Ava Johnson is the wisecracking hero of WHAT LOOKS LIKE CRAZY ON AN
ORDINARY DAY, she's bald and she's beautiful --- and she's also HIV
positive. After living it up in Atlanta for ten years, Ava
temporarily returns home to live with her older sister Joyce in
Idlewild, the small town in Michigan where she grew up. Her life in
Atlanta was fast-paced and exciting --- a new, hot date was always
an option, and her hair salon was thriving. Everything was moving
along nicely until Ava got back positive results of her HIV test.
Slam --- her plans are smashed by cold reality. So she decides to
go back home, just for the summer until she can figure out what to
do next. Right now her only next thought is that maybe she should
go to San Francisco and become a lesbian

Home used to be a sleepy little town in North Michigan where you
could leave your doors unlocked and sleep with your windows open.
Not anymore. The dangers of city life have hit the town hard ---
drugs and violence are common. Ava's sister Joyce takes the town's
problems upon herself. She starts a group called the Sewing Circus
to help the young women in town learn how to take care of
themselves. Immediately she asks Ava to help. Never one to turn her
back on her family, Ava agrees. She thinks it will take her mind
off her own problems. But what happens next is something Ava never
expected. In the midst of the violence raging in the community and
in her own body, Ava falls in love

This book captures Ava's life at a pivotal moment. She has HIV,
she's reevaluating everything she's ever done, including the
relationship she stumbles upon in Idlewild. She's as terrified of
dying as she is of living

As she says, "But that's the problem with knowing. It takes away
the possibility of pretending. Which is what I have been busy doing
ever since I got here. Pretending that the Sewing Circus can change
the world. Pretending that we can rescue Imani. Pretending that
this place is so far away from the scene of the crime that the
consequences can't catch me. Pretending I've got time to fall in
love."

But Ava is not a quitter, and even in the darkest moments of her
life she finds strength in her family and friends. Her wit and dry
humor will make you laugh even as the circumstances make you cry.
It's an honest look at an honest woman who has HIV --- she's not
perfect, but as Ava would probably say, "Who is?" She's funny and
smart, and ultimately unforgettable. WHAT LOOKS LIKE CRAZY ON AN
ORDINARY DAY is not just another Oprah heartwarming, tear-jerking
selection, it's a funny, charming book that really makes you
feel.