Ryan White, this biography tells us, was diagnosed with AIDS in 1994, after contracting it via a blood transfusion that he needed to treat his hemophilia. Many around him erroneously thought that he could infect them. Classmates avoided him; school officials said he could not go to classes. He was not gay, but was the victim of anti-gay prejudice since many thought that only gay men got AIDS. Ryan, however, just wanted to live his life. When reporters heard his story, though, they came to interview him—and his interviews helped people start to question their assumptions about the disease.
He and his mother went to court to fight for his right to attend school, and to prove that simply being around or touching someone with AIDS would not spread the disease. Although they ultimately won, Ryan was still shunned. Finally, he and his mother moved to a new town where, with the help of a small group of students and school officials who had worked to educate others, he was finally accepted. He hoped that with friends by his side, “they could change the world.”
After the main story, a page on “How Ryan White Changed the World” explains that he continued speaking out and educating others about the disease, and inspired people to be brave and inclusive. Shortly after he died in 1990, we learn, Congress passed the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, establishing programs to support people with HIV throughout the U.S. Another page offers some scientific facts about HIV, AIDS, and how HIV does and doesn’t spread.
While this book deals with some difficult subjects, it frames them clearly and with an eye towards its younger audience. It will be a useful and inspiring volume for readers seeking books about young heroes who have worked to advance social justice.
