This Terrible True Thing

A daughter struggles to keep her life together following her father's HIV/AIDS diagnosis

In This Terrible True Thing, author Jenny Laden excels at balancing the many plot lines, creating a narrative that masterfully encompasses the pain and uncertainty during the HIV/AIDS epidemic combined with the struggles of being a high school senior. Although this is billed as a visual novel that features illustrations from the main character, the audiobook narration clearly sells the thoughts and feelings behind the visual aspect, so it does not feel as if the reader is losing anything from the audio experience.