Hard Love | TheBookSeekers

Hard Love


School year: Lower 6th, Upper 6th, Year 10, Year 11, Year 8, Year 9

No. of pages 256

Published: 2012

Great for age 12-18 years

Add this book to your 'I want to read' list!

By clicking here you can add this book to your favourites list. If it is in your School Library it will show up on your account page in colour and you'll be able to download it from there. If it isn't in your school library it will still show up but in grey - that will tell us that maybe it is a book we should add to your school library, and will also remind you to read it if you find it somewhere else!

With keen insight into teenage life, Ellen Wittlinger delivers a story of adolescence that is fierce and funny -- and ultimately transforming -- even as it explores the pain of growing up.Since his parents' divorce, John's mother hasn't touched him, her new fianc wants them to move away, and his father would rather be anywhere than at Friday night dinner with his son. It's no wonder John writes articles like "Interview with the Stepfather" and "Memoirs from Hell." The only release he finds is in homemade zines like the amazing Escape Velocity by Marisol, a self-proclaimed "Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee Lesbian." Haning around the Boston Tower Records for the new issue of Escape Velocity, John meets Marisol and a hard love is born. While at first their friendship is based on zines, dysfuntional families, and dreams of escape, soon both John and Marisol begin to shed their protective shells. Unfortunately, John mistakes this growing intimacy for love, and a disastrous date to his junior prom leaves that friendship in ruins. Desperately hoping to fix things, John convinces Marisol to come with him to a zine conference on Cape Cod. On the sandy beaches by the Bluefish Wharf Inn, John realizes just how hard love can be.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

This book is aimed at children at US 7th grade+.

This book has been graded for interest at 12-18 years.

There are 256 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2012 by Simon & Schuster .

Ellen Wittlinger is the author of several highly acclaimed books for young adults. A former children's librarian, she lives with her husband and two children in Swampscott, Massachusetts.

 

This book has been nominated for the following awards:

Black-Eyed Susan Award - High School
This book was recognised in the High School category by the Black-Eyed Susan Award.

Lambda Literary Award
This book was recognised by the Lambda Literary Award.

Rhode Island Book Awards - Teen
This book was recognised in the Teen category by the Rhode Island Book Awards.

Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award
This book was recognised by the Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award.

Michael L Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature - YA
This book was recognised in the YA category by the Michael L Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature.

Publishers Weekly The awkwardness of awakening sexuality, a growing preoccupation with identity, and crossing the line from friendship to more are all themes here with which teens will readily identify.

 

Booklist Even minor characters on the edges of the story are wonderfully crafted and convincing. Teenagers should be prepared to laugh, wince, rage, weep, and heave at least one deep sigh when they read this meaningful story. Highly recommended for high school readers.

 

School Library Journal This is a smart addition to YA collections and a good recommendation to readers who may be feeling outside the norm.

 

Kirkus Reviews (Wittlinger's) bittersweet portrait of an adolescent writer caught up in a quixotic first love will snare susceptible readers.

 

VOYA Remembering that adolescence is a trying time filled with questions and feelings, Hard Love is an intriguing and absorbing novel.

 

"Ellen Wittlinger's Hard Love was one of the books that inspired me to write young adult novels." -- John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars

 

"Ellen Wittlinger's Hard Love was one of the books that inspired me to write young adult novels." -- John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars

 

"Ellen Wittlinger's Hard Love was one of the books that inspired me to write young adult novels." -- John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars