Hard Love

Hard Love
By Ellen Wittlinger
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1999. 224 pgs. Young Adult

John Galardi, Jr. has locked his emotions away, protecting himself from the pain of his parents' divorce. Although the divorce occurred six years before, he has a strained relationship at best with his father, and his mother refuses to touch him, edging away from any physical contact with him. Apathetic toward life in general, John does enjoy reading zines (homemade magazines) and even writing his own. When he gets a a chance to meet Marisol, a self-proclaimed Puerto Rican Yankee lesbian and the writer of his favorite zine, he jumps at the opportunity. As a strange and complicated friendship ensues, Marisol helps break down some of John's barriers.

Although a lot of the book centers on John's friendship with Marisol, I thought some of the most interesting aspects of the book were the aspects dealing with his relationships with his parents. As the title indicates, it deals with the complications of love and the recognition that things don't always work as desired.


AE