7. Hard Love

Wittlinger, Ellen. Hard Love. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1999. Text

Annotation: "Do you know what 'coming out' really means?" She asked, looking me square in the face again.  "It means you stop lying. You tell the truth even if its painful, especially if its painful. To everybody, your parents included."
"Im not gay," I told her, though I really had no strong evidence for saying so. "At least I dont think I am." "There are other closets."

Recommendation: Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger is a great book for YA readers.  The quality of the writing is very good.  The words flow together nicely, which makes for a relatively quick read.  The author uses engaging dialogue that is current with how teens talk today.  There are a few different forms of writing that take place in the novel.  There is the main story, and then there are immersions of letters that are written between characters, as well as different pieces of writing that are in the characters different 'zines.  This works as a great way to see pieces of the characters that are not always present in their dialogue or actions. 
The issues in this novel are great for teens because they deal with finding love, losing love and discovering sexuality.  One of the teens in the novel is a lesbian.  She is a strong character who embraces her sexuality.  This is extremely important for YA readers because it allows for them to see a gay person survive in the world.  The strong, gay character is often unrepresented so it was great to read a story that included that.  The novel also deals with being rejected in love.  The main character Gio falls for Marisol, who is a lesbian.  When he has his feelings rejected, he is hurt and confused but he moves on.  This is important for YA readers to see because many of them will be going through the same situations in their own lives. 
This was a great novel for romance.  The story was compelling and moving.  The characters were real and the situations were easy to relate to.  The story covers many different areas of the emotional first love roller coaster that so many teens ride on.  Most importantly, the story shows that losing love is not the end of the world and that life does go on.
Genre: Romance, Sports, or Adventure