Current & Forthcoming Titles
by Courtney Sheinmel
“When my mother died, I imagined God was thinking, ‘One down, and one to go.’”
Emerson Price cannot remember a time when life was ordinary. She was four-years-old when she and her mom were diagnosed as HIV-positive – infected with the virus that causes AIDS, and eight when her parents divorced. Now she is thirteen and her mother is dead. Emmy moves in with her father and stepmother, but she feels completely alone. Even though everyone has always accepted her, no one – not her father, or stepmother, or even her best friend – understands what it’s like to have to take medicine every single day, to be so afraid of getting sick, and to miss her mom more than she ever thought she would.
When Emmy’s dad and stepmother send her to Camp Positive, a camp for HIV-positive girls, Emmy is certain she is going to hate it. But soon she realizes that she is not so alone after all – and that sometimes letting other people in can make all the difference in the world.
The author is donating a portion of her proceeds from this book to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Praise for POSITIVELY
“Wrenchingly authentic and quietly powerful”
– Publishers Weekly, 9/7/09
“Emmy’s lively first-person narrative tells a gripping contemporary story of confusion, sorrow, anger, and hope that will prompt group discussions.”
— Hazel Rochman, Booklist, July 2009
“This valuable story discusses uncertainty, very human fears, and most important, hope. The reader is drawn to Emmy, who is ultimately a courageous character, and the lessons at Camp Positive are priceless. It is a terrific introduction to a complex and important topic. It might also serve as an eye opening assignment or discussion piece.”
– Ava Ehde, VOYA
“Courtney Sheinmel’s powerful tale of teenager Emerson Price’s journey growing up with AIDS sends a torpedo right to the heart. I loved it. Never preachy, Emmy’s story feels as if you’ve delved into her personal diary. I cried and smiled and eventually felt a sisterhood with Emmy whose message ‘anything is possible’ made me cheer.”
— actor Marlee Matlin,
author of DEAF CHILD CROSSING
“When Courtney Sheinmel first told me about the idea for POSITIVELY, I urged her to get busy writing it. Courtney had long been involved with my mom’s foundation, The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and I knew she would tell a realistic and compelling story that would resonate with readers – as well as educate them. Everyone should read this amazing book!”
– Jake Glaser, spokesperson,
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
“POSITIVELY by Courtney Sheinmel is an important book that stands head and shoulders above its peers.”
– Julie M. Prince,
Young Adults (& Kids) Book Central Blog
“Courtney Sheinmel has captured, with honesty and perception, the complicated thoughts of thirteen-year-old Emmy Price as she navigates her life during the difficult months following her mother’s death from AIDS. Emmy, who is HIV-positive, must not only deal with the loss of the person she loved the most, but face her own illness with a new sense of heart-wrenching reality. I cheered every one of Emmy’s cautious steps on her journey to make a place for herself in a world without her mother.”
— Ann M. Martin, author of
A CORNER OF THE UNIVERSE and A DOG'S LIFE
“Utterly enthralling, Positively tugs at your heartstrings from the first page and doesn’t let go. Courtney Sheinmel has created such a believable character in thirteen-year-old Emmy, that I didn’t want to leave her. This could be the most important book you read all year.”
—Wendy Mass,
author of JEREMY FINK AND THE
MEANING OF LIFE
Just out from Simon & Schuster:
Hardcover, September, 2009
“What does it mean to be related to someone anyway?”
Leah Hoffman-Ross just moved to New York and she wants her new friends to think she's a typical thirteen-year-old. But Leah has a secret: she doesn't have a father, she has a donor. Before Leah was born, her mother went to Lyon’s Reproductive Services and picked Donor 730. Now her mother is married and Leah has a stepfather and a little brother. Her mom thinks that they should be all the family Leah needs.
Despite her attempts to fit in and be normal, Leah can't help but feel like something is missing. When she finds the link on the Internet to the Lyon’s Sibling Registry, Leah knows she has to see if she has any half-siblings. And when she discovers that one of the other kids from Donor 730 is a girl her age, Leah will do anything to meet her – even if she has to hide it from everybody else.
Praise for MY SO-CALLED FAMILY
“Smart, original and full of vitality.”
“A thought-provoking and compelling debut, challenging the reader to consider, ‘What makes a family?’”
— Cynthia Lord
author of Newbery Honor Book RULES
“This story rocks — it's warm, insightful, and utterly un-put-down-able.”
— Lauren Myracle
author of ELEVEN, TWELVE,
and the best-selling Internet Girls series.
From Simon & Schuster
Hardcover, Fall 2008
Paperback, Sept. 2009
