I'm not the type of reader who sheds tears while reading. However, this book left me wanting to weep. I loved every page, every word, and couldn't help but turn pages quickly, only to be sad when it was over.
I've read other books by Ami Polonsky and have liked them well enough. This is one I loved and want to press into everyone's hands
Set in the 80s during the beginning of the AIDS crisis, I remember this unfolding during my childhood, something I just knew a little bit about from the safety of my small town world. The nostalgia I felt while reading this story was strong as Polonsky referred to a variety of things familiar to that time.
But the story also had my heart breaking. Iris is trying to keep up the appearance of a normal life, all the while knowing that her father is dying of AIDS. She goes to school and doesn't tell her friends, unsure of how they would feel about that news. Up until just a few years earlier, Iris' parents had been married, but when her father reveals he is gay, he moves out of their apartment and he and his boyfriend move into an apartment upstairs from Iris and her mother, and also learns he has contracted AIDS from his boyfriend who didn't know he was infected.
Iris has to work through the anger she feels toward her father and the two begin to write acrostic poems to each other, leaving them under the apartment door mats.
This is such a well written novel - lots of information given about AIDS during that time period, a focus on writing and poetry, a good message about friendship, grieving and finding hope in the future - all wrapped up in a middle grade novel. I'm already telling people this one will make my top ten list for the year because every time I think about it, I instantly want to pick it back up.
If you want a good middle grade novel, this is definitely one to pick up. If you've read it already, I'd love to know your thoughts.
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