(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old aspiring comedian Izzy's home life becomes complicated with the additions of ten-year-old cousin Oliver and his father, deeply depressed after his wife's suicide; and Ben, the sullen sixteen-year-old son of her mother's boyfriend. Izzy's opinionated voice drives a strong narrative. Despite the pain her characters face, Wittlinger's world is ultimately an optimistic one in which emotional suffering is a real problem, but not an insuperable one.

Reviewer: Sarah Rettger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(2) 4-6 Twelve-year-old film buff Maisie's weekly movie routine is disrupted by a love triangle she's not ready for. Meanwhile, several changes within her family fuel conflicts. Distinctive characterization is a significant strength here, and Maisie's response to her friend Cyrus's coming-out is all her own. A late-in-life romance for Grandma lightens the family story line, but this honest novel should give tweens plenty to think about.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2017

(4) YA After Lorna is swept into the ocean off Cape Cod during a storm, her best friends--Jackie, boyfriend Finn, and Lucas--are shattered. Narrator Jackie's grief is initially well developed, as is the mystery surrounding the tragedy. However, after a mid-point twist, this uneven story devolves into soap-opera territory. Wittlinger's affectionate, vivid portrayal of the Provincetown community is the book's highlight.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(2) 4-6 For Juliet, the Cuban Missile Crisis coincides with turbulence in her fifth-grade relationships. While her former best friend ignores her, a new friend's brash fearlessness can be annoying and even scary. Wittlinger conveys a sober knowingness that deepens the seemingly bland innocence of 1960s girlhood. Her prose has the same bracing good sense and down-to-earth humor of her main character.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2010

(4) YA Marisol (Hard Love) takes a novel-writing class. She mends fences with estranged friend Gio, befriends newly out Lee, and falls for seductive writing teacher Olivia. The coincidences and conveniences pile up, and the resulting story feels forced. Still, Wittlinger resists tying things up for a neat ending, respecting the complexity of characters whom fans will be glad to revisit.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2008

(2) YA Narrator Grady (born Angela) is a transgendered teenager determined to show his true self. Unexpected allies include nerdy Sebastian, gorgeous Kita, and Grady's upset but protective mother. The matter-of-fact plot, tinged with a teenager's sense of irony, enumerates Grady's day-to-day challenges. Tangential subplots enrich a thought-provoking discussion of gender roles, gender identity, and the influences of nature, nurture, and social construction.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2007

(2) YA When Liz's grandmother dies, her mother loses herself in grief and finds comfort in new-age religion; meanwhile, siblings Nathan and Courtney, whose mother has leukemia, move in across the street. Liz observes the paths of mourning and maternal care traversed by those around her in a plot that is (for Wittlinger) unusually issue-driven, but rich in character, nuance, and emotion.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2006

(2) YA When high school senior Chloe falls for fellow prospective student Julian on a college visit, the two keep in touch electronically. Wittlinger's novel--about genuinely connecting, not just communicating--will hook readers with its collection of e-mails, instant messages, and handwritten letters flying among the lovestruck but thoughtful protagonists, their friends, and family.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2004

(2) YA When her summer plans fall through, seventeen-year-old Robin agrees to take a road trip with her two young cousins and recently widowed aunt. Wittlinger shifts readers' level of empathy for each character throughout this highly readable first-person narrative. Like many road trips, this one is a crucible--excruciating one moment, exhilarating the next, hard to walk away from unchanged.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2003

(2) YA On the anniversary of his sister's murder, Leo feels called to kill a more "likely" victim than his saintly sister. In loosely alternating first-person narratives, Leo and Bree document their night together, a night meant (by Leo) to end in Bree's murder. Paralleling Leo's story is Bree's tale of her own sister's death. Both teenagers are allowed some ironic humor as they talk themselves through the night to a new sense of empowerment.

Reviewer: Susan P. Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2002

(2) YA Nice guy falls for not-so-nice girl, not realizing that the real thing (the nice girl) is right in front of him. Ken is seduced by his friend Razzle's heartless nemesis Harley, a teenage sexpot who sees Ken's photography as a ticket to a modeling career. An original twist on this theme is Ken's conscious complicity with the arrangement. Wittlinger breathes life into this familiar story with her vivid Cape Cod setting and distinct personalities.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2001

(1) YA Each of the ten chapters in this thoughtfully structured novel is narrated by a different high-school student in Scrub Harbor--a town divided over a possible name change. The town's identity crisis is a nifty backdrop for the novel's main focus: each narrator's own crisis of identity. Wittlinger's characters struggle with who they are, discovering (or guessing) how others see them while figuring out how they see themselves in this intriguing, complex, and believable novel.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2000

(4) 4-6 Sixth-grader Bess Cunningham resents the time her mother spends volunteering at a local shelter but has a change of heart when she meets Gracie, an elderly homeless woman. The treatment of both the predictable plot and Bess's coming to understand the plight of the homeless is heavy-handed, but readers will sympathize with Bess's desire to stand out--yet fit in--at school.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander

(2) YA John and Marisol have a lot in common: both have issues with trust and truth-telling, both have problem parents, and both like girls. It's zine writing, though, that brings them together. All goes well with their friendship until John professes his love for Marisol, who's made it clear she's a lesbian. Readers won't mind the teen flick cast and will be pulled along by the story and by the pages of zine excerpts, handwritten poems, and letters.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 1999