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Author:
Adele Minchin is 28 and has worked in PR for four years, first at Campaign against the Arms Trade and then in publishing. She also volunteers at Body and Soul, the self-help organisation supporting adults and young people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. She lives in London. The Beat Goes On is her debut novel.
Characters:
Leyla:
She is 15 years old, and lives in a small town near Manchester. Her mother makes her life hard, when she sometimes acts like if she was the queen or just not understanding her greatest hobby, which are playing the drums. Leyla is a girl with courage, ambition and sensitivity. Emma is her cousin and "soul mate", the two girls are unseperatable.
Emma:
Her mother Jean is Leylas aunt, but is much more relaxed and seems very happy, so is Emma a happy and outgoing person too. She is beautiful and intelligent, sensible and funny. She broke up school to work as a mechanic, but after a little time she gave that up, too. So she went to school again, and everything was ok again. That freedom was over when she found out that she's HIV positive, what changed her and Aunty Jean's life dramatically.
Darren:
He is not the typical 18-year-old guy he seems to be, he has succes in whatever he does, so as skateboarding, DJ-ing and school. Leyla is the first girl he really loves, his patience and tenderness make Leyla's heart obey him. Although he is not involved with the problem, he knows there's something wrong, and without asking and being curious, he tries to do his best to support Leyla with her stress.
Plot:
Leyla is a 15-year-old girl, and because of her boring life, in which everything seems to be the same everyday, she wants a positive drama to happen, with her involved.
One day, she has her drama, but not one with a happy end. Her cousin and best friend, Emma, wakes her up to tell her that doctor's found out that she is infected with HIV. She also tells her how that mistake has happened, it was just as usual: She was on a school-trip, and got drunk like all her friends too. Then she met a nice boy, and the rest should be clear. She never dared to think he was HIV positive.
It is a terrible shock for both of them, but Leyla promises not to tell a third person, but also that she would support her cousin in every possible way.
The two girls try to handle this situation as best as they could, Leyla gets more and more informed about Emma's disease and they try to have as much fun as possible.
They join a great gig by a high-school-band, which they both enjoy very much. Leyla meets a young and attractive guy, called Darren. She and Sarah, her best friend from school, have a very secret place and the next day Darren appears.
He invites them to another, even greater gig the next weekend and Leyla finds out that Darren feels attracted to her either. So the three girls go to the gig, first disappointed that there is no alcohol for teenagers, but also satisfied with the good music, Darren plays as a DJ.
Emma joins a self-help-centre, and a group from kids at her age, who suffer the same as she does - HIV. It helps her a lot, to talk to these people, with the same fears and hopes as she has.
One day, Emma wants Lelya to join this group too - as a drummer-teacher, but Leyla feels that her own prejudices are becoming apparent, she tells Emma she would feel like the odd one out, what makes Emma feel very disappointed and hurt. After thinking about this conversation, Leyla finally agrees and everything is alright again.
Leyla and Darren's relationship gets more and more intensive, they start kissing and both agree to be a pair right now.
One day at Emma's house, Emma falls from a really good and positive mood into a deep depression, she's aggressive against everything and doesn't understand why HIV is a "dirt disease", not as cancer is a normal one. People with these diseases are treat differently. After a terrible break-down, she gets normal again, slowly. Emma's mum Jean and Leyla hug her and so she calms down.
The first time Emma joins the people of the centre, she is very nervous and feels helpless, but as Emma told her, everyone in there is very happy to see the person who makes the music group possible, and soon Leyla feels very comfortable. She likes the relaxed atmosphere there, which does her something good because at home she is much stressed by her family. On the other hand, Emma, who is always very extroverted and outgoing, gets as shy as if it is her first date, when she meets the group.
Emma is very happy for Leyla's bond with Darren, but it makes her sad too. She recognizes that the chance for her to experience the same as Leyla is very small. Emma's mood changes by minutes, from happy to sad, from sad to depressive.
The first performance as a band is very successful for Leyla, she feels very proud and she likes working with these people, although it's not always easy. Leyla is very shocked and surprised, when she's looking for the restrooms and suddenly Darren appears who is much happier about that meeting than Leyla. He is also in a band, which practices in the same complex as Leyla's group. She still tries everything to keep her secret as such, although it is very hard for her.
On day, Sarah and Leyla go to a party Darren invited them to. Darren is as gentle as usual, and when they locked themselves in the bathroom he asks her if she'd like to have sex with him. She agrees, but insists in using a condom, which they don't find. So Darren is sad first, but soon everything is ok again.
The next day in sports at Leyla's school, she trips and cuts her knee. Before her teacher can help her, the greatest bully of the school, Claire Higgins shouts out loudly that Leyla has AIDS and everyone should avoid contact with her, because she's bleeding. Immediately Leyla slaps her hard in the face, which results in an audience at the headmaster's office. It was Darren, who has told other people about meeting Leyla and her HIV-positive friends, and Claire soon heard about it too.
Leyla explains everything to the headmaster, who immediately calls her parents. They are very angry, narrow-minded and intolerant, so they forbid Leyla to continue her volunteer work with the group. That forces Aunty Jean, Emma's mum, to talk to Leyla's parents. She explains everything, and as expected both of them are really shocked. From then, they didn't talk a word about this issue, allowing Leyla to continue her Saturday meetings with the group, but also avoiding to get involved in any way.
Emma's self-help-centre falls into great financial problems, so Leyla has the idea to produce a CD to get some new sponsors. First there are big problems, but Darren makes it possible. He finds a producer who offers them his recording studios and the production totally free.
But then Aunty Jean decides to take Emma to London, because there's much more help for her daughter. Soon after their arrival, Emma gets sick and is already strapped in a hospital bed. HIV has developed into AIDS, and she suffers a serious stomach disease. Leyla wants to visit her immediately, but her mum disagrees. Nevertheless, Leyla leaves her home with tears in her eyes, but while she waits for the bus her mother takes her with the car.
They talk like they'd never did before, and then Leyla falls asleep, just to be woken up by her own song, played by the local radio. She feels Emma close to her, and thinks about her former wish of a good drama in her life. After all experiences she has experienced, she now wants to have a good life in her drama, for her and all people she loves.
Interpretation:
This novel shows how hard it is to live with HIV in today's community. Not only because of the prejudices, and there are a lot. People, who only know that there is a disease called AIDS but nothing else, tend to believe and act in crucial ways.
It shows how hard it must be for a relative, or a friend, to live with HIV indirectly. You can get easily involved, and although chances for good and educated people from Europe are not as big as from third world humans, everyone is much more at risk than we would believe.
This novel is very social-critical. As soon as Leyla's performing with the group gets public, she is HIV infected. Leyla's parents, who really believe HIV can be transmitted by touching an infected person, are not alone with their non-knowledge.
The tragedy, which happens at the end, doesn't seem to be just another good drama which makes romantic women cry. The whole story is reality, and happens every day.
The author wanted to show problems of infected people, but also the problems this disease takes with it, how surrounded people are affected as well.
Personal comment:
This novel makes the reader believe that he is involved in the story. It shows how helpless infected people are, but also that it's not senseless to continue living with HIV. It is very tragic and ironic, but you will barely laugh while reading. The story is written in the view of Leyla, a 15-year-old girl, who feels not strong enough to give enough help and support. While reading, I often thought about how easy it is, to get infected. But soon afterwards, how hard it must be to live with HIV, and how impossible it is, just to take a medicin like for headache.
The story is told with honesty and intensity, reflected by reality.
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