Customer Reviews

The Beat Goes On

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fifteen-year-old Leyla begins to see HIV in a new way when she learns that her sixteen-year-old cousin, Emma, is infected. The Beat Goes On deals with an important subject: Teens need to know that it isn't just "those people" who get HIV. It can affect anyone and even with modern medications, there is no escaping the impact on your life.

The book portrays stigma in the UK and the loneliness of having something so overwhelming going on in your life that you can't talk about. It shows a teen standing against the tide to reach out to others who aren't all that different from her. I was moved by the ending and hint of resolution of family relationships.

The setting is English--probably too English for most American readers with its contemporary British slang. I was frustrated by the slow pace produced by a first person narrator that too often told us about the people and events (for 7 pages at the beginning!) rather than using scene to let us experience the story along with the characters. The editor in me wanted to cut the places where dialog sounded designed to convey the information in the pamphlets the girls were reading, rather than reflect the way teens would actually talk. The author could have added to the impact by showing what happened to the girl who got tested at the same time, but never went to find out the results, and the boy who had infected Emma. The book assumes that sexual activity is a normal part of a healthy relationship even for fifteen-year-olds, and the message to condomize is as loud as that to not stigmatize.