I typically lean towards reading fiction books, so this was definitely an “out of the box” read for me but it was sooo worth it!  This was an extremely inspirational book that every single person should pick up and read at some point.

On the outside, Paige Rawl looks like your typical, happy teenage girl.  She is very pretty, smart, athletic, and has a great personality.  She was a cheerleader, part of the choir, and participated in several beauty pageants.  What you don’t know, from the outside looking in, is that Paige is HIV positive and has struggled with bullying, depression, and suicidal thoughts throughout much of her life.

The hardest part for Paige was knowing that she did nothing wrong; she came into the world HIV positive and could not have done anything to change it.  Her mother, unknowingly, caught the virus from Paige’s father and passed it on to her unborn baby.  Mrs. Rawl chose to keep the truth about their status from Paige until she was in middle school.  Paige really didn’t think that having HIV would be a big deal to others but after sharing her status with her best friend at a lock in, she quickly realized that so many people are fearful of HIV simply because of their misconceptions about the disease.  She began getting teased and mocked even by some of her closest friends.  Paige walks you through the painful events that took place in her life, but readers learn how Paige chose to rise above her situation and become an inspiring young lady.

Through her touching memoir, Paige allows us to step into her shoes to see and feel what it is like to be on the other side of the bullying that has become so prominent these days in school.  If we could all take the time to see the world through some else’s eyes, the world would most definitely become a much more beautiful place