Hard Love
				Wittlinger, Ellen. 2001. HARD LOVE. New York: Simon Pulse. ISBN: 068984154X
		What begins as an admiration of the Escape Velocity zine author quickly turns into powerful, hard love. John has his share of family problems including a mother who never touches him, a father who is indifferent to spending time with his son, and a potential new step-father who wants to move the family. To escape, John reads zines and begins writing one of his one, Bananafish. After meeting Marisol, the author of Escape Velocity and a self-proclaimed “Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee Lesbian,” the two find themselves in a safe relationship where they begin to allow the other one in. Problems quickly arise, however, when Marisol realized the love that John feels for her is more than platonic.      “HARD LOVE tackles the delicate issue of unrequited love between a straight and gay teen. But what sets this novel apart from similarly themed books is [Ellen] Wittlinger's choice to present the story from John's straight male point of view” (Amazon.com review). Due to the relationship he has with his parents, readers will understand and sympathize with his falling in love with a girl he knows he is unattainable; “You think I was leading you on? I’ve been telling since Day One I’m a lesbian. Did you just choose not to believe it?” (page 163). John’s character provides a humorous, honest, direct voice to a very sensitive subject matter.      The two main characters meet while John is visiting his dad, so the relationship is developed over a period of time since their interaction occurs only when John is in town. Because of the distance, John’s best friend is oblivious to the growing relationship and to the fact that Marisol is a lesbian. The setting does change at the end of the story when John and Marisol attend a zine conference together. Far away from home and seeing Marison interact with other females is what John needs to realize he can never have Marisol. However, the relationship that developed has awaked John; “I’m ready, I think, to join them. Very anxious, more than a little scared, susceptible now to anything that might happen” (page 224).      The title of the book HARD LOVE is based on a song by Bob Franke; the lyrics are included at the end of the book. During the story, a girl sings it for John which allows him to see “Somebody had written this song; it had happened to somebody else” (page 213). “HARD LOVE is a thoughtful and on-target addition to the growing canon of gay and lesbian coming-of-age stories” (Amazon.com review). Hubert, Jennifer. Amazon.com review. Available at http://www.amazon.com                                               YA Literature Home Page