Description

"When my mother died, I imagined God was thinking,'One down, and one to go.'"

Emerson Price cannot remember a time when life was ordinary. She was four years old when she and her mom were diagnosed as HIV-positive -- infected with the virus that causes AIDS -- and eight when her parents divorced. Now she is thirteen and her mother is dead. Emmy moves in with her father and stepmother, but she feels completely alone. Even though everyone has always accepted her, no one -- not her father, or stepmother, or even her best friend -- understands what it's like to have to take medicine every single day and to be so afraid of getting sick. Now Emmy misses her mom more than she ever thought she would.

When Emmy's dad and stepmother send her to Camp Positive, a camp for HIV-positive girls, Emmy is certain she is going to hate it. But soon she realizes that she is not so alone after all -- and that sometimes letting other people in can make all the difference in the world.

Author Courtney Sheinmel has written an unforgettable novel about strength and hope in the face of tragedy.

About the Author

Courtney Sheinmel is the author of Sincerely, Positively, and My So-Called Family. She graduated with honors from Barnard College, part of Columbia University, and attended Fordham University School of Law. Courtney lives, works, and writes in New York City. Visit her at courtneysheinmel.com.

Praise for Positively…

"Courtney Sheinmel has captured, with honesty and perception, the complicated thoughts of thirteen-year-old Emmy Price as she navigates her life during the difficult months following her mother's death from AIDS. Emmy, who's HIV-positive, not only must deal with the loss of the person she loved the most, but must face her own illness with a new sense of heart-wrenching reality. I cheered every one of Emmy's cautious steps on her journey to make a place for herself in a world without her mother." -- Ann M. Martin, author of A Corner of the Universe and A Dog's Life

"Utterly enthralling, Positively tugs at your heartstrings from the first page and doesn't let go. Courtney Sheinmel has created such a believable character in thirteen-year-old Emmy that I didn't want to leave her. This could be the most important book you read all year." -- Wendy Mass, author of Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

"Courtney Sheinmel's powerful tale of teenager Emerson Price's journey growing up with AIDS sends a torpedo right to the heart. I loved it. Never preachy, Emmy's story feels as if you've delved into her personal diary. I cried and I smiled and eventually felt a sisterhood with Emmy, whose message 'anything is possible' made me cheer." -- actor Marlee Matlin, author of Deaf Child Crossing