Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger

After starting to publish a zine in which he writes his secret feelings about his lonely life and his parents’ divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual girl and begins to develop a healthier personality.

Liz says:

“John has such a real voice, you will think you actually know him. His parents are divorced and he lives with his mother outside of Boston and goes to his father’s apartment in Boston on weekends. John’s mother is loving but has a hard time showing it and his father is completely detached. He leaves John in the apartment while he goes out with his girlfriend – so much for quality time. John is so lonely he figures out a way to meet the author of his favorite zine (eclectic, homemade magazine). Through this very tough relationship, John learns about love and all the different ways it can manifest itself. In the end, he finds that hard love is better than no love at all!”