Full Disclosure (Review)

Filling a niche we didn’t know we needed in YA, Full Disclosure is not only one of the most sex-positive books in this age-category I’ve ever read but also takes on completely under-explored topics.

Simone is starting over. New friends and a new crush are promising starts, but part of her knows that sooner or later she’ll have to stop keeping her secret to herself and confide her HIV positive status to someone. But trust is hard after what happened last time. Especially as anonymous notes threaten to take away everything she’s finally found.

Has there ever been a book that doesn’t just explore HIV in a modern context but also features an HIV-positive character that isn’t a gay man? A book that instead follows a female, queer, Black main character who has had HIV since she was born? And that also features a spectrum of other amazing representation that isn’t often explored, like asexuality and same-sex parents?

“My HIV isn’t a threat to you, but your ignorance is a threat to me.”

Unlike most YA books, Full Disclosure doesn’t try to appeal to older audiences, too. A book written for young people by a young person, the tone and characters just feel more authentically teen than they would be if written by an older author, and Garrett is really able to nail a realistic high school tone in the friendships, romantic dynamics, and (especially) the dialogue.

As someone whose high school days are getting farther and farther behind me, I became quickly aware that I was not the intentioned audience, and did not find the story to be as relatable as other YA books I’ve read. In fact, I sometimes felt like I was encroaching on a conversation I wasn’t supposed to be a part of. But, I would very gladly hand this book down to someone in the more appropriate age range. And, I realized, that there should probably be a lot more books like this for young readers. Books that aren’t written by adults pandering to their younger audiences, but which actually provide relatable content.

“You can’t just let people control you with their hate. “

Still, although the book is an overall success in its representation and messaging, the ideas often take precedence over character development and realistic plot. I couldn’t help feeling that Simone, her family, and friends were means to an end and that they were all standing in for some teachable moment or another, which was only exaggerated by the convenience of how some plot elements played out. There were definitely times that Simone felt very much real and well-developed, but in the overall story, I couldn’t help thinking of her as a device, rather than a real person.

And although the dialogue is often spot on and natural, some of the writing in between falls prey to debut-author slip-ups, especially in the ending sections. Yet, it’s still clear that Camryn Garrett is an author to watch out for, and I’m excited to see what she brings to the YA sphere next.

A great book to recommend to the teens in your life, with fantastic lessons about sex, sexuality, racism, and more, I rated Full Disclosure 3.5 out of 5 stars.