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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Okay, September 6, 2006
Love Bukowski has had to leave the London Academy of Drama and Music, and boyfriend Asher Piece, to return home to Massachusetts because her beloved Aunt Mable is in the advanced stages of breast cancer. She's returned to Hadley (a prep school where she is a day student) to learn that her time in London will not count toward her graduation credits because, while she's actually doing the work, she is not in attendance. She's required to complete a special project if she wants to graduate on time.
Love misses her life in London, but is drawn to her ex-boyfriend Jacob who's matured since she left town. Her nemesis Lindsay Parrish hints at a relationship with Jacob.
Love's male friend Chris is her support system and introduces her to Haverford and Chilton, the new 'kids' at school. And Aunt Mable provides Love with information about her mysterious mother who left her when she was an infant.
Her father has a new love interest and he struggles with his daughter's 'growing up.' But what Love wants is for school to get out, Mable to get well, and her friend Arabella to arrive from London for a visit--and of course, Asher's trip across the pond is what she lives for. But Asher has other ideas.
All You Need Is Love had the potential of being a wonderful story, but there were just too many characters and storylines that were never fully developed. I didn't feel as if I got to know any of the characters (except for Love) and the conflict and tension that would have added much to the story, fizzled. I was also distracted by the way scenes ran together and changed completely without an obvious break.
There will be another Love Bukowski book released in the near future, but I don't think I'm going to read it.
Armchair Interviews says: A good story that could have been better with fewer characters and more clarity.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, July 6, 2007
Love Bukowski is back in the United States after a semester in London at the London Academy of Drama and Music.
She had to leave her Brit boyfriend, who, when she gets home to the US, doesn't want to seem to talk to her, until he announces that he's coming for a visit. She had to leave London to be at her Aunt Mable's side because she is fighting breast cancer. She is suffering from major Europe-withdrawals and it turns out that her dad has a new girlfriend -- and he tells her that she picked up some bad habits while in Europe.
As if that isn't bad enough, Love's ex-boyfriend, Jacob, has become super-popular while she was gone!
This book is slow in many parts but you have to feel kind of sorry for Love, who had to leave everything that she loved in London behind. Plus, when she gets back, her Aunt Mable seems to be doing pretty well at first, but then tragedy strikes. It seems like when Love comes back to the US, everything is different then when she left, so it's kind of like culture shock for her, even though the US is her home. This is a cute but sometimes slow read.
Reviewed by: Taylor Rector
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Fresh and realistic dialogue in a fluffy teen read, September 19, 2006
All You Need Is Love is the fourth installment in author Emily Franklin's The Principles of Love series. Our heroine, Love Bukowski, has moved back to her Massachusetts day school after a stint in London. The plot focuses on Love's long distance romance struggles, her relationship with her American ex-boyfriend, and re-adjusting to life with her father, who isn't too thrilled with Love's post-Europe habits and has a girlfriend of his own now. Throw in a sick relative who is full of dirt on the family secrets, and you've got plenty of tension and conflict for a two hundred and fifty-page novel. The narrative is certainly action-packed, but at times, the number of stressors in Love's life detracts from an otherwise cute storyline. The dialogue is fresh and realistic, so as a pure fluff read, this book is enjoyable. Don't pay full retail price, though.
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