Love and Other Four Letter Words

BIBLIOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:

Love and Other Four-Letter Words, Mackler, Carolyn. Delacorte Press, New York. ISBN 0-385-32743-9

PLOT SUMMARY:

Sammie’s parents have decided to try a temporary separation. Her Dad is going to California and her Mom is taking Sammie to live in New York City. Sammie’s best friend Kitty is obsessed with her boyfriend and never listens to Sammie. Sammie is tired of always talking about Kitty’s issues. Even on the day that Sammie moved to NYC Kitty can only seem to talk about herself. The move is hard for Sammy. They rent a tiny two room apartment on the Upper West Side. Her mother is a wreck. She can’t even pull it together long enough to go on a job interview. Sammie takes care of everything, herself her mother, her dog Moxie and the apartment. Things finally start to look up when Sammie meets Phoebe at the dog run. Will her mother ever snap out of it and let Sammie enjoy being sixteen?

CRITICAL EVALUATION:

I was excited to read this book. I really enjoyed The Earth, My Butt and other Big Round Things. However, I was disappointed in Love and Other Four-Letter Words. While it has all of the things that make for a great teen novel (family troubles, falling in love, and changing friendships) I found myself bored. Something about the characters just didn’t grip me. I usually flip to the back to see what will happen, not with this book. I just don’t seem to have an emotional connection with the characters in the book. Sammie seems to fall flat. While she is likable, it feels like Mackler barely scratches the surface. There should be something more to Sammie. Of course she has the revelation in the end that she does have control over what happens to her. The depth of the character is missing. Yes, she is hurt by her parents separation, yes we hear about her experiences (or lack thereof) with boys. But her journey throughout the book seems to be superficial. It is almost as if the reader doesn’t really get to know her. And that is where I disconnected with the book. I would not recommend this to teen readers. I think there are better books out there.

READER’S ANNOTATION:

Sixteen-year-old Sammie’s parents just separated, and now she is living in New York City. As the summer months pass Sammie is finding that she may just belong there.

AUTHOR:

Carolyn Mackler writes books for teens because; they (along with some good friends) saved her from teen misery many times. Things were great for Mackler though the fifth grade. When other girls were moving onto boys, she was still playing with dolls. Her best friend that lived three doors down got her through this tough time when Mackler felt like a misfit. Her childhood is the reason why she writes for teens.

Mackler graduated from Vassar College with a degree in Art History. While living in Manhattan, she took a class at NYU called “Beginning Your Novel”. It was during this class that she started her first book Love and Other Four Letter Words. Mackler has published four books after that: The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things, Vegan Virgin Valentine, Guyaholic, and Tangled. She is currently working on her next book.

GENRE:

Fiction, Realistic

CURRICULUM TIES:

New York State: English

BOOK TALKING IDEAS:

Moving to a new place
Changing relationships with friends

READING LEVEL/INTEREST AGE:

Age 14 and up

CHALLENGE ISSUES:

Sex

In order to prepare yourself should this book be challenged you may wish to take the following steps:

•Read the book or familiarize yourself with the book and its contents.
•Refer to the library’s collection development policy.
•Read the book reviews from sources such as Booklist, School Library Journal, Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA), Publisher’s Weekly, or BookSpot.com
•Seek the opinion of teen readers that have read the book.

Should this book be challenged you should follow the additional steps below:

•Advise the senior staff of the challenge.
•Let the patron know that their challenge will be filed and that senior library management will review their request and notify them once a decision has been made.
•Offer any further assistance

WHY DID I INCLUDE THIS BOOK?

The Author was mentioned in the class group author project.