Pedro and Me by Judd Winick

The cover of this book would not win Booksluts Judging a book by it's cover....as it's some kind of 1990s schmarmy I don't know what.

However, the content inside is fantastic. This was a another recommendation from the lovely librarian Lisa who actually gave me this plus two other books that you'll be reading about.

For those of you that are fans of the MTV show The Real World, you might remember the season in San Francisco. Judd Winick was roommates with Pedro. Pedro who was an HIV positive AIDS educator. This season took place right around the time of "OH MY GOD CAN I GET AIDS FROM SOMEONE IF I SHARE THEIR GLASS!!!! AND OH MY GOD LOOK AT WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE WHEN THEY DIE" It was a lot of all caps freaking out because there wasn't a lot that we knew about the disease. There was lots of seeing what people looked like at the end...but not of the people that were HIV positive and living as normal of a life as they could.

This story, told in comic book form as Winick is a cartoonist, is the story of friendship, education and loss. It talks about stereotypes and how people can overcome them in an instant. I'm not a Real World watcher so didn't know anything about the season going in, but found the book enjoyable and very interesting. I would guess if you had watched that season in particular you would find the book even more compelling.