Sunday, December 30, 2007
Ana's Story
by Jenna Bush
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I don't know how much you can trust this review. I tried to read the book impartially, but my issues with Ms. Bush's father--the current President of the U.S., if you don't know--caused me to approach the book with a big chip on my shoulder. Part of me wants to condemn this book as a piece of celebrity fluff. To do otherwise forces me to acknowledge that the powers that be and their families might have a heart after all. Quite a threat to my self-righteousness, eh? Anyway, the book review: Ana's Story is a the tale of a teenage mother living with HIV somewhere in Latin America. She was born with the disease, having been infected by her mother, who in turn was infected by a rapist. Ana's life is a sad tale of secrecy, abuse, abandonment and fear. But it's also contains moments of strength, hope and love. The text itself is rather simplistic. I don't know if it's intentionally simplified to reach a less literate audience, or if that's the standard of young adult books these days. Either way,I think it took away some of the power of Ana's story. But then again, it's not a story to entertain, but rather to inform folks about some of the struggles endured by people suffering from HIV and AIDS. In that respect, Ms. Bush accomplished her task quite well.
I'd call it waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
I'm ashamed to admit it, but I don't know how much you can trust this review. I tried to read the book impartially, but my issues with Ms. Bush's father--the current President of the U.S., if you don't know--caused me to approach the book with a big chip on my shoulder. Part of me wants to condemn this book as a piece of celebrity fluff. To do otherwise forces me to acknowledge that the powers that be and their families might have a heart after all. Quite a threat to my self-righteousness, eh? Anyway, the book review: Ana's Story is a the tale of a teenage mother living with HIV somewhere in Latin America. She was born with the disease, having been infected by her mother, who in turn was infected by a rapist. Ana's life is a sad tale of secrecy, abuse, abandonment and fear. But it's also contains moments of strength, hope and love. The text itself is rather simplistic. I don't know if it's intentionally simplified to reach a less literate audience, or if that's the standard of young adult books these days. Either way,I think it took away some of the power of Ana's story. But then again, it's not a story to entertain, but rather to inform folks about some of the struggles endured by people suffering from HIV and AIDS. In that respect, Ms. Bush accomplished her task quite well.
I'd call it waiting room material.
LibraryThing link
Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial
// posted by John @ 9:51 PM 
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