Love and Other Four-Letter Words (Hardcover)

by Carolyn Mackler (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Until this summer, the biggest problems 16-year-old Samantha Davis faced were her embarrassingly large breasts, (nicknamed "the Grand Tetons after those mountains in Wyoming,") and the fact that her gorgeous best friend, Kitty, always made her feel like a Plain Jane: "It sounds awful, but if you saw a Jaguar and a Ford Taurus parked next to each other, which one would you want to drive?" But now Sammie's parents are splitting, and suddenly she is being assaulted by changes from every direction. She is forced to move from upstate New York to Manhattan, play nursemaid to her depressed mother, and suffer the utter boredom of not knowing anyone in a city of 8 million. But then she meets Eli, the cute "crunchy granola" son of her mom's friend, and Phoebe, the quirky girl in Central Park who categorizes people by the dog breed they resemble. Exposure to the urban scene, new friendships, and a developing sense of self cause Sammie to realize "that along with love comes other four-letter words. Like hate, obviously.... And gain. And most important, grow."

Like other recently published first novelists Lori Aurelia Williams (When Kambia Elaine Flew in from Neptune) and Cat Bauer, (Harley: Like a Person), Carolyn Mackler convincingly captures all the drama, longing, and humor of 21st-century female adolescence. Fresh, funny, and completely irreverent, Love and Other Four-Letter Words is destined to find a place in the hearts of teenaged girls. (Ages 12 and older) --Jennifer Hubert

From Publishers Weekly
Though first-time novelist Mackler creates a sympathetic 16-year-old narrator filled with realistic anxieties, her dependence on familiar themes and plot development, plus heavy-handed pop culture references, makes for a lukewarm read. When Sammie's parents decide on a trial separation, she calls it "the obliteration of the belief that Mom and Dad were the 7th Heaven,we-have-problems-yet-we-gleefully-work-through-them type of parents." Her Cornell professor father heads off on sabbatical in California, while her mother, a stifled artist, yanks Sammie with her from Ithaca to New York City. The protagonist must deal with adjusting to a new city, a depressed mother who can't get out of bed, and only seems to manage monosyllabic responses to her father's phone conversations. When her narcissistic best friend, Kitty, comes to visit, they fight and Kitty leaves in a huff citing " irreconcilable differences." Sammie finds support in a new bond with Phoebe, an offbeat dog lover, and Eli, the hippie son of her mother's college roommate. Readers will relate to Sammie's internalized self-loathing; she's self-conscious about everything from her name, to her over-developed figure, to her only-been-kissed-once status. But they will likely predict the exact moment when Sammie and Eli will share their first kiss and when her father will finally reappear to sort out built-up tensions. Ages 12-up. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (October 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385327439
• ISBN-13: 978-0385327435
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (95 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,339,207 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A tad lackluster, semi-predictable - yet FUN!, June 14, 2004

By	QUEEN_OF_EVERYTHING (Outside Philly) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love and Other Four-Letter Words (Laurel-Leaf Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

Naturally, when I found from the back cover synopsis that the story focused on another 16 year-old Sammie, I felt I HAD to read this book and that I'd for sure enjoy it.

I was a bit wrong in my assumption.

Don't get me wrong - it isn't a terrible book by any means. I was expecting more, however. Carolyn Mackler is the author of one of my faves, THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS so I expected this effort to be just as humorous. I'm glad I read THE EARTH, MY BUTT... before this light read because when it comes to new authors, first impressions are everything to me. This book left me unsatisfied. Yet if you compare this debut to THE EARTH, MY BUTT... you will for sure see how Mackler grew and improved as an author, especially in terms of characters and plot.

Sammie Davis is a once-kissed 16 year-old who is ashamed of her big breasts, nicknamed The Grand Tetons (there's the highlight of the humor right there). She feels inferior to beautiful and brainy best friend, Kitty, who is sexually active and talks of her sex life with boyfriend Jeff. When Mr. and Mrs. Davis decide together on a trial separation, Sammie and her mother pack their things and move on into a tiny, cramped apartment.

Fortunately, before school starts, Sammie befriends eccentric Phoebe, who is basically the most developed and interesting character in the novel. The two bond over inexperience with boys. Phoebe is far different from Kitty, which is probably why they never hit it off when she visits. Kitty grows angry when she hears that Sammie told Phoebe of her boy problems. Jeff has been cheating with the girl who now lives in Sammie's old house! Kitty storms off and heads home with barely any explanation to provide a very confused Mrs. Davis.

Mrs. Davis herself is having issues. It's obvious she's amidst a rough patch and is in no position to care for Sammie. Honestly, she would have been better off with her father.

Like THE EARTH, MY BUTT... this novel deals with self-discovery and finding confidence after a long period of lacking it. "Like a game of hide and seek" womanhood has crept up on Sammie and as the novel progresses, she becomes more used to her body. She also gets kissed for the second time. ::eye roll:: Who's the boy? Her mother's best friend's son, Eli. I would have preferred if Sammie instead realized that boys don't define you and that you do not require one to be happy.

At the end, Sammie makes a promise to herself to make amends with Kitty. Mrs. Davis finally wakes up and realizes she needs to take action in her life and in her daughter's life. Throughout the book, we don't get to know Mr. Davis - he and his daughter's conversations are curt and short. But he apologizes in the end. Naturally, hugs and tears ensue. He tells Sammie that the trial separation is not definitely a permanent thing. Perhaps the less than perfect ending compensates for often bland characters and a somewhat predictable plot - just a little bit.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love and Other 4 Letter Words: Average Girl,Average Problems, March 31, 2001

By A Customer

I was in a bookstore with my friend when we noticed this book on the shelf. It caught my eye, its design, and I had seen it somewhere in a magazine. My friend and I read the insert to see what it was about. All we could say was "This looks really good!" Since I was the only one with money, I bought it. When I brought the book home, I finished it in one day. I told everybody to leave me alone, especially my mom because she was always bugging me about how I don't read enough, and I was reading now, so she better leave me alone. The charachter, Sammie, is so realistic. She feels the same things that any girl would feel. Her best friend is a boymagnet, like my BFF, and it can get pretty annoying sometimes. Her parents are going thru a trial seperation, and she feels like all the weight of her mother's problems is being piled on top of her, since she moved away from her old home and is now living with her while her dad goes to California. I'm only 13 years old, but I am a fan of love stories, and it has a little bit of that also, but not so much it's like the only thing in the book, just enough to add a little spice. The situations in the book are very true to life of and average girl. This book makes you feel, or at least made me feel, that I'm not the only one who feels like this, and I'm not alone with my feelings about how my problems or my life isn't turning out the way it should. It's not a touchy feely book, if that's what I make it sound like. It just tells what Sammie thinks about everything that's happening around her. This book is written beautifully, with great description and quirkiness. On a scale of one to five, Love and Other Four Letter words deserves a 6.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love and Other Four Letter Words-a great book!, June 21, 2002

By A Customer

I bought this book maybe 2 months ago and I've read it maybe 20 times! This book is never boring. I loved it! Sammie is a character I completely understand with her love of music, overbearing best friend, loveable dog-loving new friend, and innocent crushes. Sammie Davis is moved out of small town America to NYC with her mother, who she doesn't understand, due to her parents' trial separation. Sammie learns to deal with life in the big city, meeting new people, running the household, new crushes, and learning to back away from an abusive friend. Sammie faces adult problems (such as having food in the house and taking care of her mother who continues to have a sort of nervous breakdown) and teen problems (such as dealing with a friend who takes too much and getting a crush to notice her). She is a strong willed, believeable character. A must read!