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Hard Love

Hard Love

List Price: $8.00
Your Price: $7.20
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Review For Hard Love
Review: I have recently completed the book Hard Love written by Ellen Wittlinger. This book is about a high school boy, John, trying desperatley to start a relationship with Marisol, a 'Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee Lesbian,' as she describes herself in the book on page 23. The fact that this story takes place in Boston has an influence on John, Marisol, and the other characters in the book. . Living in Boston influences how John and Marisol react to situations, how they respond to each other and other characters in the book, and how they explain themselves, in relation if they were to live in New York or another city.
This book was very different from other books that I have read in the past. One thing I liked that the author did in this book was that she kept me wanting to read more at the end of each chapter. For example, on page 138 through page 141, John is writing letters to his parents that he doesn't plan ever giving to them, and the chapter just ends with the end of his letter to his dad. One thing that I didn't like about this book is that it never really progressed anywhere. Everything basically took place in one city, and all the events were somewhat the same.
The theme of this book is; love and friendships are not always easy. I agree with this theme because there is always one thing or another either preventing a relationship from happening, or something making a relationship difficult. One example of preventing a relationship from happening is the fact that Marisol is gay and will not ever be interested in a relationship with John beyond being friends. The theme of this book relates to my life because sometimes one of my close friends and I will not have the same opinion on something, or we might not always agree on something. It is all right to have different opinions on something even if you aren't in a relationship and it's just between friends. That is greatly portrayed in this book; Marisol and John have different opinions on a lot of things, but that doesn't stop them from being close friends.
I would recommend this book to people who want a break from the regular fairytale stories that always have a happy ending, also if you like drama, there is a lot of drama in this book. I would not recommend this book to people who like action/adventure stories because there is not much action that takes place in this book. All in all, I recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a wonderful different sort of love story.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A must read!
Review: This has to be one of the best Young Adult books out there. As an adult living in a dormitory at a boarding school, I often pick up books that the girls read. Usually, I find them to be vapid and rather boring, but this one was great. I would recommend it to anyone interested in young adults or those dealing with at-risk kids. The story is interesting and the writing is engaging and the characters are credible. The main character is a young man trying to find himself while dealing with the consequences of his parents divorce.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A poignant coming of age book
Review: When I bought this book I had no idea what it was about, I just wanted a book. I was not disappointed. This is a story of a writer, John, falling for the Puerto Rican Yankee Cuban lesbian, Marisol. The end really surprised me, but I still enjoyed it. I definately reccommend this to all young readers.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hard Truths
Review: "Hard Love" is an exceptional, arresting novel that I find hard to get out of my mind. It revolves around John, who has become an emotionless nobody since his parents divorce, and his friendship with Marisol, a smart, passionate lesbian he met through her 'zine. As Marisol helps put emotion back into John's life, we subtly are shown that John is falling in love, and the heartbreak that comes is incredibly heartfelt.

One theme in the book that I appreciate is the truth of writing. Marisol, in critiquing one of John's pieces for his 'zine, says that it contains a "moment of truth...it just rings true". I like that idea. I feel that if you are writing from the truth, generally if you haven't written so much that you feel exposed, you haven't written enough. And throughout this book that's what I feel. In the entire book, there is one line that, for me, stands out as a moment of truth: "She actually let me take her hand...Her hand felt like the part of me I was missing." Man! That line brings me to pain. Physical pain. As does most of the rest of the book.

And that's the stuff that appeals to me most of all.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazing.
Review: I read this book awhile back, yet it still intrigues me everytime I read it. At first, the story presents itself in a confusing but attractive manner. However, everything pulls itself together in the end. The way the characters are portrayed is brilliant, and this novel is my favorite of all time. Everything is explored in great depth, and that is what makes it one of the most prolific novels of all time.
I would recommend reading this book, whether it is bought or checked out from the library. It is truly amazing.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Wierd but Cool
Review: I just read this and I could not put it down. It's a little on the wierd side and is not censored but it is cool all the same on my own scale of 0-10 I gave it a 8.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Hard Love
Review: I would recommend the book, "Hard Love" by Ellen Wittlinger to another reader. This book isn't like any other book I've read before. This story shows how a friendship between Marisol and Geo develops. They are both writers. This book shows some of their stories, poems, and letters. It even has some pictures. In my personal opinion I think the book gets better the farther you go in to it. "Hard Love" was a different kind of love story. I t was funny and lighthearted at times. Other times it was sad and very emotional. I don't think it's the type of story that many people can relate to, but I would still recommend it to another high school reader.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The greatest book
Review: This has to be one of the best books i've ever read. It tells the story of John, a 17 year old straight kid who falls for a lesbian girl named Marisol. But it's so much more than that. It's they story of anyone who ever loved anybody. It's a protest against homophobia. If you cry when you read this book, you're normal. By the way, for the real Hard Love experience, buy puddle dive by ani difranco and in the heart of the flower by bob franke. They both appear in the story. This is an ispiring, wonderful book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hard Love is Excellent.
Review: John is struggling with his parents because of their divorce and he is struggling with himself. He does not know anything about love. He has never had a crush although he is in his junior year in high school. He is not interested in female chests and he's not a gay. However, he loves to write and read "homemade" magazines. One day, he meets a writer who he admires named Marisol. She wears all black and she's a lesbian. These two create a strong friendship until John makes a huge mistake.

I liked this book a lot because you could somehow relate to what John was feeling most of the times. Angry, Confused, or blank.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: hard love
Review: i jsut finished reading the and i wamted to tell you guys that if you buy this,it will truly be worth your money.
the part that really touched me was the part where his mom never touched him until the jar incident.
this book is amazing!!!!!!!!!!


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