Customer Reviews

Hard Love

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(21)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Looking for a smart, sensitive portrayal of teenagers growing up in the late nineties? Hard Love is the book for you. Jaded junior high and high school students, young college students and parents alike will be amazed at Wittlinger's perceptive, hard-hitting, complex young adult novel.

As a graduate student, I expected to feel mildly engaged with Hard Love; but to my surprise, I became deeply involved with this work. The first-person narrative of the main character, a high school junior named John, held my attention from the somewhat inauspicious beginning.

John is a young man who doesn't know if he's straight, gay, angry, happy, bored, or abandoned. His mother hasn't touched him at all since his father walked out on them years before, and his father is a wealthy playboy who gives John freedom--freedom to be ignored, freedom to turn into a block of ice.

At first, John infuriated me. I wanted him to talk, to stop whining, to tell his parents what was really going on. He comes across as a loner, a loser of a kid who's intelligent enough but keeps the world at a huge distance.

Luckily, John's world is blown open when he meets Marisol, who produces her own 'zine and calls herself a "Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee lesbian."

I delighted in watching Wittlinger develop John's character from this point on as he discovers worlds of creativity, love, and strength. John's young, raw voice becomes a focal point for the labyrinth of teenage emotional life.

By the conclusion, my emotions were so completely bound up with John's that I cried with both pain and joy at the resolutions--and non-resolutions--of the novel.

The teenagers in Hard Love are complex. Alienated, motivated, creative, needy, dependent, raw, and discovering their place in a human community, they write 'zines, create music, run away from problems, face parental failings, and in general deal with the painful world in various original and authentic ways.

In creating John and Marisol, Wittlinger combines skill, knowledge, and sensitivity. Added bonuses are references to Ani DiFranco and Bob Franke, plus great tips on the world of 'zines and lyrical descriptions of the Boston and Cape Cod areas.

This 26-year-old found Hard Love an emotionally and intellectually satisfying, even fulfilling read. I'd suggest you buy it now!

Before I read this book I was told how terrific it was by fellow librarians, that is all fine and good but it seems often when we love a title the audience it was truly meant for does not feel the same. I don't think that will be the case with Wittlinger's stunning coming of age story about a very confused teenager trying to define himself and those around him. John (or Giovanni as he calls himself) both reads and writes Zines (homemade magazines) hoping to find some of the answers he is searching, for he even strikes up a friendship with fellow zine writer Marisol. Through their platonic relationship both are able to discover some painful truths about themselves. On this road to self discovery John unwittingly finds himself falling in love though Marisol has been up front about her homsexuality from the beginning. On top of this John has a completely affectionless relationship with both his parents, since they divorced six years ago and finds his only school friend "Brian" a cheery annoyance. This is a book with three dimensional characters that could be your neighbor your friends or even you. Which is the reason I beleive middle schoolers and high schoolers alike, may just agree with myself and all those other librarians who are raving about this title.

There are lots of trite, silly, and thoroughly unimaginative books out there that call themselves "young-adult novels." Their intended audience is supposedly teenagers, but most intelligent teenagers who enjoy reading good books quickly give up on the genre entirely, turned off by the one-dimensional characters and sometimes astoundingly bad writing. People my age (high school/college age) who love to read do NOT usually turn to the young-adult genre for our books.

HARD LOVE is the reason we should rethink our decision. For one thing, the writing is excellent, especially the dialogue. For another, the characters are entirely true to life, and Ellen Wittlinger is able to make you care deeply about what happens to them. (And they are decidedly NOT "teen flick" material, as the review from the Horn Book suggested!) She has also given her characters an interesting and emotionally complex story. But the best thing about this book is that it feels REAL. Everything about this book works, and it is a joy to read and reread. If you enjoy intelligent stories that are able to make you both think and feel, you must read this book, no matter what your age.

First, let me say I'm almost 40 -- I picked this up because I saw that my 14-year-old daughter was hooked on this book and was just curious what she was into these days. I finished it in a couple hours.

I won't go into the plot summary as it's been thoroughly covered here already. The writing (and this book is ALL about writing) is excellent. How Wittlinger gets right into the head of an angry, alienated teenage male (something I remember being, and not fondly) is astonishing. The character of John unleashes some of the most scathing blasts of brutal honesty (read the letters to his parents!) while lying (sort of) about so much else to the one person who is so important to his world. He is so conflicted, and Wittlinger just nails the character.

[...]But that's missing the point -- this novel is only marginally about gay/lesbian issues.

It's about the difference between honesty and lying (both to yourself as well as those who love you, or in the case of the parents, those who are supposed to love you). It's also about what it means to be touched by someone -- the physical touching referred to often in the book is really about breaking through the defensive barriers that alienated teens and their damaged parents are both victims of. It's about writing as a tool for self-discovery and healing, or "the magic words" as they are referred to by the characters in the book. And ultimately, it's about how gut-wrenching it can be to get really close to somebody and realize how much pain can be involved with that.

I'm a little sad that this is classified as "young adult" fiction in that a lot of adults who appreciate great writing and three-dimensional characters probably won't read it. And truth be told, there are probably some teens who just won't understand what makes this such a great read. But for those teens who do get it and the adults lucky enough to stumble on this little gem of a book, it is well worth the effort.

Hi, I'm Alison...I read this book in a day. Hard Love is about a student in high school, a junior, and his name is John. His parents were divorced when he was ten and it made him grow cold. Ever since then his own mother hasn't even touched him. He doesn't fit in the in crowd at school ( like me ha ) and since it got hard to deal with, he started writing zines.
While waiting in Tower Records in Boston while visiting his father one day, he picks up another zine written by this girl named Marisol. He finally meets this girl, and even though they only see one another on the weekends, they become best friends. You would think they hook up right then and there but no. She is indeed a lesbian, and does not lie. Does she turn straight for him? Read the book.
But he still asks her to the prom ( just as friends he says ) but John makes a couple of wrong moves and she gets extremely mad. It leaves there friendship in shambles. But then he talks her into going to a zine convention and then and there on the beach he starts to understand the meaning of Hard Love.
This book wrapped me with emotions I had been avoiding. It is very hard to admit when you feel alone. It is even more hard to admit when you fall in love with someone and you know it cant ever happen. I've been there. I'm there now. It's very tough on the heart, makes me feel all clamy. It has harsh language and things that would be better for teens ( like me ). THis book went by like a gush of wind through the air. I was amazed at how well this was written and well this women captured the very thought of a teenager. Thats not an easy task. When I read this I was forced to answer my emotions and I think it can open many peoples eyes. I wish adults would read it as well, cause then they could see what we go through day to day. They think we have it easy, HAHAHAHAHA thats real funny. Nope, not even close.
I recommend to anyone with good sence to read this book, it is very well written, and is about something real.
:)p.s im not 12 I had to put that cause I cant use the adult form. Im really barely 13,,,about two months....So I do know how it goes

I am taking a class on literature for adolescents, and Hard Love caught my eye on the shelf because of it's appealing cover art. Our narrator, John ("Gio") due to emotional shutdown from his parent's divorce, is incapable of feelings. His zine and Marisol (fellow zine writer) open him up, upon which he proclaims his feelings for the lesbian Marisol. His love goes unrequited. I found this book well-written, and of high quality. The narrator had depth and the plotline is both realistic and fun. The best part of the book are the unique use of zines for a common interest of the protagonist and his best friend. This allow for various fonts, borders, handwritings, and clip art to keep the reader interested.

All of the reviews that I've read about "Hard Love" were positive, despite the title of the book, which I was put off by. I read it anyway, and it didn't turn out to be the pathetic teen-angst crap-fest I thought it would be. The characterof John was believable, but I had trouble accepting the Marisol's character. She came off as hostile, and fell into many stereotypes that I've seen in teen novels; a beautiful, defensive girl that has everyone wanting her but her rejecting everyone. Speaking of stereotypes, the character of Birdy was one I found very degrading. For a monent it felt like I was reading some junior high student's interpretation of how homosexuals talk and act. None the less, the story was compelling. The ending was predictable, but I couldn't have written a better one. The story was honest and portrayed some interesting characters, most of all John, whom I sympathisized with immensley. Overall, a good read.

This is a great book! I don't even know where to start... I got it at the library to make me feel better after a 'hard love' of my own, and it made me laugh, cry, smile... it was just great! I could NOT put it down (I read it the same night I checked it out). I recommend this book to everyone and anyone because it really gives insight about a lot of issues, and it has some great poetry. I love the way it's printed- with the actual zine in the book! I really like the way Ellen Wittlinger writes, and I am looking on here for her other books. This is a great one to start with though, I think, and I completely recommend it!

Let me tell you one thing first, there are very few books I can't put down and all in all LOVE reading. This book is one of them. This book pulled me into the character's emotions and lack of emotions. The diolauge is witty and the story is marvelous. I would love to meet the author someday!

Hard Love is a fantastic book that I've read at least 5 times.It's perfect for teens--bitingly honest and straightforward,with writing that runs the gamut from sarcastic humor to raw emotion.Sorry I don't know what got into me there...I was trying to sound sophisticated and act like I know what I'm talking about.But I don't...anyways,the book is good and I would recommend it to anyone around the teen years.Some of the adults that read it that I've talked to have been offended by the overwhelmingly negative way that Wittlinger portrays the "elderly", so I wouldn't neccesarily suggest that any parents read it.Excellent book overall though,good literature dealing with the issue of homosexuality(unlike,ahem, Boy Meets Boy!!!)