Other Words for Love

February 14, 2011
It's 1980s Brooklyn, and Ari is a wallflower next to her gorgeous, sexually experienced best friend, Summer, and her volatile sister, Evelyn, who is having a second baby with her hot firefighter husband. Then the handsome Blake sweeps Ari off her feet, and everything changes. Their relationship quickly intensifies, both emotionally and sexually, and Ari becomes dependent upon their intimacy. When family pressures force Blake to break things off, Ari makes a desperate plea for his affection; when that fails, she is left despondent ("I thought Blake was no better than some street-thug heroin dealer. He had gotten me hooked on him and then he'd cut off my supply"). Debut author Rosenthal's prose avoids moralizing while realistically addressing sexual themes, from codependence to teen pregnancy and fears of sexually transmitted infections (heightened by widespread concerns about AIDS). Though the tone of the book is often somber, it effectively mirrors Ari's emotionally disconnected state, and her difficult story honestly confronts the pain associated with coming of age and first heartbreak. Ages 14– up.

February 15, 2011
Grades 9-12 In this first novel, Rosenthal, like Judy Blume long before her, makes the case that first love need not be forever, nor is its demise the end of the world. Ari, a talented artist, is the focus of her moms dreams in the wake of her older sister Evelyns teen motherhood. When an inheritance comes, Aris pushed into attending an upscale Manhattan prep school. Thats where she meets Leigh, a rich girl whose cousins, Blake and Delsin, prove fascinating to the middle-class Brooklyn commuter. When love blooms between Ari and Blake, and jealousy drives Evelyn to put distance between the siblings, Aris goals get rearranged. Its hard to tell at times where Rosenthal is placing the novels main emphasismom-daughter dynamics, sisterly conflict, love gone bad, friendships alteredwhich dilutes some of the characters. Blake, for instance, is never more than a pretty, rich boy, and Aris friendship with Leigh never comes to life. Still, readers who like preppy drama and are seeking something more compelling than the Gossip Girl series will seek this out.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)