One or Two Things I Learned About Love

Sheldon, Dyan. One or Two Things I Learned About Love.
December 10th 2013 by Candlewick Press
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

Hildy's summer looks like it is going to be boring-- nothing but working at a farm stand with her friend Ely and putting up with her annoying younger sister Zelda and her serial dating older sister Gus. When she goes to the mall with her friends, she meets Connor, who is working at a coffee shop, and he asks for her phone number. They go out and click right away, which is a vast improvement on Hildy's previous two and a half dates. Soon the two are inseparable, texting all the time and hanging out. However, Connor becomes a bit over protective, and soon Hildy is wondering if she should wear her bikini in public, call Ely on the phone, or spend time with her girl friends. The course of first love never runs smoothly.
Strengths: Short, romantic book with lots of good first relationship details ("Isn't it so cute?"). Attractive cover, and no horrible problems. The diary format will appeal to reluctant readers. Will no doubt purchase.
Weaknesses: There are a lot of details skipped over-- this does read very much like a real diary. For example, Zelda is ten but has all kinds of melt downs, and is described as "having a syndrome", but this is never explained. Connor is a bit creepier towards the end than I would have liked, but Hildy realizes this before any major problems occur. Didn't like this quite as well as other books by the same author.