Notes From a Spinning Planet: Papua New Guinea by Melody Carlson

Back Cover: After her life-changing journey to Ireland, twenty-year-old Maddie Chase feels ready for whatever she and her Aunt Sid will find on their trip to Papua New Guinea. But when she sets foot on the beautiful South Pacific Island, she can't help but wonder if it's really the paradise she thought it would be. As Maddie delves deeper into the culture and history of the land- and develops relationships with nationals who are eager to share their lives- she finds a tangled past that could help to explain the current health crisis. Will Maddie be able to see past the darkness to offer light to these gracious island people? Join Maddie on her latest international adventure as she learns that maybe it is possible for one person to change someone's world. I thought this was pretty good. I like how she's 20 like me though, for sure! And it was so sad to hear about those stories for AIDS. I always feel horrible when hearing things like that and it makes me soo sad! Which is why I wanna major in social work, to help people out like in those situations! But it was def intense how the cities are and the people in them with all the crime rates! And it reminded me of like in anthro class I learned when HIV/AIDS was first discovered people thought it was only in gay men and that it was a punishment from God for being gay, and this kinda ties into that. Those people thought ones with AIDS were bad! But in fact they're not, some could be, but not all those women who got raped and got the virus. It's really sad and I know a lot of women are out there like that. So I'm really glad that this book talks about that and will expose younger readers to that tragedy. On a higher note, it was a good book. And there should totally be more books in this series but I think there's only three and now I've read all 3 of them! :]