Full Disclosure is the best YA book I have read for some time. Raw, honest, funny, with a protagonist who knows her worth, Full Disclosure really opened my eyes to life with HIV as a young woman today. I'll be recommending this book to everyone I know.

Full Disclosure is a YA novel about a girl navigating teenage love, friendships, high school theatre, and being HIV-positive. Simone Garcia-Hampton is seventeen, still the new kid at her school, and directing their production of Rent. When she discovers that lacrosse-playing Miles Austin might feel the same way about her that she does about him, Simone knows her overprotective dads will have something to say about that, both as parents and because she's HIV-positive. As Simone starts to open up to her friends and to Miles, she realises people can know her secret, but it also seems someone wants to force it out of her.

In some ways Full Disclosure follows some classic young adult novel paths, and in other ways it is very fresh and exciting. Simone is a quirky main character, a girl who knows she wants to be thinking about sex, but is also very aware that given her condition, there's a lot more to think about. Her friends Lydia and Claudia are also great characters, the kind who it would be interesting to have spin-off novels about, and the book has a lot of focus on different LGBT+ people and how people face similar and different issues. Miles is sweet and feels like a classic YA love interest: thoughtful and caring, if maybe a little too much at times. 

Aimed at an older YA audience, the novel is likely to open many readers' eyes not only to realities of being HIV-positive, but also other conversations around sex and sexuality. It feels a bit like a cross between Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts), combining a range of diverse characters and a main character growing up with discussion of teenage sexuality. Unlike those books, however, it has a black female protagonist and importantly looks at the different experiences of her and her female friends. Not only does it cover these topics, but it also is funny and sweet and is likely to be a hit with fans of similar YA novels.

I am very picky about contemporary YA. When they work for me, they really work. Otherwise I tend to really not like them and get bored. So with that in mind, I acknowledge that the YA angle here is one I’m not the target audience for. That said this book addresses an very important topic. As someone who grew up during the 80s when the HIV/ AIDs terror was at its height, I think I may have a perspective on the whole thing that the much younger author of this book just won’t fully understand. I absolutely agree that chronic illnesses should not define the individual. The MC is right to want respect and love and all the experiences you should have as a teenager. However blood borne diseases such as HIV and Hep C are not currently fully curable, they’re manageable (although if the sterling work with CRISPrs comes through who knows?!) so I feel more care should have been taken in depicting that side of the plot and was definitely expecting it to be canvassed more thoroughly. These are chronic conditions you can infect another person with so while you should absolutely be able to live your life, you cannot be cavalier about someone else’s safety either. It’s not the same as asthma or epilepsy in that respect. Not yet anyway. Overall the execution was ok though some of the circumstances just didn’t ring true to me. I was left with questions and not in a good way. A decent book however and I do want to see this topic addressed more.

I'm going to start this review with the one problem I had with the book.
Absolutely no way would a parent be allowed in the room (Doctor or not) when their kid is seeing a gynaecologist. It's just a little bit weird to have her Dad come in the room with her.

Other than that this story is amazing!
I absolutely loved Simone as a character, she's so complex. She is so brave yet is so flawed and Garrett just did a great job of making Simone such a lovable girl.
Miles was an actual sweetheart and I think we all need a Miles in our life.
I loved her Dad's they were great in the normal cringy Dad way!

The story itself didn't grasp my attention but the characters kind of made the story for me.

4.5 stars from me and I cannot wait to read more of Garrett's works in the (hopefully near) future!

I was really intrigued by this book as the subject matter is one that I'd not really come across as the main theme in a YA novel. I really liked the characterisation of Simone and her dads which was realistic and sensitive. I also enjoyed the story overall, especially the mystery element of who might be blackmailing Simone. This book was definitely toward the adult end of YA, which I don't think I was really expecting_ I appreciate that makes me sound a little naive! While not inappropriate or gratuitous, at some points it felt a little like sex bingo, trying to get in as many references to sex, sexual relationships and sexual preferences as possible whether they were relevant or not,. I am not at all prudish, but I felt this made the book unsuitable for younger teens, whereas HIV and sexuality are real and important issues  that affect younger people and don't just become an overriding issue when you decide you're ready to have sex. But this is not necessarily a criticism! This is a unique and sensitively written book, tackling a difficult topic that more people should write about and read about.

I had really high hopes for this book and in many ways I was not disappointed! The characters were developed well and the topic of HIV was explained extremely well also. However, I just felt that it didn’t go very far story wise. It also ended really suddenly. In many ways there were stereotypes used to describe people and situations but I have limited knowledge of people suffering from this. Moreover there was one thing I took from the book and that is U=U so I thank the author for that!!

This is undeniably a very important book, and it is one that I would definitely recommend to everyone, not just the YA audience it is intended for. The characters are incredibly diverse, and the plot is totally unique.

I also loved the fact that the diversity didn't feel forced. I've read a few books lately that feel like the author is just showing off about how woke they are, showing off their well developed understanding of sexuality and gender. This was totally different - it felt far more natural and well-informed. 

While I enjoyed this book, I didn't really find myself that attached to it, if that makes sense? I read it in a day, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't read a second one. That is in no way a criticism though, as I'm probably not the target audience being 26. So maybe it would be more appealing to those of a YA age group? Nonetheless, it is still a wonderful book, and it was fantastic to read such a diverse and informative novel that didn't feel like a bag full of cliches.