How Hard Can Love Be?

A critical book review of “How Hard Can Love Be?” by Holly Bourne

“𝚂𝚘 𝙸’𝚖 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚗 𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚊, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚞𝚖 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎- 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝙸 𝚊𝚖 𝚏𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊 𝚐𝚞𝚢 𝚐𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝. 𝚃𝙷𝙸𝚂 𝙸𝚂 𝙰 𝚂𝙸𝚃𝚄𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙾 𝙵𝙰𝙸𝙻.”

Holly Bourne spent six years as an editor and relationship advisor for a youth charity before becoming a full-time author. Her best-selling YA novels include It Only Happens in Movies, which was nominated for the YA Book Prize in 2018, and the critically acclaimed Spinster Club series. Bourne discusses feminism openly and honestly in her books, and if you've ever doubted the intelligence, ability, or passion of teenage girls, read her books and you'll never doubt them again.

How Hard Can Love Be? From the bestselling author of Am I Normal Yet? Is a hilarious and heartbreaking story about Amber's experiences with love, both painful and exhilarating. Amber, Evie, and Lottie are three girls who face difficult issues with the help of friendship, feminism, and cheesy snacks.

All Amber wants was a taste of love. Her mother was never a caring person, even before she moved to America. Amber, on the other hand, is hoping that spending the summer with her will change all of that. Then there's Prom King Kyle, the serial heartbreaker. Is Amber really in love with him? Even with the best friends' advice, there's no getting around the fact that love is difficult.

Amber is in America for the summer, spending time with her mother, whom she hasn't seen in two years. Amber appears confident, even brash, on the outside, but on the inside, she is full of insecurities, as are most teenagers, and she is still deeply hurt by her mother's decision to leave her. A romance with gorgeous Kyle – who is also not what he appears to be – helps her see herself and the world in a new light, but her true support comes from her two lifelong friends.

Amber is undeniably amusing, and her exploits range from attempting not to vomit on a plane to being extremely entertaining to read about. I'm not ashamed to say that I laughed out loud several times while reading this. It also contains some absolutely adorable scenes and moments.

But it's not all fun and games. Amber and her mother's tumultuous relationship is difficult to read about. Amber, like everyone else, does some questionable things from time to time. But don’t we all? She is such a well-developed character that even if you don't always agree with her decisions, you can see what led her to them and start to understand them.

Amber and Kyle (from the romance section) are also very well described characters. We know a lot about them, as well as the other characters, and the book is written in a realistic and accurate manner. I enjoyed seeing how the stories of these two seemingly incompatible characters intertwined.

Holly has a really unique writing style that is both hilarious and serious, knowing when to be serious but also knowing when to lighten up, which is ideal for this book. It's a book you can read and laugh about, but it also has some really serious themes about family problems, relationships, and feminism. It's well-written and thoughtful, with a thoroughly authentic twenty-first-century teen voice that lightens serious issues with humour. I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for their next read. Holly is a fantastic writer, and she's outdone herself with How Hard Can Love Be?

She's also on to something with that question; love is complicated.