At Risk is the story of the shattering but eventually transforming effects of terminal illness on the family. An 11-year-old girl who dreams of being a gymnast and is just beginning her life is diagnosed with AIDS from a simple blood transfusion. The Farrell’s are a typical American family who are used to all the minor crises experienced by most, from the demands of their children’s aspirations to the simple but bonding ritual of a wasp loose in the kitchen. When Amanda is diagnosed with AIDS, the family undergoes enormous crisis that calls upon all their strength, courage, and understanding to keep from falling apart. The diagnosis ostracizes the family from the community, whose initial reactions of ignorance, fear, and abandonment are typical for those afflicted with AIDS. As the narrator comments as foreshadow in the opening of the novel “By dusk there will be a storm…Where do birds go in the rain?” (Hoffman 11). The beauty of the novel is that the age, innocence, and method of contraction of the disease by Amanda erases all of the controversial stigmas typically associated with the disease: homophobia, drug addiction, and sexual ambiguity. Eventually, Amanda’s perseverance and courage in facing the illness will have a transforming effect on her family and the community.
Amanda is the heartbeat of At Risk, even though she is the one diagnosed with a terminal illness. Despite bouts of pain and low points, despite the ostracism of her friends and peers, and despite the crippling effects her illness has on her family, Amanda bravely and endearingly continues to go to school, compete as a gymnast, and work at her friendships. Because of Amanda’s innocence, strength of character, and youth, she acts as a transforming presence in the lives of those around her. Her courage in the face of and reaction to the illness come complete with the innocence
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