Most Popular Books by Ellen Wittlinger

After starting to publish a zine in which he writes his secret feelings about his lonely life and his parents'' divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual girl and begins to develop a healthier personality.

A summer disappointment turns into a cross-country discovery. Robin can''t believe it when her boyfriend, Chris, tells her that his parents have enrolled him in a summer program in Rome. It''s their last summer together before he goes away to college, and now they won''t even have that time together. It feels like the worst thing that''s ever happened to her. Since Chris is leaving, Robin agrees to join her aunt and cousins on a cross-country road trip, in spite of her reservations -- she and her younger cousins have never really gotten along, and since their father''s death they''ve become even more problematic than before. Soon the four of them are zigzagging through the West on an eye-opening journey. They explore parts of the country Robin never dreamed existed -- and she discovers inner resources she never imagined she had.

On the anniversary of his sister''s murder, Leo, tormented by his mother''s insane accusations and his own waking nightmares, kidnaps a wealthy girl intending to kill her, but instead their long night together helps them both face their futures.

Each of ten teenagers living in Scrub Harbor, Massachusetts, explores his or her identity at the same time that the local residents consider changing the name of their town. In connected narratives, ten teens explore who they are and find out what''s in a name.

While coping with her grandmother''s sudden death and her mother''s resulting depression and fascination with a spiritualist church, whose ministers claim to communicate with the dead, fifteen-year-old Liz finds herself falling for a new neighbor whose mother is dying of cancer.

When his retired parents buy a group of tourist cabins on Cape Cod, fifteen-year-old Kenyon Baker''s days are filled with repair work until he becomes friends with an eccentric girl and makes her the subject of a series of photographs.

Angela Katz-McNair has never felt quite right as a girl, but it’s a shock to everyone when she cuts her hair short, buys some men’s clothes, and announces she’d like to be called by a new name, Grady. Grady is happy about his decision to finally be true to himself, despite the practical complications, like which gym locker room to use. And though he didn’t expect his family and friends to be happy about his decision, he also didn’t expect kids at school to be downright nasty about it. But as the victim of some cruel jokes, Grady also finds unexpected allies in this thought-provoking novel that explores struggles any reader can relate to.

In this long-anticipated companion novel to the Printz Honor Book Hard Love, which critics called "A bittersweet tale of self-expression and the struggle to achieve self-love," Ellen Wittlinger offers a novel just as emotionally honest and deeply felt. Marisol Guzman has deferred college for a year to accomplish two things: She will write a novel and she will fall in love. How hard could that be? She gets her very own apartment (with her high school best friend as roommate) and a waitressing job at a classic Harvard Square coffeehouse. When she enrolls in an adult education class -- "How to Write Your First Novel" -- there are two big surprises waiting for her: John Galardi, aka "Gio," a fellow zine writer who fell head over heels for her last spring (despite the fact that she''s a lesbian) and her instructor, Olivia Frost, the most exquisitely beautiful woman she''s ever seen. But as Marisol ventures into what seems to be her storybook romance with Olivia, things start to go off track. Between the ups and downs of her new relationship, her strained friendship with Lee (a newly out lesbian who is crushing big-time on Marisol), and her roommate''s new boyfriend (who is equally afraid of Marisol and their cat) moving in, Marisol starts losing sight of her goals. Is she too blinded by love to see the lies?

Tackling divorce and suicide with a warmth and sensitive humor that refuses to be weighed down, Someone Else''s Shoes chronicles a road trip that unites three young people in search of family and acceptance. Fans of Sharon Draper, Jo Knowles and Counting by Sevens will be moved by this tale of what brings us together when things fall apart. Twelve-year-old Izzy, a budding stand-up comic, is already miserable about her father''s new marriage and the new baby on the way. Then ten-year-old cousin Oliver and his father, Uncle Henderson, move in with Izzy and her mom because Oliver''s mother committed suicide only a few months ago. And to make matters worse, Ben, the rebellious 16-year-old son of Izzy''s mother''s boyfriend, winds up staying with them, too. But when Uncle Henderson--who has been struggling with depression after his wife''s suicide--disappears, Ben, Izzy, and Oliver set aside their differences and hatch a plan to find him. As the threesome travels in search of Henderson, they find a surrogate family in each other.

Told entirely via email, instant messages, letters, and postcards, this novel tells of two teens'' long-distance relationship after they meet at a college visit during senior year of high school. "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.

When The Walker, a mysterious boy who walks constantly, intervenes in an argument between Sandpiper and a boy she used to see, their lives become entwined in ways that change them both.

Challenges between a group of boys and girls escalate during the Cold War in Wittlinger''s gripping middle-grade novel.

They are four best friends who''ve shared joy and secrets, love and memories, and since the beginning, Lorna was the one who held them all together. Then, the unthinkable happens. During a storm, Lorna is swept out to sea, leaving the three survivors with nothing to cling to except grief and questions. How did this happen? Why was Lorna in such danger, and was she alone? When her body is never found, the mystery deepens. Did Lorna really die? Or has she made a crazy bid for freedom? Inevitably, the dynamic of the four friends'' everyday life is changed forever. But the pain and confusion go deepest for Jackie, who must face her feelings of unrequited love for Lorna''s boyfriend as well as try to put to rest her own questions about Lorna''s presumed death. Does one of the boys in their inner circle know more than he''s letting on? Will Lorna''s fate ever be discovered? And how will Jackie become her own person in the wake of a wound that may never close? In this beautifully written, intense novel, one girl has to travel through loss and disillusionment to make sense of her own future. "Ellen Wittlinger''s Hard Love was one of the books that inspired me to write young adult novels." ~John Green, author, The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns

Twelve-year-old movie-loving Maisie is in need of a distraction from her current romantic dilemma when her Uncle Walt comes to stay with her family after being hurt on the set of the movie he''s filming in Hollywood. Maisie''s best friend, Cyrus, has been hanging out a lot with Gary Hackett, whose last-name sounds to Maisie like a cat barfing up a hairball. When it seems as if Hackett might like Maisie romantically, she''s none too pleased, and Cyrus is even less impressed. Uncle Walt has a way of pointing Maisie in the right direction, and Maisie''s love of movies also keeps her centered. Heading to the local independent theater on Saturdays to see old movies helps Maisie stay grounded as she struggles with growing up, family tensions, a grandma who seems to be losing her memory, and a love triangle she never expected.

A fifteen-year-old girl and her new thirteen-year-old male neighbor find their friendship deepening into a romance as they work on writing and filming a screenplay together.

As she starts middle school, Bess volunteers to work on the school musical in hopes of fitting in, but when she and a friend get to know an elderly homeless woman, Bess changes her mind about what is really important.

After starting to publish a zine in which he writes his secret feelings about his lonely life and his parents'' divorce, sixteen-year-old John meets an unusual girl and begins to develop a healthier personality.