User:JerseyGirl16/Draft of Hard Love

Plot Summary
The beginning of this novel starts off in the school hallway with John and Brian having a conversation about a girl Brian is trying to talk to. John is not interested because, since his parents had a bad divorce, he is generally not interested in love. He considers his father self-centered. His mother has not been affectionate towards John since the divorce, when she lost an interest in life.

When John becomes interested in zines, he goes to Tower Records, which publishes zines, on the day Marisol is scheduled to be there. When he finally meets her, they soon become friends. Marisol and John end up having an unexpected friendship. While John is romantically interested in Marisol, he finds that Marisol is a lesbian, so doesn't reciprocate his feelings. Throughout the story, John and Marisol try to keep their friendship in tact through writing zines together.

Characters

 * Anne Gilardi (John's mother) - After her bad divorce she finds another man named Al, who John doesn't particularly care for. After the divorce, she tries her best not to touch John--not even a bump of the shoulder.


 * John Gilardi Senior (John's father) - A self-centered man who doesn't care about anyone else's feelings but his, he takes John on the weekends. He left John's mom because he would have rather lived in the city than in a small town.


 * Brian- A goofy, girl-crazy boy with a good sense of humor. Though he and John are very much different, they somehow keep a very close and open friendship with each other


 * Emily- Brian's girlfriend is a very animated, loud, and excited girl who goes with Brian to the prom. She also persuades John to take a Marisol with him to the prom.


 * Diana Tree- a very shy and timid girl who also writes zines. She does not use her real last Crabtree because she feels that it does not describe who she is.


 * June- the girl that Marisol runs off to New York with after the zine convention. She is a lesbian who also writes zines. She and Marisol become close at the convention.


 * Birdie- A six-foot tall, muscular, gay man who is best friends with Marisol. He is a very open-minded person and doesn't care about anyone's opinion on his sexuality. People seem to feel intimidated by him when they first meet him, but can easily find themselves able to hold a comfortable conversation with him.

Reception
The novel "Hard Love" has received many great reviews and countless nominations. Publisher Weekly writes that "[t]he awkwardness of awakening sexuality, a growing preoccupation with identity, and crossing the line from friendship to more are all themes here with which teens will readily identify".