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My Life After Now

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Fans of Glee and Rent will love this story of unflinching honesty and unfaltering compassion.

The last thing Lucy ever expected was to end up as another teen statistic.

Lucy had a plan: become a Broadway star, start a life with her leading man Ty, make her family proud. But in a matter of days, Lucy loses Ty, her starring role, and her parents drop a bomb she never saw coming.

Suddenly, it's all too much—she wants out. Out of her house, out of her head, out of her life. She wants to be a new Lucy. So she does something the old Lucy would never dream of.

And now her life will never be the same. What will she tell her friends? How will she face her family? Off script and without the comforts of her simple high school problems, Lucy must figure out how to live, and even embrace, her new life.

Now...every moment is a gift. Because now she might not have many moments left.

Readers' Group Discussion Guide and Resource List included.

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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 11, 2013
      In the span of a week, high school junior Lucy Moore’s perfect life has become a disaster. She loves acting and her boyfriend, but loses both of them to a new girl at school. Then Lucy’s birth mother shows up, three years after breaking Lucy’s heart with a disappearing act, and wants to stay with Lucy and her two fathers. To alleviate the heartache and stress, Lucy spends a wild evening at a New York City club, which leads to a one-night stand with a musician; soon after, Lucy discovers she has contracted HIV. Debut author Verdi paints Lucy’s devastation and her tangled emotions with honesty and compassion. The reactions of those in Lucy’s life are believable as well, from a newfound love interest, who shies away from touching her, to the fierce devotion of her fathers, who are ready to fight when Lucy wants to give up. Information about living with HIV is peppered throughout, but Verdi’s novel never preaches, instead telling Lucy’s story with realism and hope. Ages 13–up. Agent: Kate McKean, Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.

    • Kirkus

      March 15, 2013
      A now-rarely-discussed topic--a teenager with HIV--receives sensitive but flawed treatment in this debut novel. Lucy's suburban life is picture-perfect: good friends, a boyfriend, a bright future. But when her boyfriend cheats on her, she gets cast as Mercutio rather than Juliet, and her fathers let her pregnant, drug-addict mother stay with them, Lucy decides it's time to be someone else. A night of drinking and dancing at a Manhattan nightclub ends with Lucy going home with a guy and having unprotected sex. Inevitably, Lucy contracts the HIV virus from the encounter. Her diagnosis sends Lucy into a tailspin, through good and bad doctors, a new friend and a new boyfriend. After some struggle, she's gained some hard-won equilibrium, only to be threatened by an old enemy. Lucy's journey toward accepting her diagnosis is realistically handled, complete with highs and lows. There are perhaps too many AIDS statistics interrupting the story, and too many coincidences and pat story elements are present: One unprotected sexual encounter leads to HIV, and a muffed stage sword fight causes Lucy to bleed, among others. It all starts to verge on problem-novel status. Nevertheless, given the strength of Lucy's development and the paucity of novels currently written about suburban teens with HIV, the flaws can be overlooked by readers. (Fiction. 14 & up)

      COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • School Library Journal

      June 1, 2013

      Gr 8 Up-Lucy is having the worst two weeks in her 16 years. Her longtime boyfriend cheats on her and starts dating her rival, who wins the role of Juliet, which Lucy spent most of the summer rehearsing. Then Lucy's mom arrives unexpectedly and wants to stay with her and her dads. The teen decides that a night out on the town, where she can forget everything, is just what she needs. She and her friends go to New York, where they drink too much, and Lucy goes home with a guy she doesn't know. A month later, when things have sort of calmed down, she realizes that one night could have had severe consequences. She tests positive for HIV, and her life spirals out of control as she tries to hide the reality from her parents and friends. She can't handle the pressure of the disease for long, though, before her secret is out. Although a few elements in this plot seem unrealistic, like her parents' reaction, most ring true. Lucy struggles with the reality of being HIV positive-especially since she doesn't feel sick-and knowing how people will treat her when they find out. There are few books about HIV-positive teenagers, and this is a poignant story. HIV/AIDS resources and facts are appended, along with book discussion questions.-Natalie Struecker, Rock Island Public Library, IL

      Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
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Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:4.9
  • Lexile® Measure:720
  • Interest Level:9-12(UG)
  • Text Difficulty:3

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