24 - Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

I have lots to say about this book! First, the saga of getting my hands on it! I visited a certain friend who lives in a certain small town in our state, and we spent the weekend discussing books (which is awesome) and the rights denied to people we love because of who they love. At some point during the weekend, we made the usual trek to the big-box bookstore. After perusing the shelves for some time and discovering that not only was this title missing, this AUTHOR was missing entirely, we asked for help. I approached the desk and had the following conversation:

Me: (bright smile) Hi, I'm looking for a book by David Levithan. The title is Boy Meets Boy.
Clerk: Um...hang on. Yeah, we're showing lots of copys available, but...we don't stock that here. Sorry...
*At this, I glance at my friend."
Clerk: We can order it for you in a few days!
Me: No, thanks, I'm from out of town.

So...I went to my local Barnes and Noble at home and plucked it off the shelf! Unfortunately, I didn't see anything else by Levithan, who is definitely an author I want to read more of. $7.71 later, Boy Meets Boy was mine and all I had to do was explain it to my mom. :)

This book has won numerous awards, including An ALA Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults and A Lambda Literary Award. According to Levithan's website, it's "a dippy, happy gay romance". And so it is.

One review of this book claimed that the prophecy of a world where there was no discrimination against gay or lesbian couples was exactly what the genre needed. I guess because this world is so different from the one we currently live in, it felt contrived and unbelievable. The first half of the book bothered me in more ways than one. However, the ending of the book was so sweet, so heartfelt, and so true that I couldn't help but love it. Now I see why it won so many awards.

My favorite part of the book came when Paul, the openly gay narrator, spent seven days trying to repair his relationship with Noah. The sweet things he did are the types of things any person in love would long for, no matter their sexual preference. It was all so beautiful.

I also really enjoyed the way the group banded together to rescue Tony. I love the relationship between Paul and Tony, two gay boys who knew early on they were not supposed to fall in love. One of the things I've talked at length with a dear friend about is that most literature about/for/by the gay or lesbian community is either angst-ridden or overly sexualized. This book was neither. Even though the society was simply wishful thinking, and it is unlikely that that many unusual characters could ever coexist peacefully in one school or be surrounded by that many supportive and understanding adults, the main characters were real and beautiful, even in their faults. It's nice to see gay and lesbian youth in relationships that aren't romantic in nature. It's nice to see them searching for the one special person they want to be with, just like straight kids do for the most part. I appreciate such a caring, respectful, realistic perspective on these kids.

This has made me wildly curious about other books by this author. He wrote the book Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, which was recently made into a movie. He also wrote Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which I have and am excited about reading. :)