One or Two Things I Learned about Love by Dyan Sheldon (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- One or Two Things I Learned about Love by Dyan Sheldon
Hildy doesn’t have a whole lot of experience in the romance department, so when she meets Connor, she is more than ready to find out what she’s been missing. Connor seems perfect at first, with his devastating smile and his propensity to stage dates as full-blown romantic events. Soon, however, he’s texting every hour, and then even more often, and he’s showing up to pick her up at work, yoga, and her grandmother’s house, even though she isn’t sure whether she ever gave him her grandmother’s address. Hildy’s simply flattered, but her parents, her grandmother, her older male coworker Ely, and her pragmatic friend Nomi all question Connor’s overzealous attention, which Hildy staunchly defends until she just can’t anymore. The diary format keeps the reader firmly inside Hildy’s viewpoint as Connor goes from ideal boyfriend to jealous stalker, but the book provides enough reported conversation, particularly from Nomi, to give readers perspective on what’s really happening. The negative opinions start to feel programmatic, however, especially when Hildy’s enthusiasm and excuses for Connor’s behavior persist in the face of the clues her friends and family are giving her. Particularly unbelievable are the attentions of Ely, a college-age boy who seems almost as zealous as Connor but just in a different way, as he’s determined to act as a wise older brother to Hildy. The [End Page 283] high-energy narration, though, is reminiscent of that of Georgia Nicolson (from Rennison’s Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, BCCB 5/00), and the warm antics of Hildy’s close circle of friends leaven this cautionary tale that readers will enjoy visiting even as they cringe at Hildy’s naïveté.
