For John, family life is a little strained, with an absent father who would rather be anywhere than at Friday night dinner with his son, and an emotionally distant mother who can hardly bear to touch him, is it any wonder that he pours all his feelings into a zine he writes called 'Bannafish'? Then he meets Marisol, zine fan and author of 'Escape Velocity', whose vibrant, self-assured personality wakes him out of his self-imposed stupor, and he begins to experience life for real. While at first their friendship is based on a mutual appreciation of zines, dysfunctional familes and dreams of escape, soon both John and Marisol begin to shed their protective shells and open up to each other. Mistakenly, John takes this growing intimacy for love which leads to a disastrous date that leaves their friendship in ruins. As John desperately tries to make things right, he begins to realises just how hard love can be.

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

-- VOYA

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.