Ellen Wittlinger, author of the Printz Honor Book Hard Love, mines the turbulence of young adulthood in this modern-day epistolary novel (think smiley-face emoticons and IMs) that examines the weird summer between high school and college. The story begins when 18-year-old, Boston-born, singer-songwriter Chloe visits a college in Connecticut as a prospective student and meets the dreamy singer-actor Julian from Florida. Both primed to say good-bye to high school and hello to the rest of their lives, the two share an intense, somewhat smooch-filled weekend that blossoms into an online romance. Inconveniently, Chloe already has a boyfriend. And both of them have prom, graduation, and summer jobs to contend with. A bouquet of ill-timed roses exposes Chloe’s secret tryst and wrecks prom, but the revelations don’t stop here. Chloe’s sister Genevieve comes out as a lesbian via e-mail and Julian’s sister e-announces her Las Vegas wedding to a man no one has met. The reaction of Chloe’s parents to Gen’s coming out is both comical and wince-inducing. (If she grew her hair long again would her heterosexuality be saved?) But, with the help of a few instructional books, everyone comes around in the end.

While typical teen confusion runs rampant, Wittlinger’s characters are intelligent and considerate--always following honest outbursts with heartfelt apologies. Despite the large cast of characters shooting off e-mails, IMs, letters, and postcards--all depicted with distinct fonts or handwriting--the novel manages to be cohesive and effectively multi-layered. Cleverly, Chloe’s subject heads are lines from songs by Dar Williams, Greg Brown, John Prine, the Indigo Girls, and more, and a "playlist" is included in the back. (Ages 13 and older) --Karin Snelson

From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up–This epistolary novel combines e-mails, instant messages, "old-fashioned" pen-and-paper letters, and postcards to tell a story that is familiar to many teens poised between the friendships and romances of high school and the promise of new social possibilities in college. Seniors Chloe, of Massachusetts, and Julian, from Florida, meet and create sparks with one another during a visit to the college each plans to attend. Back home, they cope with how to treat current or potential love interests, best friends, parents, and sisters who have their own baggage. The two teens fan the flames of their mutual attraction through regular correspondence, not only with one another, but also with their recently independent older siblings. Wittlinger handles all of these relationships credibly and engagingly. While the parents seem to be close to moronic–especially in Chloe's case–all of the involved young people, as well as more minor characters, are individuated and realistic. Subplots include Chloe's sister's gay identity, the uncertainties inherent in beginning college and learning to create one's identity anew, and class differences, which are gracefully and authentically depicted. While the novel's structure sometimes seems artificial–all of the characters are articulate and concise writers–the story is meaty and offers a variety of access points. The title is apt, describing a state known to many if not most older teens.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 9-12. Wittlinger's latest novel echoes Judy Blume's classic Forever, without the sex: high-school-senior Chloe thinks she has found first love with Julian and then, to her surprise, falls for someone else. Wittlinger builds on the familiar story with an inventive format made up of letters, e-mails, and instant messages that illuminates the principal characters with satellite stories about sisters, friends, and parents, all writing about their own dramas. Fortunately, Wittlinger avoids the choppy narratives and stereotypical characters found in so many novels written in multiple voices, creating a range of comic scenes and mostly believable personalities whose voices deepen, rather than fragment, in discussions about talent, homosexuality, marriage, love, and leaving home. Many teens will relate to Chloe and Julian as they sort out the differences between e-mail personas and reality and try to keep up with their shifting hearts' desires. Like Jacyln Moriarty's The Year of Secret Assignments [BKL Ja 1 & 15 04], also written partly in electronic correspondence, this is a natural choice for readers' theater. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
I'm not picking Cartwright just because I met Julian there. For all I know he'll change his mind and not even go! Although that would be a shame because I want him to be the father of my firstborn child. KIDDING! :-} During a weekend at Cartwright College for prospective freshmen to get to know the school, Chloe meets Julian, and they hit it off. Chloe is thrilled that when she starts school in the fall, she'll have a boyfriend there. The problem is, she can't tell Eli, the boy she's sort of going with but thinks of more as a brother. In a novel told exclusively through e-mail, instant messages, letters, notes, and postcards, award-winning author Ellen Wittlinger looks at how important communication is in regard to friendships, love, and long-distance relationships.

ANNOTATION

From the end of high school to the beginning of college, Chloe and Julian deal with major changes in their families and friendships and explore their feelings for each other through emails, letters, and a visit.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

While on a college visit, Chloe meets Julian, another prospective freshman, and infatuated, the two high-school seniors begin a long-distance relationship. Chloe is thrilled that she'll have a boyfriend at college, although she doesn't know how to break the news to Eli, her best friend who she's sort of dating. As Chloe and Julian prepare to meet again, they must face the question of whether their relationship is based on who they really are or who they imagine each other to be.

Told entirely through written correspondence, including e-mails, instant messages, letters, and postcards, this funny, smart, and touching novel is innovative in its structure and its visually interesting design. Ellen Wittlinger explores issues of communication and relationships as only she can, with humor, poignancy, and sincerity.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Wittlinger's (Hard Love) ambitious novel opens just after artistic Chloe and Julian become smitten with each other during a college preview weekend. Readers learn about their lives and interests through e-mails, instant messages, postcards and letters-Chloe even sends Julian a mix CD-and the two plan to meet again towards the end of summer (when Julian hopes to be a finalist in Boston for a vocal competition). But complications arise; Julian sends roses that arrive as Chloe and her boyfriend pose for prom pictures at her house, causing their breakup, and when she goes away to be a counselor at an arts camp, she hooks up with a coworker. As their rendezvous approaches, Chloe nervously writes that she'll "be the one who's bitten her fingernails down to the knuckles." The author builds upon an enticing premise-the "strange changes that seem to keep happening during the weird summer between high school and college"-but more remarkably she breathes life into so many characters through their letters. Family and friends also write to the protagonists and each other, sharing their own problems and offering advice. Chloe and Julian's fate may be fairly obvious, and Chloe's mother's confession about her marriage's troubled past seems forced, but most readers will applaud the author for imagining-and maintaining-such a complete world. Ages 12-up. (July) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Zeta Shearill

Chloe is a high school senior who cannot believe her luck when she meets Julian at a college visit. The two immediately fall for each other and begin a long distance romance. The biggest problem is Chloe's boyfriend, Eli, who has no idea that Chloe wants to break up with him! Things come to a head when an unknowing Julian sends flowers to Chloe just as she is leaving for the prom. The aftermath shakes her world. Eli is heartbroken at this betrayal, her prom is ruined, and even her best friend stops talking to her. Forced to break up with Eli, Chloe wonders if she did the right thing. As she and Julian prepare to meet again, Chloe must decide if what they shared that weekend was real. In addition to her complicated love life, Chloe's sister Genevieve reveals a secret that completely throws Chloe for a loop. As her world turns chaotic, Chloe must sort through it all and figure out what it is she truly desires. Told entirely through letters, emails, Instant Messages, and postcards, this innovative novel is a pleasure to read. Wittlinger is extremely clever in how she structures this story, delivering a tale that is warm hearted and funny. 2004, Simon and Schuster, Ages 12 up.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-This epistolary novel combines e-mails, instant messages, "old-fashioned" pen-and-paper letters, and postcards to tell a story that is familiar to many teens poised between the friendships and romances of high school and the promise of new social possibilities in college. Seniors Chloe, of Massachusetts, and Julian, from Florida, meet and create sparks with one another during a visit to the college each plans to attend. Back home, they cope with how to treat current or potential love interests, best friends, parents, and sisters who have their own baggage. The two teens fan the flames of their mutual attraction through regular correspondence, not only with one another, but also with their recently independent older siblings. Wittlinger handles all of these relationships credibly and engagingly. While the parents seem to be close to moronic-especially in Chloe's case-all of the involved young people, as well as more minor characters, are individuated and realistic. Subplots include Chloe's sister's gay identity, the uncertainties inherent in beginning college and learning to create one's identity anew, and class differences, which are gracefully and authentically depicted. While the novel's structure sometimes seems artificial-all of the characters are articulate and concise writers-the story is meaty and offers a variety of access points. The title is apt, describing a state known to many if not most older teens.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews