Review: Positive by Paige Rawl

I’m excited to say that I did my first outreach at the local high school. I had previously met with the High School Media Center Specialist and we shared a lot of great ideas. She had tons of insight for me and I let her know that I really wanted to have a presence in the school. She runs two clubs, the Anime Club and a Book Club, both meet twice a month. Right now I have only been able to attend the Anime Club, but I did meet the some of the book club members.

One of the book club girls I met was very excited to recommend a book that she had just read. If a patron recommends a book to me, I will immediately check it out and try to move it to the top of my To-Be-Read (TBR) pile. The book she was so excited about was Positive by Paige Rawl and Ali Benjamin. It is the story of a young girl who was born HIV positive.

Let me tell you about Positive. It will absolutely break your heart. The bullying and torment that this young woman suffers through starting in the 6^th grade is enough to move anyone to tears. Until the 6^th grade it was a secret about Paige’s HIV status…until she confided in her best friend. By the end of the day, everyone was claiming that she had AIDS. The lack of support from the school administration and faculty members is what really got me fired up. My mother was a high school guidance counselor for 17 years and I can’t tell you the horrific stories that were brought to her on a daily basis. She always stated that her number one job was to stand up for the students…even against teachers. The outrage I felt at Paige’s story was so intense that I had to put the book down three times, just to calm down.

I understand why the girl who recommended Positive was so passionate about Paige’s story. The fact that she was able to overcome all the torment and grow into a beautiful young woman is amazing. She did not just give up and let these bullies beat her down. She stood up for herself and other kids that were being bullied. With the help of Ali Benjamin, Paige’s story is eloquently told in a beautiful light.  If you have the chance to read Paige’s amazing journey, you won’t be disappointed.

Jeneration X by Jen Lancaster

Who doesn’t love staying up till 4 AM watching your favorite reality show? Or maybe your guilty vice is shifting through your neighbors’ trash looking for details on their sordid life. Not your cup of tea? What about froot loops for dinner?

   No one wants to grow up, but we all have to. Even Jen Lancaster. The hilarious writer and blogger came to the conclusion that it was finally time to face facts and realize what she had become: an adult. In her new memoir, Jeneration X; One Reluctant Adult's Attempt to Unarrest Her Arrested Development; Or, Why It's Never Too Late for Her Dumb Ass to Learn Why Froot Loops Are Not for Dinner, Lancaster embraces adulthood and tackles tough life lessons no one wants to learn. Each chapter will have you laughing your ass off, especially when you realizes you have been guilty of the same situations (well, maybe not digging through your neighbors’ trash.)

  If you haven’t ever read anything by Jen Lancaster you might want to start out with her first memoir, Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomanical ,Self-Centered, Smartass, or Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office. In Bitter is the New Black, Lancaster sets the stage for how she thought her life was going to be and how it turned out after being laid off from her high paying corporate job.  A fellow librarian friend recommended this book to me years ago and I have loved Lancaster's sense of humor and style unconditionally ever sense. If the first page doesn't have you laughing out loud then you have no sense of humor.


Her attitude is hilarious and it is fun to connect with such a fellow smartass. . You can also check out her blog where she sometimes posts chapters from her upcoming books, giveaways, and any other comical situations involving her husband or three misfit rescue dogs that will crack you up.

The Accidental Feminist

The Accidental Feminist: How Elizabeth Taylor Raised Our Our Consciousness and We Were Too Distracted by Her Beauty to Notice by M.G. Lord

4 out of 5 stars

214 pages

Pub. Date:  January 31, 2012 – Walker & Company

   I have always been a big fan of Elizabeth Taylor. I love her movies, her jewelry, her life, and her passion. When I was in high school I wrote a paper on her life and loves. I own several biographies of hers. So when I was recently checking the bookdrop, I stumbled upon a new biography of Ms. Taylor by M.G. Lord. The title, The Accidental Feminist: How Elizabeth Taylor Raised Our Consciousness and We Were Too Distracted by Her Beauty to Notice, intrigued me so I checked it out and moved it up to the top of my TBR pile.

   After reading the Accidental Feminist, I realized that basically Lord had written, what felt like in my opinion, a thesis on the movie portrayals of Elizabeth Taylor and how those characters possessed feminist characteristics. She would sprinkle in tidbits of Taylor’s infamous life, but mostly the book was a critique of her movie roles. The book caters to those who are already familiar with Taylor’s life. 

   I wish Lord would have included more of Taylor’s later philanthropic works with AIDS foundations. She does include some information about this period in Taylor’s life but the book drops off for the most part after Taylor’s movie roles slow down. I would recommend this book to other fans of Taylor’s who aren’t looking for a new biography, but more of a feminist critique of her work during specific time periods.