Hard Love

Wittlinger, Ellen. Hard Love. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks, 1999.
[Book cover credit: www.librarything.com]

Awards:
Lambda Literary Awards, Children's/Young Adult (1999)
ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2000)
Michigan Library Association's Thumbs Up! Award (2000)
Printz Honor (2000)

Summary:
John has been reading zines for a while, especially Escape Velocity, when he finally decides to publish his own. He stalks, then meets, then gets advice from, then becomes friends with Marisol, Escape Velocity's creator as he becomes further steeped in zine culture.

Booktalk:
John has never really been into girls; he's more into writing his zine, Bananafish. He finds inspiration in another zine, Escape Velocity, written by Marisol who he meets while both are dropping their zines off at Tower Records. After these two loners gain each others' trust and become close friends, John realizes he's finally fallen for a girl. And she's a lesbian.

The second book in the series Love & Lies: Marisol's Story is now out in hardback.