by Ellen Wittlinger
"Since his parents' divorce, John's mother hasn't touched him, her new fiancé wants them to move away, and his father would rather be anywhere than at Friday night dinner with his son. It's no wonder John writes articles like "Interview with the Stepfather" and "Memoirs from Hell." The only release he finds is in homemade zines like the amazing Escape Velocity by Marisol, a self-proclaimed "Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee Lesbian." Haning around the Boston Tower Records for the new issue of Escape Velocity, John meets Marisol and a hard love is born.
While at first their friendship is based on zines, dysfuntional families, and dreams of escape, soon both John and Marisol begin to shed their protective shells. Unfortunately, John mistakes this growing intimacy for love, and a disastrous date to his junior prom leaves that friendship in ruins. Desperately hoping to fix things, John convinces Marisol to come with him to a zine conference on Cape Cod. On the sandy beaches by the Bluefish Wharf Inn, John realizes just how hard love can be.
With keen insight into teenage life, Ellen Wittlinger delivers a story of adolescence that is fierce and funny — and ultimately transforming — even as it explores the pain of growing up."
Hard Love led me to contemplate issues that I hadn't put much thought into previously, and the depth to which they were explored in this book was so powerful. With a difficult home life, the protagonist, John, has already received his fair share of hard love. When he meets Marisol, however, he discovers he hasn't experienced half of it.
Marisol's character is so interesting to me. Clearly she's been through a lot, and a series of events has led her to become an individual who has an extremely difficult time trusting others. She's very careful to avoid having to lie, and her passion to avoid misinterpretations is reflected in her advice to John in regards to his writings. She helps him to be more sincere, and by allowing himself to write what he truly wants to, he finds himself.
Unfortunately for Marisol, the biggest of misinterpretation of all is, in fact, made, and it puts John and Marisol's friendship to the test.
I loved the song that was included in the book, and the way that it was intertwined with the story. Marisol's final words to John - rather, Gio - almost redeem the void that John must have held within him for so long. It's comforting to think that, beyond the ending, the two will still keep in touch, even if it will not happen in the same way that triggered John's epiphany in the first place.
Hard Love was powerful and insightful, and it made me feel appreciative of what I have. Because, although it may be that hard love is the love that heals our lives the most, it is, indeed, still hard love.
Marisol's character is so interesting to me. Clearly she's been through a lot, and a series of events has led her to become an individual who has an extremely difficult time trusting others. She's very careful to avoid having to lie, and her passion to avoid misinterpretations is reflected in her advice to John in regards to his writings. She helps him to be more sincere, and by allowing himself to write what he truly wants to, he finds himself.
Unfortunately for Marisol, the biggest of misinterpretation of all is, in fact, made, and it puts John and Marisol's friendship to the test.
I loved the song that was included in the book, and the way that it was intertwined with the story. Marisol's final words to John - rather, Gio - almost redeem the void that John must have held within him for so long. It's comforting to think that, beyond the ending, the two will still keep in touch, even if it will not happen in the same way that triggered John's epiphany in the first place.
Hard Love was powerful and insightful, and it made me feel appreciative of what I have. Because, although it may be that hard love is the love that heals our lives the most, it is, indeed, still hard love.
4/5 stars.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário