Teenagers should be prepared to laugh, wince, rage, weep, and heave at least one deep sigh when they read this meaningful story. Kirkus Reviews(Wittlinger's) bittersweet portrait of an adolescent writer caught up in a quixotic first love will snare susceptible readers., Booklist Even minor characters on the edges of the story are wonderfully crafted and convincing.

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. On the sandy beaches by the Bluefish Wharf Inn, John realizes just how hard love can be. Desperately hoping to fix things, John convinces Marisol to come with him to a zine conference on Cape Cod. Unfortunately, John mistakes this growing intimacy for love, and a disastrous date to his junior prom leaves that friendship in ruins. 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. Haning around the Boston Tower Records for the new issue of Escape Velocity, John meets Marisol and a hard love is born. The only release he finds is in homemade zines like the amazing Escape Velocity by Marisol, a self-proclaimed Puerto Rican Cuban Yankee Lesbian. It's no wonder John writes articles like Interview with the Stepfather and Memoirs from Hell. Since his parents' divorce, John's mother hasn't touched him, her new fianc wants them to move away, and his father would rather be anywhere than at Friday night dinner with his son.

Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger