Papua New Guinea

Review by Jill Williamson Maddie and Aunt Sid are off to Papua New Guinea to work on a story about the current health crisis. As their flight brings them closer to their destination, they start to realize this is a dangerous country. A girl should never travel alone, and tourists are often attacked. Once they arrive, they make plans to stay safe. Maddie volunteers in an AIDS clinic and asks some of the patients for their stories. What she discovers breaks her heart. The people of Papua New Guinea have some very warped ideas of AIDS. Maddie and her aunt want to write an article that will help the people learn the truth. But is the search for truth too dangerous? This book started out a bit slow. It took them a while to fly on the plane with layovers in Hawaii and Australia and the sightseeing that goes with such stops. But once they got to Papua New Guinea, the story really picked up. I broke my heart to hear the ways that some of the characters contracted HIV. I love stories that bring worldly truths to light, and this story did that very well. Melody Carlson exposes what life is like for people in Papua New Guinea, something we all should know about. Highly Recommended.

Maddie is off again on another global adventure with her Aunt Sid. After hitting the green hills of Ireland, they're traveling to the other side of the world to Papua New Guinea. Sid wants to write an article about how the country is unsafe for Americans and also plans to research the AIDS epidemic that is a major crisis for the country. While there, Maddie meets Lydia, who has been adopted by missionaries. It is through her that Maddie learns really what it is like to live in a country that really needs to hear about God's word. Ok honest time here again: I didn't know anything about Papau New Guinea other than where it was located. My boyfriend's brother lived there this year for 3 months for his job but other than that I have never paid any attention to this country. However after reading this book I learned so much about the AIDS crisis. I had no idea that this was such a huge problem in Papau New Guinea. My heart goes out to those affected by the disease there especially those that are suffering due to rape. This book has a more serious tone than the first one in the series. This time Maddie and Sid are not here on vacation. They're not relaxing or looking for a good time. I really liked learning about the country and the different culture that is there. Reading about missionaries always inspires me. I greatly admire those who are able to get out of their comfort zones to help others get to know about their faith. It was nice though to read about Lydia's family with their comforts of an American home amid a foreign country. I also enjoyed reading about the layover in Hawaii and I share Maddie's confusion about the International Date Line. This series so makes me want to go traveling across the world. Another excellent work from Melody Carlson.

Maddie Chase will be celebrating her "birthday-that-never-was" in Papua, New Guinea with her Aunt Sid, who is there on a journalist assignment. Maddie is a journalist major at her college and her Aunt Sid wants to help her with her dreams. Papua, New Guinea sounds a lot scarier than Ireland did (she accompanied her Aunt Sid there previously), but Maddie is convinced she can handle it. The trip there is memorable. Her Aunt Sid surprises her with a couple nights stay in Hawaii before they go to Papua. There they enjoy the surf and sun, and also do further research on how unsafe Papua is for Americans--especially women. Not to mention, the AIDS epidemic there is at epidemic proportions. Will Maddie be able to reach out to the island people? Notes from a Spinning Planet--Papua, New Guinea is written in first person, but is more telling than showing. At times it feels like it's a big information dump from all the research the author did on Papua, and it removed any life from the story. Still, it is interesting reading about a foreign country and about the AIDS epidemic there and how missionaries and other health professionals are trying to reach the people. I was interested to see what direction Aunt Sid's article about the country would take, since her boss didn't give her a specific angle to cover. The faith message is woven in and isn't preachy. The setting is expertly described, including the varying colors of the sea. If it weren't for the flat characters, this book would be excellent. Nevertheless, if you want to learn about a different culture and the problems plaguing it, this book is good to read. Great for home-schooled students for their geography and social studies classes. I would like to read the previous title: Notes from a Spinning Planet--Ireland, and the upcoming title: Notes from a Spinning Planet--Mexico. Armchair Interview says: Unique look at travel to out-of-the-way places.

Twenty old Maddie Chase wonders how you're gonna keep her down on the farm after she seen Ireland while accompanying her Aunt Sid on an investigation into Catholic-Protestant peace camps. Unlike the trepidation during her first trek, this time when Aunt Sid invites Maddie to accompany her on her next assignment, she is euphoric feeling prepared for the world. However, Maddie is stunned with what she and her Aunt Sid find in Papua, New Guinea in the South pacific. AIDS is a pandemic leading killer and life is cheap. Maddie tries to bring solace through Jesus to those dying from AIDS while the Lord enables her to see a beautiful country in crisis. The second journey is an insightful tale that enables teens and adults to better understand the AIDS crisis in an impoverished third world nation. Some readers might find it difficult to see hope and inspiration as Maddie does in the Lord as the age old question of why bad things occur to good people consistently surfaces. Melody Carson provides a deep discerning tale that surfaces a global catastrophe using New Guinea as the conflicting model of hope and despair. Harriet Klausner