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A review by bgprincipessa
Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger
2.0
This book came up as my August RNG pick, and I couldn't figure out why I had shelved it in the first place - until I got to the very end and realized the author had also written a book I loved as a teen, [b:What's in a Name|522785|What's in a Name|Ellen Wittlinger|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1328034792s/522785.jpg|2242590]. It also won the Lambda Literary Award from YALSA, but it was written in 1999 and it was such a different world in YA publishing.
The MC in this story repeatedly says he's not sure if he's interested in guys or in girls, and there is simply no space for ace or aro representation. It's never mentioned; instead he is called "dysfunctional." Then he falls in love with a friend who has since the beginning told him that she is gay, and I get the idea that you can't control who you fall in love with. But he has to go and act on those feelings, then get mad at her when she is upset about him doing that. Come on.
While I'm sure this book was revolutionary for its time, it feels heavily dated now, and not even because of the zines that its plot circles around (which seem to have come back with things like [b:Moxie|33163378|Moxie|Jennifer Mathieu|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494950979s/33163378.jpg|46824140] and [b:Gabi, a Girl in Pieces|20702546|Gabi, a Girl in Pieces|Isabel Quintero|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1400939056s/20702546.jpg|40022380]). Some of the language feels like stuff I never would've heard teens say, even in the 90s, and it just makes me really grateful for how far YA literature has come.
The MC in this story repeatedly says he's not sure if he's interested in guys or in girls, and there is simply no space for ace or aro representation. It's never mentioned; instead he is called "dysfunctional." Then he falls in love with a friend who has since the beginning told him that she is gay, and I get the idea that you can't control who you fall in love with. But he has to go and act on those feelings, then get mad at her when she is upset about him doing that. Come on.
While I'm sure this book was revolutionary for its time, it feels heavily dated now, and not even because of the zines that its plot circles around (which seem to have come back with things like [b:Moxie|33163378|Moxie|Jennifer Mathieu|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1494950979s/33163378.jpg|46824140] and [b:Gabi, a Girl in Pieces|20702546|Gabi, a Girl in Pieces|Isabel Quintero|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1400939056s/20702546.jpg|40022380]). Some of the language feels like stuff I never would've heard teens say, even in the 90s, and it just makes me really grateful for how far YA literature has come.