Teen Fiction - Boys & Young Men, Teen Fiction - Girls & Young Women, Teen Fiction - School, Teen Fiction - Romance & Friendship

Heart on My Sleeve

Name: Heart on My Sleeve
Author: Ellen Wittlinger
ISBN: 9780689849992

by Ellen Wittlinger

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Overview

"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! :-}"

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 whom 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.

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.

Synopsis

Publishers Weekly

Two teens become smitten with each other during a college preview weekend, and readers learn about their lives through e-mails, instant messages and letters. "Chloe and Julian's fate may be fairly obvious, but most readers will applaud the author for imagining-and maintaining-such a complete world," said PW. Ages 12-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, Ellen Wittlinger

Ellen Wittlinger is the critically acclaimed author of the teen novels Love & Lies: Marisol's Story, Parrotfish, Blind Faith, Sandpiper, Heart on My Sleeve, Zigzag, and Hard Love (an American Library Association Michael L. Printz Honor Book and a Lambda Literary Award winner), and the middle-grade novel Gracie's Girl. She has a bachelor's degree from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, and an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa. A former children's librarian, she lives with her husband in Haydenville, Massachusetts.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

KLIATT

To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, July 2004: Wittlinger has been a successful author of YA novels such as Hard Love, Razzle, and Zig Zag. Here she tells a story through e-mails and letters, still somewhat of a novelty in YA fiction. The cast of characters are Chloe, looking ahead to college in the fall; Julian, a singer she thinks is coming to the same college; Ely, Chloe's friend and boyfriend; Genevieve, Chloe's older sister who reveals she is gay; Kate, Chloe's best friend; Julian's older sister, who has just gotten married, and Chloe and Genevieve's parents. The reader has to patiently go through endless e-mails, including instant messages, and some handwritten cards and letters to follow the events of the summer as the high school students make the transition necessary to leave home and go off to college. This includes dreams of new loves (Chloe and Julian imagine a future together), breakups of old loves, new understanding of parents' lives, and so forth. Everyone is well-meaning, stumbling along, making mistakes and having some successes as well. The final summer before college is a milestone in teenagers' lives, and Wittlinger uses the e-mail format to tell the story of one group of teens during this crucial time. KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2004, Simon & Schuster, Pulse, 219p., Ages 12 to 18.
—Claire Rosser

Children's Literature

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.
—Zeta Shearill

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

This modern epistolary tale (emails and IMs joining handwritten letters and postcards) is voyeuristically enjoyable. As senior year draws to a close, Chloe visits a college and meets Julian there. The two immediately bond and begin dating (sort of) long-distance. In Massachusetts, Chloe wrestles with how this affects her relationship with friend-since-kindergarten Eli; in Florida, Julian resists being set up with adoring Nina. When Julian's older sister suddenly gets married and Chloe comes out of the closet, sibling and parent relationships enter the picture. The parents are less believable throughout than the kids (ages 18-22). Chloe and Julian become so smitten over the summer that when he comes to Boston in August for a singing scholarship competition, they're shocked and resentful to discover that they don't know each other all that well. A successful use of multiple viewpoints and an interesting exploration of the implied intimacy of various forms of non-verbal communication. (Fiction. 11-14)