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sarahrigg's review against another edition
4.0
This is a story about a heart-breaking time in history, but the book itself is full of humor and love. It tells the tale of a bunch of LGBTQ friends who sell pot to raise money to buy AIDS drugs in the early years of the AIDS epidemic, as well as helping out friends in other ways. Touching. I think a little more context would have been nice, but overall, I really enjoyed this.
storysteph's review against another edition
5.0
I was three years old when Ray's story begins, so I don't have much in the way of memories of the early days of AIDS. I did become much more interested and involved after watching And the Band Played On when it was first broadcast in 1993 or 1994; I got involved with my local AIDS outreach organization, I volunteered when the Names Project made a stop at the local university, and I devoted 2 years of volunteering (and my senior year college internship) working with another AIDS service agency. This is a topic very, very close to my heart, and I love that this book gave me a new narrative about how we got through the worst of it. I think it should be required reading, but I also acknowledge how many people refuse to accept what a murderous bastard Reagan really was.
toebean5's review against another edition
2.0
A story that needed to be told. Could've been fleshed out and made into more- that was a little disappointing.
o_watson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
fast-paced
2.75
xdarkthunderx's review against another edition
5.0
This is probably the best graphic novel I’ve read in a longgg time. It’s a true story about a group of queer people and their friends fighting the AIDS epidemic from the time it came to be to its current status. It’s heartbreaking and painful and honest. A must read for anyone and everyone.
usually_sleep_deprived's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Grief
noelles's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.5
bluenicorn's review against another edition
2.0
A story that needed to be told. Could've been fleshed out and made into more- that was a little disappointing.
neolx's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
2.0
This was educational regarding what gay men in the US went through during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. It jumped around a lot, cutting to scenes of the creation of the book and shrine images of people in the friend group who died, which made the overall narrative confusing. I also didn't understand some references or context, some description of which would have been nice (instead there were notes further explaining well-known things like PTSD).
Rating: Mixed
(I use the BookMarks by LitHub rating scale—Rave, Positive, Mixed, Pan—which express my opinion about a book better than a star rating can)
Rating: Mixed
(I use the BookMarks by LitHub rating scale—Rave, Positive, Mixed, Pan—which express my opinion about a book better than a star rating can)
vivamonty's review against another edition
3.0
Terrific graphic novel about a real-life gay couple during the 80s AIDS crisis that sets up a clandestine drug trade in order to fund medical treatment for their afflicted friends. Not sure if it's just a common thread with graphic novels, but this one -- like so many others -- ends too soon, without the sort of resolution one would hope for. It almost feels like the author ran out of time before her deadline and kind of just slapped together an end. Not a huge problem, but you can see the exact place where this work falls just a bit short.