfriends. My favorite part was when Emmy started playing the games in Camp Positive because she really connected to the girls at the camp. I wish that Emmy's mom hadn't died because then she wouldn't have to live with her dad & his wife. I thought the ending of the book was amazing because it turns out that she really DID like living with her dad & Meg. I understood why Emmy was so sad because I think that everyone will be sad if their mom died at a young age.


When I read this book it reminds me of " The Cinco Hermanitas" becuase they were away from their mother a LONG while. I can relate to this book because I was once away from my mom for a month. Tht's the longest I've ever been away from her & I missed her.



I think this book was perfect because I relate to Emmy alot. I'll rate the book a 10. Greatest book ever. I rate it a "10" because Emmy's emotions are similar to mine sometimes. I would recommend this book to people that like sad stories but get happier in the end. Now, I think that Emmy isn't as depressed as she was before.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed by Breanna F. for TeensReadToo.com

Emerson Price has had a tough life so far. When she was young, her mother got sick from HIV, which eventually turned into AIDS. Then Emmy's mother and father found out that Emmy had it, too. She got it while her mother was pregnant with her.

Emerson is now 13 and her mother has just died from AIDS. She was always okay with having HIV when her mother was alive, because her mom knew what it was like. Her father never understood and he ended up divorcing Emmy's mother because the stress was just too much. Now, her father is re-married to a woman named Meg, and she's pregnant. Since Emmy's mother is no longer there, she has to go live with her father - and Emmy doesn't know what to think about it. She just wants her mother back, that's all.

She feels like she can't trust anyone to be her real friend. She thinks that everyone just feels sorry for the sick girl. Now that her mother is gone, she feels like her best friend is just hanging out with her because she pities her, which is not the case at all. So Emmy starts to push her away.

When things start getting worse her stepmother, Meg, finds out about a camp called Camp Positive. It is a camp for kids who are HIV positive. Emmy's father makes her go, even though it's the last thing that she wants to do. She has every intention of not opening up to anyone at the camp. But when she arrives there she meets a girl named Whitney who she ends up having a connection with. Soon, Emmy starts to open up because of Whitney and actually lets some emotion out.

POSITIVELY was such a heart-wrenching story. The whole time I couldn't help but feel bad for Emerson. I couldn't even begin to imagine what living with HIV would be like, especially when you're that young and have just lost your mother. I didn't even think she'd really give Camp Positive a chance at all, but was surprised to find out that she actually made a friend there.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes sad but in the end uplifting stories. This really was a great read and a page-turner. It is also based off the author's experience with the Elizabeth Glaser AIDS Foundation, so that makes this book even more real to me.

[Teacher. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Positively by Courtney Sheinmel is a beautiful and thought provoking novel about a teen girl that is HIV positive. When we meet Emmy, she is 13 and her mother has just passed away from complications due to the AIDS virus. She is scared and lonely and everything in her life has changed in this moment. She will have to go live with her father and step-mother who is expecting a child soon. The reality of living with HIV is tough for Emmy who can’t seem to fit in anywhere anymore. Her friends at school don’t understand. Her step-mother is too neat and overbearing. Her father isn’t help either. By the time Emmy’s emotions boil over, she has pushed away her best friend, disappointed her father, and scared her step-mother into suggesting that Emmy be sent away for the summer to a camp for others that are HIV positive.


Emmy resists joining the fun at camp. She finally doesn’t feel different, but can’t seem to move forward. Throughout the book, Emmy is insightful and sincere, sharing her story with deep emotion and feeling. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a 13 year old narrator dealing with so much. I was pleasantly surprised and moved by the story. Emmy shows real anger, perspective, fear, and in the end makes positive changes in her life. In simple narrative in the back of the book, Courtney Sheinmel tells her story of growing up being a volunteer of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, befriending Glaser and her family. Sheinmel drew on her experience working with the foundation to write Positively. While this book dealt with real-life difficulties, pain, and life and death I felt really good after reading the story. It teaches important lessons about how to stay positive, that everyone makes mistakes, and walks young adult readers through a life with HIV. I hope YA readers are able to gain empathy and perspective on children with health problems like this. I would recommend this book to 6th graders and up.


Reviewed here @ my Blog: Teacher.Mother.Reader

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emmy Price cannot remember a time when her life was "normal," when HIV and AIDS were not part of her everyday vocabulary. Emmy contracted the HIV virus from her mother, who contracted it herself before meeting Emmy's father. Her parents divorced, Emmy grew up with her mother, but the book opens with her mother passing away from AIDS, when Emmy is 13. Emmy moves in with her father and stepmother, who are now expecting their own baby, and she feels completely alone. When Emmy is sent to Camp Positive, a camp for children who are HIV-positive, she is certain she'll hate it. Soon, though, she realizes that she's not as alone as she had thought, and that sometimes letting others in can make all the difference.

This is definitely a book that my YAL students would label a DLB (Depressing Letcher Book), but it's beautifully written, and perfectly (heart-breakingly) captures all the little moments and anxieties that can pass through someone's mind after someone close dies: the first moment entering the house without that person, dealing with the clothes left behind, returning to school, and generally figuring out how to make it through each day without that person there. The saddness in the book is overpowering at times, and I had to put it down and walk away a couple of times, but it's an excellent representation of what a young person can go through.

There are points where the text gets a little too informational (Sheinmel has extensive experience with AIDS foundations, so she works to interject information about the disease in periodically), and there are plot points that you can see coming from afar, but overall, I thought this was an outstanding book, about a topic that receives far too little attention in YA. This is a completely teachable book, and one that all should read.

[Librariann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Particularly tweeny, girls in grades 4 - 7

Seventh grader Emmy is still reeling from the death of her mother, who had AIDS. Now she has to leave the home she's known forever and go live across town with her dad and his pregnant wife Meg. Emmy feels the loss of her mom especially acutely because of their shared disease: Emmy is also HIV positive.

The months after her mom's death are particularly trying, in spite of the support of friends and family. Her best friend Nicole's attempts at empathy are oddly frustrating, and Emmy wonders if their friendship is even real or if Nicole just feels sorry for her because she's sick. Emmy begins small acts of rebellion: leaving school, breaking Meg's china, and trying to skip out on her thrice-daily pills. When her Dad and Meg send Emmy to a summer camp for HIV positive girls, Emmy is unhappy and determined to resist going along with any camp activities. Slowly, she makes new friends discovers a new world where she can just be a 13 year old girl, not a 13 year old girl with HIV.

Though Emmy has HIV, this is no Lurlene McDaniel medical drama. The writing is simple and Emmy is more Disney Channel thirteen than MTV thirteen, which makes this book most appropriate for younger tweens. I was irked by some of the whitewashed segments, like the treatment of Meg's pregnancy (please, let's stop saying the baby is a her "stomach," it's a uterus) and her made for sitcom childbirth. (Two pushes and the baby is out!) The author's note at the end detailing her own work with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS foundation is especially touching.

Will appeal to fans of Hannigan's Ida B. and suggested for mother-daughter book discussions.

[Brandi Sellers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was positive I was going to love Positively by Courtney Shiemel (har har) but, sadly, it wasn't love. I'm not sure it was even like. If anything, it was a very gentle form of tolerance.

Am I saying that Positively is a bad book? Absolutely not! It's a very good book and a very interesting tale. I've never known anyone with AIDS, so I enjoyed the personal glimpse into Emmy's life, I enjoyed learning what it was like to be her. I did not, however, enjoy her personality.

I think it's because I've read too many of them lately: the girl whom no one understands feeling sorry for herself. Granted, Emmy has a lot more reason to feel sorry for herself, and a heck of a lot better reason to feel different from everyone else, but it got to the point where I just wanted to shake her and tell her to wake up. Which makes me think that maybe this book wasn't written for me because A) I'm a bit too jaded B) The MC was too young for me to connect with (though I greatly appreciated how much she described stuff as "stupid" (I recall doing the same thing when I was a tween)) and C) Her time moping seemed too long and her "growth" period too short. I wanted more growing/understanding, less time whining.

I had a hard time connecting to any of the characters, to be honest. I liked Whitney, I guess, and I was honestly sad (spoiler alert) when she got sick and had to leave camp. But, other than that, I just felt like I was watching everything from a distance. Emmy wouldn't let any of her family/friends in, and at times I felt she wouldn't let the reader in either.

However, the writing was excellent, stark and poetic. Overall, a worthwhile read.

[Regan Lundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before reading this book I didn't really know much about AIDs because I've never had to deal with them. Emmy's HIV is only a nuisance until her mother gets sick and ends up passing away. Having to deal with this is a hard task to deal with at such a young age when you and your mother is all there has ever really been in your life. Dealing with her mother passing away and having to move in with her dad that she hasn't ever really got along with builds up a lot of stress in Emmy's life and she begins to act out in violent ways. By doing this she scares her dad and new step-mom. By running out of school and acting in ways that she never had before Emmy's dad and step-mom start looking at a camp called Camp Positive that is for young kids that are HIV positive. It took Emmy awhile before really taking this camp into consideration, but once she did it changed her whole veiw on how her new life was going to be without her mother. And by going to the camp she began to accept it and enjoy her new life.

I absolutely love this book!! It is very good and beautifully written. I would highly recommend it to all aged readers. It is very interesting and I could not put it down! It is a very insperational and touching story. I feel like I connected the most with thw main character Emmy. I feel this way because i feel like if I was in Emmy's situation I would act out in the same ways she did. Since she was so young and didn't understand the things that were happening around her at the time this was the only way she knew how to act out. If you love realistic fiction books you with absolutely fall in love with this book!

[Angela C · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Positively by Courtney Sheinmel revolves around the main character Emerson and her mother being identified with HIV positive, with her mother's death (from AIDS) early within the story Emmy is forced to live with her father and stepmother. The general theme of the story is that when you open up to others, things will change for the better. She then learns how to take her own pills, without her mother she feels very alone and isolated, this is because she feels that there is no one that understands her now that her mom is gone. An example of this in the book is when she gets a cold she has a reason to be very nervous unlike a normal child. And there is a turning point in the story when Emmy realizes she is not alone when she attends a camp for children with HIV positive that her father sends her too.
I think this book is very entertaining and emotional, throughout the book many tears were shed. I have already read several books from this series and this one strikes me as the best of the series. And also I think this book can be applied to real world situations, there is probably many children suffering through the same as a parent or grandparent of their own and though many people are sympathetic to people that have HIV positive it is very hard to be empathetic toward people that have HIV positive.
I think is a great book for preteen girls and teen girls, it is a very emotional filled book with many highs and lows. If your someone who loves an emotional roller coaster this will be the perfect book for you. Also if you are a fan of realistic fiction that is really related to the real world this is a good book for you.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Positively is a touching, heart-wrenching, and breathtaking look into one girl's life that has been completely transformed since the age of four by three little letters- HIV.

Emmy, or Emerson, was girl who constantly awed me with her braveness and honesty towards the life she has been dealt. Since I know if I was the one dealing with all of her problems I would be hiding in the corner somewhere crying. But not Emmy; she goes far and above to make sense of her life, allowing her to create her life to be the best it can be, even when her weakness and freight gets in the way. Plus, her voice is one that just sticks with you long after you've finished reading her story. The other characters who were facing the harrowing trouble of being HIV infested were the same way; going far beyond to completely gain my respect and support with their braveness.

While the plot wasn't always the most exciting thing out there, Courtney made it magnificent with her writing. Since time after time she made the characters come to life and jump of the page. Further more, I seriously applaud her for giving us such a honest and blunt look into living with AIDS. Since not once did she sugarcoat it into being something that it wasn't.

In all, Positively is a book that I feel everyone should read no matter what age you are because it gives you such a great look in the life of one with HIV, and the message that no matter who you are and what you've been dealt with you can always make you life the best it can be if you try.

Grade: A+

[Kaylee Lanier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Positively, a heart-wrenching and inspiring story by Courtney Sheinmel, depicts the life of a teenage girl who is HIV-positive. Emerson Watson must learn to cope with the loss of her best friend, her mother, and her life altering disease- AIDS. Emmy battles a journey of dealing with pain, anxiety, hatred, and misunderstanding. She often questions her life and wonders “Why me?”. Written like a diary, the story makes you feel as if you are alongside Emmy as she deals with her emotional year. Whether it is the feeling of being alone in the world, dealing with death of a loved one, moving into a new family, wondering if you will be alive the next day, or simply learning to love again, this story encompasses every feeling that an adolescent might face. Emmy constantly struggles with her everyday life and it is not until she attends a camp for HIV-positive adolescents that she learns to laugh, live, and love again. Throughout the story, you often find yourself wanting to cheer Emmy on and encourage her to keep living.
This story is truly inspiring. Emmy shows what it feels like to be a teen who is trying to find herself in the world, but deal with something she has no control over -AIDS. This story would touch the heart of those who have diseases and understand what it feels like to feel alone. Every student should read this and realize that they can conquer anything they set their mind to.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Positively is a story about Emmy Price, an HIV positive young girl, who is dealing with the death of her mother from AIDS. Emmy feels like no one can truly understand how she feels having to deal with this illness every day of her life, never knowing what her future will hold for her. To help her cope her father and step-mother send her to Camp Positive where she has the chance to meet other HIV positive girls.

I hate saying this but this book left me feeling rather indifferent. I did not hate it and did not love it. It was an interesting story and balanced nicely portraying Emmy living as an HIV positive young girl without making the book too depressing. I just did not find myself drawn into the characters. They were a little bland and I would have liked to see more self discovery at Camp Positive for Emmy. Her turn of heart seemed sudden when she was not showing much enjoyment at camp and then it seemed like one talk is all it took to change her outlook on life. That said it was a very interesting topic and I could not imagine what I would be like if I were in Emmy’s situation. Her fears and frustration over things like would any boy ever want to date her or would she ever have her own kids were all very real and it is heart breaking that a 13 year old would have to think about these types of things.