I Need You More Than I Love You
and I Love You To Bits
by Gunnar Ardelius

    I NEED YOU MORE THAN I LOVE YOU AND I LOVE YOU TO BITS by Gunnar Ardelius
    Category:  Contemporary
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  11/2008
    Publisher:  Front Street
    Reviewed by:  LadyJay
    Rating:  4 Stars


    Betty and Morris share a strange romance.  They meet, have a one-night stand, and then fall in love.  

    Morris wants so badly for their relationship to work, but many things are working against them.  Morris is embarrassed
    by his parents and does not want Betty to meet them.  His father suffers from bi-polar disorder, while his mother talks
    incessantly about dreams and poetry.  Morris begins to wonder if crazy people are drawn to one another, and what
    that might mean for his relationship with Betty.  

    Can they outlast the craziness that has brought them together, or will their relationship fail like so many others before it?
            
    I NEED YOU MORE THAN I LOVE YOU AND I LOVE YOU TO BITS is Gunnar Ardelius’ debut novel.  The
    story is told through short prose passages.  Many of these passages are snippets of conversation shared between Betty
    and Morris.  Sometimes it is difficult to decipher which character is speaking; however, that may have been Ardelius’
    intention, to make the dialogue as ambiguous as possible.  The story is interesting, and will appeal to teenagers who
    have experienced first love.  

    As they say, your first love is the one you never forget.